National Journal looks at the concerns surrounding Rep. Mia Love’s use of taxpayer money, which have given Democrats an opening of attack ahead of her 2016 showdown with challenger Doug Owens.
Reports Jack Fitzpatrick:
For the second time in 10 months, freshman Rep. Mia Love is promising to refund a travel expense after her office struggled to offer a consistent explanation for her use of taxpayer money.
On Monday, Love told The Salt Lake Tribune and The Hill that she was reimbursing the U.S. Treasury for a $537.10 airline ticket on February 5 that she never used, after reporters had spent several days asking why she had charged taxpayers for the same flight two days in a row. In September, Love also promised to return $1,160 she spent in April on a roundtrip airline fare from Utah to Washington, D.C., during the weekend of the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner.
In both cases, Love denied misusing taxpayer funds, but nevertheless promised to return the money. But both are likely to fuel concern that the first-term lawmaker, the first female Republican African-American member of the House, has given Democrats an opening to attack her in a race that polls show is surprisingly competitive against challenger Doug Owens.
