Rep. Ronny Jackson’s first term as a member of Congress has not been without controversy. The Texas Republican has, for example, faced awkward questions about why Oath Keepers members were texting about him during the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.
Also during his first term, Jackson was accused by the Pentagon inspector general’s office of “inappropriate conduct“ during his tenure as the top White House physician. Months later, the GOP congressman suggested the existence of the omicron variant was part of some kind of elaborate Democratic conspiracy related to the 2022 midterm elections. He even labeled omicron the “midterm election variant.”
As of yesterday, however, the Texan has a brand new problem. Roll Call reported:
Monthly dues paid by Texas GOP Rep. Ronny Jackson’s campaign to a private social club in Amarillo, Texas, “likely implicates the prohibition against personal use of campaign funds,” the Office of Congressional Ethics has concluded. Documents collected by the nonpartisan ethics office and released Monday show Jackson joined the Amarillo Club, located in his congressional district, in October 2020 and used campaign funds to pay for a $649 membership and application fee. Jackson’s campaign committee, Texans for Ronny Jackson, made regular dues payments to the club.
In case this isn’t obvious, it is illegal to use campaign funds for personal expenses. In fact, Roll Call’s report added that federal law is quite explicit in prohibiting spending on “country club memberships” and “dues and fees for health clubs or recreational facilities.”
Jackson’s office has pushed back against the allegations by insisting that the membership was bought for campaign purposes: The club’s space was to be used for meetings and events.
It will be up to investigators to determine whether the explanation has merit, but let’s note for context that these kinds of allegations can become quite serious. To be sure, alleged misuse of campaign funds might seem like relatively small potatoes as political controversies go, but as the Duncan Hunter and Jesse Jackson examples show, these stories can sometimes grow.









