Representative King has spent $18,000 in taxpayer money on food and drinks at a private club. This follows a patterns of shady spending by a Congressman continually plagued with scandal.
Representative King has been expensing meals since 2004 from the Capitol Hill Club in Washington D.C. Meals at the club are pricey. The Intercept reports that the breakfast buffet costs $34 per person, while dinner costs roughly $49 per person. The club is known for being frequented by conservative lawmakers and lobbyists.
Steve King is no stranger to wasteful spending. He regularly takes trips to Europe on taxpayers’ dimes. Most of the trips are to meet with far right groups to help drive Steve King’s racist narrative further.
Most recently, Representative King spoke with an Austrian publicationassociated with Austria’s Freedom Party, which was founded a former Nazi officer. The visit to Austria to meet with neo-Nazis came directly after a trip Representative King took with From the Depths, a group that aims on education lawmakers of the horrors of the Holocaust.
In his interview with the Austrian publication, Representative King continued his divisive and racist rhetoric. When he was asked about diversity he responded, “What does this diversity bring that we don’t already have? Mexican food, Chinese food, those things — well, that’s fine. But what does it bring that we don’t have that is worth the price? We have a lot of diversity within the U.S. already.”
In 2017, The Des Moines Register reported that taxpayers had spent nearly $118,000 on Steve King’s travel to over twenty countries. He has also paid his son and daughter-in-law more than $805,000 for year round campaign work, even in non-campaign years.
“It is clear that Steve King is more interested in advancing his racist agenda across the world than actually representing the people of the fourth district,” said Iowa Democratic Party Spokesperson Tess Seger. “Luckily, voters have a choice on the ballot. J.D. Scholten will represent the people of Iowa, not the people of Austria. He will fight every day for his constituents. It is clear Steve King will not.”
Steve King continues to travel around the world, while doing close to nothing for his constituents.