Trump opens secret investigation into top Democrat after campaign cash spending spree on Super Bowl, luxury trips revealed

Arizona Democratic Sen. Ruben Gallego, a potential 2028 White House contender, is being investigated by President Donald Trump’s Justice Department.

Gallego, an Arizona Democrat who visited South Carolina, the first Democratic presidential primary district, earlier this month, is in hot water after a deep dive into his campaign spending.

A report published by axios On Monday, it was stated that Gallego was the subject of a Justice Department investigation for “suspicious campaign finance violations.” The DOJ did not comment on the matter.

Gallego was cleared early Monday of a separate Senate ethics investigation that looked into complaints of ‘alleged campaign finance violations and inappropriate conduct of a sexual nature.’

A Gallego spokesperson told Axios about the latest investigation: ‘[President] While Trump targets Senator Gallego, the most weaponized Justice Department in history turns a blind eye to Trump’s unprecedented corruption.’

“The fact that this comes so soon after the Senate Ethics Committee cleared Senator Gallego of the administration’s right-wing smears is the least surprising news of the week,” the spokesman added. Trump’s Justice Department is also investigating other political rivals, including Gavin Newsom, John Brennan, Adam Schiff, Letitia James and Jerome Powell.

A Politico report published in early June details how Gallego spent thousands of dollars from political donors on travel and luxury events from his campaign accounts, paying for not only himself but also his family.

The PAC led by Gallego has paid for his family’s trips to destinations including Florida, Illinois and California, as well as Disney properties in Florida, since he launched his 2023 run for the U.S. Senate.

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks while sitting in the Oval Office of the White House on June 26, 2026

Ruben Gallego with his wife Sydney and daughter Isla walk from a polling place after dropping off their ballots on Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024, in Phoenix.

Federal Election Commission records show her political accounts reimbursed her more than $18,000 for child care expenses dating back to 2019.

A staggering $400 payout went to his wife’s mother for babysitting services.

Former First Lady Jill Biden’s longtime spokesman, Michael LaRosa, noted at X that she was a former Gallego donor who wanted her money back.

‘Needless to say, I am thrilled to have requested and received a refund of the contribution I made to him just last week. Democrats and donors should read this buyer beware report, LaRosa wrote.

Jill Biden’s longtime spokesman, Michael LaRosa, stated in X that she was a Gallego donor who wanted her money back

Eric Swalwell and Ruben Gallego at the US Capitol in September 2021

The filings also show that Gallego and his wife attended the 2023 Super Bowl in Arizona using the joint political account he shares with former California Rep. Eric Swalwell.

Campaign finance regulations allow candidates and office holders to spend political money when expenses such as travel, meals, events and child care are connected to the campaign or official activities.

Restrictions are looser for leadership PACs, which can spend money on a broader range of fundraising-related activities.

The senator’s wife, children, mother-in-law and babysitter often travel with him to donor-supported events, a person familiar with the matter said.

Gallego said the expenses were allowed and pointed to the financial burden of child care on working families. Elected officials from both parties travel frequently with their spouses and children and use campaign funds for child care when federal rules allow, he said.

“This is not breaking news,” Gallego told Politico when the story about his spending broke.

‘Due to the rising costs of child care and the burden it places on American families’ budgets, Democrats and Republicans in Congress and the White House regularly travel with their spouses and children, as permitted by the FEC,” he added.

One of the accounts from which the lavish spending was made was the ‘Swallego Victory Fund,’ a former joint fundraising committee shared by Gallego and his former close friend, California congressman and onetime gubernatorial frontman Eric Swalwell.

Swalwell withdrew from the California governor’s race after a sexual assault allegation by a former employee forced him to resign.

Swalwell has been accused of sexual harassment by at least five women, including a former employee who alleged the married Swalwell raped her twice in 2019 and 2024 while she was too drunk to consent. Swalwell is one of four women who made allegations against the Democrat.

Swalwell announced that he was suspending his campaign after the accusations emerged, saying he was “deeply sorry for the errors of judgment I have made in my past,” while objecting to what he called “false allegations” against him.

The PAC was disbanded early in the 2025-2026 election cycle after raising and spending just over $55,000 in the 2023-2024 cycle, according to FEC records.