More than three years after her failed congressional campaign, Trump administration Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt's campaign committee has not resolved its huge debt problem, NOTUS reported on Wednesday.
At the start of the year, reports indicated that Leavitt, who ran unsuccessfully in New Hampshire in 2022, still had over $300,000 in campaign debt that remained unpaid. The latest reports to the Federal Election Commission indicate that it is still the case.
$210,000 of that debt, or more than two-thirds, "is attributable to unpaid refunds to donors who made excessive contributions to Leavitt’s campaign, in violation of federal limits," the report noted. The Leavitt campaign is not allowed to spend that money and is required to refund it to donors for violating campaign finance laws, but has not, as of the latest filings.
Per the report, the Leavitt campaign reports being broke. The campaign is allowed to raise money to retire the debts, but "has made no financial progress toward doing so," according to a NOTUS review of the new reports.
The FEC would theoretically have the power to take enforcement action against the Leavitt campaign, but it has been shut down since May of last year, when the retirement of commissioners left the body without a legal quorum. President Donald Trump has nominated a pair of Republicans who could restore the quorum, but it is unclear whether they would vote to take any such action against the campaign of Trump's press secretary.
This news comes a day after the Supreme Court struck down federal rules that limit party committees' campaign finance, potentially leading to far greater centralization within political parties over how money from wealthy megadonors is raised and spent.