At least there’s never a dull moment when it comes to California Democrat Rep. Eric Swalwell.

As befits a representative of a state known in equal measures for its entertainment industry and its surfeit of airheads, Eric Swalwell is both airheaded and entertaining. First, there was his alleged involvement with a Chinese foreign operative, which may or may not have involved undercover activities; then he was caught shirtless while riding a camel in Qatar. And let’s not forget the time he called for a “white nationalism task force.”

It gets even better. After delving into his campaign’s finance records, Fox News has found that Swalwell tore through almost $60,000 in just six weeks. Most of this was on travel expenses and luxury hotels, including swanky resorts in Miami Beach, Florida and Paris, France. The going nightly rate for these places comes in at between $400 to $3,700—not exactly the typical rate at your local Motel 6.

In fairness, Swalwell is a classy guy, so it’s understandable that he would settle for nothing but the best.

The finance records indicate that Swalwell’s campaign spent $57,094 in travel expenses during the period between April 1 and May 18 of this year. Following data from the Census Bureau, as Fox News points out, that’s only about ten grand less than the median household income in America in 2020. Given the staggering inflation and the general poor performance of the economy during Biden’s reign, in 2022 it’s probably ten grand more than the median household income.

It should be noted that Swalwell’s campaign apparently only consists of two paid staffers. Nevertheless, there was a lot of spending to be done, including $4,708 at Loews Miami Beach, which sounds like a hardware superstore but is, in fact, a swanky hotel that offers pricey packages of $400/night for “city views” all the way up to $3,700/night for the “presidential suite.”

$57,094 in travel expenses in six weeks? https://t.co/tKhsnSEoft pic.twitter.com/14O9D2Ucis

— Rob Pyers (@rpyers) May 26, 2022

And that ain’t the half of it. The campaign spent a comparatively meager $1,752 at Hotel La Maison Champs-Elysées, a five-star affair in Paris, France. A single night at this posh hotel can put you back around $1,200, and it’s clear that Swalwell wasn’t slumming it in Paris’ version of the local Best Western.

“The Maison Champs-Elysées in the heart of Paris’ ‘Golden Triangle’ is an elegant marriage of contemporary lines and unobtrusive luxury, this very special non-conformist hotel teases our expectations, with theatrical elements, a subtle, relaxed atmosphere, and attentive staff,” reads the hotel’s website, with suitably pompous language. One can almost hear Swalwell declaring “Qu’ils mangent de la brioche!” to the peasants back in California, who are currently laboring under the highest gas prices in the country, and are more likely than not to be living on the street.

Swalwell’s expenditures weren’t limited to hotels, either. For instance, the campaign spent nearly $30,000 on flights, nearly $6,000 on luxury limo services, and $2,500 on Lyft and Uber rides. It’s all part of a pattern, too—last year, his campaign doled out over $20,000 at The Ritz-Carlton, Half Moon Bay, where his wife used to work, as well as tens of thousands on alcohol and luxury travel expenses.

Naturally, it would be going much too far to suggest that any of this bears the unmistakable malodor of corruption. Rather, it makes much more sense to merely observe that Eric Swalwell is a popular California representative with high-class tastes and a lot of money to spend.

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Todd Jaquith

Staff Writer

"Originally from South Florida, Todd Jaquith now lives in sunny Santa Fe, New Mexico. He holds a degree in Anthropology from Florida Atlantic University."

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