Two Republican senators have been staying in Washington apartments owned by a lobbyist whose corporate clients have business on Capitol Hill, Politico reported Friday.
Sens. Jon Husted (R-OH) and Todd Young (R-IN) both rent from David Lugar, who runs The Lugar Group and co-chairs 535 Group. His clients include Meta, Boeing, and Wells Fargo. Lugar says the senators pay fair market rent and that he is seldom at the property. Neither he nor the senators’ offices would say what the rent is. Politico reports that no rule bars such an arrangement when the rent is at market rate.
Lobbying disclosures show Lugar’s clients have pushed a number of pieces of legislation related to banking, budget reconciliation, and cybersecurity, though it is unclear how involved Husted and Young have been in those specific bills.
Meta’s stake in Ohio is more immediate. The company is building what Politico calls the world’s largest data center in the state, and data centers have become a live issue in Husted’s competitive race. As lieutenant governor, Husted helped put Ohio’s data center tax breaks in place. More recently, he pushed a Senate bill meant to make tech companies cover the utility costs of data center buildouts, without success.
Lugar said he has never lobbied Husted or his staff, and Federal Election Commission records show no donations from him to Husted’s campaign.
Young’s situation differs. Lugar said he has lobbied Young’s office while renting to him but declined to name the clients involved. The two have history: Young worked in the office of Lugar’s late father, former Sen. Richard Lugar, in the early 2000s, and FEC records show Lugar donated $1,000 to Young’s campaign in 2016 and $2,500 in 2022.
Spokespeople for both senators said they rent small apartments at market rates. Husted’s office described the relationship as “strictly a landlord and tenant relationship.”
Lawmakers have drawn scrutiny for similar arrangements before. Politico notes that former House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) rented from a lobbyist in 2006, and the Detroit News reported this month that Rep. Jack Bergman (R-MI) rents a house from a major donor.