The 2026 midterms are more than a year away, but Republican political committees are already scoring wins for President Donald Trump’s personal bank account.
Trump-aligned political committees have pumped tens of thousands of dollars at Trump-owned private properties in recent weeks, according to new campaign spending records filed with the Federal Election Commission.
The new filings push total Republican political spending at Trump properties above $1 million since he took office in January — and that doesn’t include spending by groups or individuals that don’t have to report their spending to the FEC.
The Republican National Committee, which accounts for the vast majority of that total, spent about $10,200 in September at Trump Tower in New York for “food and beverages” and “travel expenses” associated with a fundraiser.
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The RNC on Aug. 20 also dropped more than $59,000 at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Florida, for “venue rental and catering.”
On July 31, Rep. Ronny Jackson, a Texas Republican, disclosed spending $1,135 on “donor gifts” from the Trump National Golf Club in Georgia — although the address listed is for the Atlanta National Golf Course, and there is no Trump National Golf Course in Georgia. (Jackson’s reelection campaign also disclosed spending nearly $1,900 at Mar-a-Lago on Jan. 24, days after Trump’s inauguration.)
And on July 7, the New Hampshire Republican State Committee spent just short of $700 at the Trump National Doral golf course in Florida.
The summertime spending adds to hundreds of thousands of additional dollars these committees spent at Trump-owned properties earlier this year, and comes at a time when Trump’s for-profit business ventures — particularly his cryptocurrency interests, but also sneakers, Bibles, cologne, guitars, watches, coffee-table books, trading-card NFTs — operate virtually unimpeded by congressional oversight or federal ethics laws.
Some candidates’ spending at Trump properties preceded coveted endorsements from the president — though it’s not clear whether there’s any relation between the spending and support.
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In late May, days before Trump said he would endorse Rep. Dan Meuser if he ran for Pennsylvania governor, Meuser’s campaign disclosed spending nearly $4,500 on “fundraising” at Mar-a-Lago. The Meuser campaign also spent $15,000 at Mar-a-Lago on fundraising on March 13 and more than $10,000 on March 27.
Meuser ultimately opted against running for governor, and his campaign did not report any spending at Trump properties in July, August or September. (Meuser’s campaign did not return a request for comment.)
Trump also posted his “Complete and Total Endorsement” of Rep. Mike Bost on May 8, about a month after Bost’s campaign disclosed spending $933 on lodging at the Trump Hotel in Doral, Florida, on April 9. Bost’s campaign also disclosed spending $479 on lodging at the hotel on March 26 and $2,400 on March 10, and did not report any spending at Trump properties during the third quarter. (Bost’s campaign did not return a request for comment.)
The White House referred questions from NOTUS to the RNC.
“The reason why we have held events at Trump properties is simple: that is where our donors, members, and grassroots want to be. These are world-class venues our supporters enjoy for their quality, security, and convenience. Any claims to the contrary are baseless,” RNC Spokesman Zach Parkinson told NOTUS.
Republican political committees spent more than $931,000 at Trump properties during the first six months of his presidency, according to an August analysis of FEC filings by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a left-leaning watchdog group.
New disclosures tip that top-line total over the $1 million mark.
“Another example of a complete lack of concern for ethics and doing the right thing,” said Drew Pomerance, a member of Patriotic Millionaires, a coalition of wealthy Americans who advocate against the concentration of wealth and political power. “Can you imagine what Republicans would say if the same scenario was playing out with a Democrat as president? This would be front and center of congressional investigations.”
Parkinson called the milestone “a tired, fake narrative being peddled by a left-wing group masquerading as a watchdog” and said “the RNC’s events and meetings comply with federal law.”
The vast majority of GOP-connected spending at Trump properties this year comes from the RNC, which has spent more than $800,000.
Trump’s biggest single paydays this year from friendly political committees came on May 2, when the RNC spent more than $307,000 at Trump National Doral for rental and catering charges, and on March 5, when it spent more than $193,000 at Mar-a-Lago for rental and catering. The RNC also spent $51,000 at Mar-a-Lago on May 28.
Republican state party committees from Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Utah, Wisconsin and Wyoming have together spent well into the five-figure range this year at Trump properties.
Trump-backing super PAC MAGA Inc. is another Trump property patron, having spent about $43,000 total at Trump locations at various times since Trump began his second term, including at Mar-a-Lago and the Trump National Golf Club in Virginia.
The campaigns of several dozen other members of Congress also reported spending money at Trump properties at some point this year. Among them: House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana, House Majority Whip Steve Scalise of Louisiana and Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, James Comer of Kentucky, Brandon Gill of Texas, Lisa McClain of Michigan, Jason Smith of Missouri, Greg Steube of Florida and Blake Moore of Utah.
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