Home>Arizona>Report Alleges Swalwell, Gallego Used Campaign Funds For Puerto Rico Wedding Travel, Citing FEC Records

Eric Swalwell and Ruben Gallego riding camels in Dubai (Photo: X)

Report Alleges Swalwell, Gallego Used Campaign Funds For Puerto Rico Wedding Travel, Citing FEC Records

In a statement to The Phoenix New Times, a campaign spokesman called the reporting ‘blatantly false’

By Matthew Holloway, April 16, 2026 11:29 am

16 Apr 2026 11:29 am

California Congressman Eric Swalwell and Arizona Sen. Ruben Gallego spent campaign funds on travel tied to a 2021 trip to Puerto Rico during the same weekend as Gallego’s wedding celebration, according to newly surfaced Federal Election Commission records.

The records, first reported by the Daily Mail, show Swalwell’s campaign committee spent money on lodging and other travel expenses connected to the Puerto Rico trip. Gallego’s campaign committee also spent money on hotel stays and other travel-related costs during the same period.

Federal records reviewed by the Mail show Swalwell’s campaign spent $1,522 at the Hyatt Regency Grand Reserve Puerto Rico, while Gallego’s campaign spent $2,000 at the Fairmont El San Juan Hotel. California Rep. Linda Sanchez, who reportedly also attended the wedding, spent more than $1,800 at the Hyatt Regency in addition to an earlier lodging deposit. Politico previously reported that Swalwell attended Gallego’s wedding celebration in Puerto Rico.

After publication of the Daily Mail report, a spokesperson for Gallego provided the outlet with an invoice from a September donor retreat in Puerto Rico showing a $2,000 charge transferred at check-in. 

According to the report, Gallego spokesman Jacques Petit said the June 7 FEC disbursement reflected a deposit paid in May for a campaign donor retreat held months after Gallego’s wedding. Petit told the Mail that “there is a difference in reporting to the FEC and spending in real-time” and argued that “a deposit on a hotel for a retreat months after the wedding is routine campaign activity, not splurging.”

In a statement to The Phoenix New Times, a campaign spokesman called the reporting “blatantly false” and claimed “Senator Gallego did not get married at the Fairmont,” adding, “The Daily Mail is misrepresenting an invoice for a political retreat. The receipt says otherwise.”

The report adds to growing scrutiny surrounding Swalwell and Gallego’s close personal and political relationships. Gallego chaired Swalwell’s 2020 presidential campaign, and the two have publicly referred to one another as close friends over the years. Swalwell described Gallego as his “best friend in the whole world” in a recent interview, as noted by The New York Post, while Gallego has defended the former California congressman amid mounting allegations of sexual misconduct, as previously reported by the California Globe.

Gallego said this week that he had heard rumors over the years that Swalwell was “flirty,” but said he did not know about the more serious allegations that emerged publicly this month. In comments reported outside his Senate office, Gallego said he regretted not confronting Swalwell earlier and described the former congressman as a “predator,” according to the Post.

Swalwell ultimately resigned from Congress after multiple women accused him of sexual misconduct, including allegations of rape and inappropriate messages. Swalwell has denied the allegations. The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department has confirmed that it is investigating at least one accusation as reported by The Guardian, while the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office has also opened an inquiry, according to The Washington Post.

The scrutiny over the Puerto Rico travel expenses follows previous reporting by AZ Free News that Gallego’s campaign committees spent more than $13,000 on subscriptions and services from FindRaiser, an artificial intelligence startup launched by Swalwell and his former chief of staff. Federal Election Commission records showed payments from Gallego for Arizona and Juntos PAC to the company between April and July of last year.

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3 thoughts on “Report Alleges Swalwell, Gallego Used Campaign Funds For Puerto Rico Wedding Travel, Citing FEC Records”

  1. Arizona Democrat Sen. Ruben Gallego sounds just as sleazy and corrupt as his good buddy Eric Swalwell?

    However, Kari Lake posted on X that if Ruben Gallego resigns, the voters of Arizona will NOT choose who replaces him and that Arizona’s sketchy Democrat Governor Katie “Cartel” Hobbs will pick the replacement who will then hold that Senate seat until 2028.

    Reply

  2. Slime ball’s.
    Let us not forget, Ruben Gallego’s father was arrested for drug dealing in 1996. At the time he was a resident alien, never deported with a criminal record! Wonder where Mr. Gallego learned how to lie his way into the Senate!
    It seems to me Gallegos thinks he is protected by the DNC. His lies will catch up to him.
    Again, the truth always reveals itself.

    https://dailynewscycle.com/az-senate-candidate-ruben-gallegos-father-arrested-for-drug-trafficking-assault/

    Reply

    1. Like father like son? It’s interesting that In 2008, Ruben Gallego changed his last name from “MarineLarena” to “Gallego,” and that his ex-wife is Phoenix’s Democrat Mayor Kate Gallego who had a public and contentious split from him that included allegations of infidelity with rumors that Ruben Gallego had an affair with a Washington, D.C., lobbyist. Oddly, she endorsed Ruben Gallego’s 2024 U.S. Senate candidacy.

      Phoenix’s Mayor Kate Gallego is a far left Democrat who is probably just as sleazy and compromised as he is? Her maiden name is Katharine Sarah Widland and she was born in Chicago to Jewish parents who were attorney but grew up in Albuquerque, New Mexico after her parents had moved there. She has a BA degree in environmental science and public policy from Harvard College. While attending Harvard, Kate Widland met Ruben Gallego (aka Rubin MarineLarena) at a charity auction. They moved to Phoenix in 2004, married in 2010, and divorced 2016 prior to the birth of their child.

      Kate Gallego worked for the Arizona Democratic Party and was elected to the Phoenix City Council for the 8th district in 2013 and reelected in 2017. When Greg Stanton, the Democrat Mayor of Phoenix, ran for the United States House of Representatives in the 2018 elections, Gallego announced she would run in a special election to succeed him and resigned from the city council. Somehow she was elected as mayor with the backing of labor unions, the Arizona Republic editorial board, and liberal advocacy organizations like Emily’s List, Sierra Club, and the Planned Parenthood Advocates of Arizona. She ran for reelection in 2020 with no Republican candidate opposing her. Merissa Hamilton, a Libertarian write in candidate, was Gallego’s closest opponent and received 26.29% of votes.

      Kate Gallego has been involved in several controversies and her leadership has drawn backlash particularly regarding the city’s handling of homelessness in areas like “The Zone,” where open-air drug use and encampments have surged. During the COVID pandemic, Kate Gallego implemented closures of city park parking lots to limit large gatherings, particularly over holidays like Easter. Grilling and large gatherings were prohibited during the Easter weekend despite public backlash and a public dispute with then Arizona Governor Doug Ducey, who argued the closures violated his executive order. Kate Gallego encouraged residents to report violations to police via a non-emergency line.

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