White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt’s old congressional campaign failed to pay down any of its outstanding debt last quarter, which includes more than $210,000 in refunds for illegal excessive campaign donations, according to the most recent report filed with the Federal Election Commission.
Leavitt’s campaign reported $326,370.50 in debt as of Sept. 30 — a balance that hasn’t changed since her campaign first disclosed the debt in January after years of failing to disclose any debt, as first reported by NOTUS.
While there are plenty of deadbeat campaigns that owe creditors millions of dollars long after the election is over, the nature of Leavitt’s debt is unique.
Federal campaign finance law requires campaigns to refund or reallocate donations that exceed the individual contribution limit, which was $2,900 during the 2022 election cycle, within 60 days.
Leavitt’s campaign has blown by that deadline and lacks the funds to start issuing any refunds: Her campaign raised no money in July, August or September and reported no cash on hand as of Sept. 30, according to the new disclosure.
The campaign did issue a handful of refunds in January, including $2,900 to each of her parents, NOTUS previously reported.
The liberal End Citizens United filed a complaint with the FEC in November 2022, alleging Leavitt’s campaign accepted and failed to refund the excessive contributions.
But the independent agency has reportedly not ruled on the case and likely won’t anytime soon. The FEC is effectively shut down, lacking enough commissioners to execute high-level duties or even carry out basic administrative functions like setting and canceling open meetings. President Donald Trump must nominate, and the Senate must confirm, at least two new commissioners before the body can take action.
Leavitt’s campaign is also in debt with several vendors, including $41,000 to Remington Research Group for polling and more than $46,000 to Axiom Strategies for printed materials, travel and consulting.
“Karoline is doing a fabulous job in her current role and we are proud to have been part of her campaign. As we’ve previously stated, the campaign has followed the FEC’s instructions and there were no errors or omissions by the candidate,” a spokesperson from Axiom Strategies told NOTUS.
Neither Leavitt nor her campaign responded to requests for comment.