Republican National Committee Boosts Spending for Hair and Makeup

In an ever image-obsessed Washington, the Republican National Committee is spending tens of thousands of dollars lately on professional hair and makeup services, according to federal campaign finance records.

Between April and November, the RNC spent more than $59,000 on “media preparation,” paid to a pair of makeup artists, the records indicate.

The majority of that amount, $53,850, went to Brittany Goetz, a professional hair and makeup artist, who began contracting with the RNC during the summer. Goetz’s website, which was recently unpublished, said she has worked for Fox News. Now-unavailable social media posts show she has done work for White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt and other GOP officials and personalities.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt adjusts her hair as she speaks with reporters in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House on July 17, 2025, in Washington. Alex Brandon/AP

The RNC does not detail the specific services Goetz provided while earning more than $21,000 in August and $10,770 per month during September, October and November, according to Federal Election Commission filings. Political committees generally are not required to disclose that level of information. It is not illegal, or even unusual, for national political committees to spend money on cosmetic services.

But the RNC’s increased expenditures happen at a time when Trump administration officials are omnipresent on TV and social networks, and are frequently the subject of high-profile media appearances, such as Trump administration portraits taken for a Vanity Fair photo shoot.

The Vanity Fair shoot took place on Nov. 12, the same day Goetz received her most recently reported payment, although there’s no indication that Goetz did makeup for those photographed, including Vice President JD Vance, White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller and Leavitt.

The RNC declined to comment on the record for this story. The White House and Goetz did not respond to requests for comment.

Raw Story reported in 2023 that the RNC under then-chair Ronna McDaniel spent $17,000 of committee funds at one Michigan salon, part of nearly $100,000 the committee had spent on cosmetic-related services over several years.

Trump’s obsession with looks and appearances is well documented. The president frequently comments on people’s looks. He has offered compliments to his staff and foreign leaders and insults — such as “ugly” and “piggy” last year directed at two female news reporters — and other barbs for political enemies. The president’s own ever-changing makeup is also regular fodder for news organizations and comedy shows.

The Democratic National Committee has also made hair and makeup-related expenditures, including paying nearly $10,900 to Marquia James, a makeup artist who did work for Kamala Harris, and spending $748 at a high-end San Francisco hair salon. The DNC declined to comment on the record.

Meredith McGehee, a longtime expert in lobbying and ethics, told NOTUS that the amount the RNC spent in late 2025 seemed “pretty high,” though it didn’t surprise her.

“In Trump land, as we all know, they all wear about a ton of makeup,” McGehee said. “Male and female, so that they would have Republicans spending a whole lot of money on makeup with this president is, in some ways, no surprise. I mean, he (Trump) probably wears that much makeup himself.”

McGehee said politicians can usually get away with small luxuries on the donor dime.

“You can subsidize a pretty attractive kind of lifestyle with some perks that you might not otherwise be able to afford,” she said. “It could be, ‘Oh, yeah, we were there, and so we had sandwiches as well.’ It turns out they were lobster rolls.”