Cawthorn Faces Criticism for Lavish Spending

APR 17 2022·Updated DEC 22 2022

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Image credit: The Daily Beast

The Facts

Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-NC) has come under fire for reportedly spending nearly $5K in taxpayer money on expenses including a visit to Skylaranna, a luxury resort, on Aug. 6-10, 2021.
Restoring America
That same week, he tweeted: "Democratic politicians certainly love wasting your hard-earned tax dollars."
Restoring America
Cawthorn spokesperson Luke Ball explained that the expenses were for a "district retreat."
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Although lawmakers received an allowance averaging $1.5M to pay for staff and other necessary expenses that year, records show that 286 House members didn't use their funds at all, while 149 others spent $1,170 on average.
Restoring America
Cawthorn was also the subject of another report that said his re-election campaign had spent more than it raised in the first quarter of 2022, and had $242K cash on hand and debts totaling $127K at the start of April.
Daily Mail
Last month, Cawthorn drew unwanted attention when he made derogatory comments about other lawmakers that brought a rebuke from most of both parties, including House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA).
ITN

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The Spin

Democratic narrative

Cawthorn is a hypocrite. While he was tweeting shots at Democrats about wasting taxpayer money, there he was, living in luxury on their dime.

Mother Jones

Republican narrative

Cawthorn may have a long list of mistakes and liabilities, but his strengths in the political domain overshadow this. He's a fundraising juggernaut with immense name recognition, who still remains the favorite to win in May.

The Assembly NC