Representative Alexandria Ocasio‑Cortez’s campaign reported thousands of dollars in hotel charges tied to travel for this year’s “Fighting Oligarchy” events, according to federal campaign filings and a New York Post review. The filings show large hotel disbursements in Las Vegas, Salt Lake City and Tucson around the time she campaigned with Sen. Bernie Sanders.
The filings list a $3,508.92 payment to the Vdara Hotel & Spa in Las Vegas in March, weeks after Ocasio‑Cortez and Sanders appeared together at a town‑hall event in northern Las Vegas on March 20. Other reported expenditures include $3,445.59 to the Asher Adams in Salt Lake City in April and a $3,165.76 payment to the Leo Kent Hotel in Tucson. The Salt Lake City hotel account also shows a $58.54 charge in May. The New York Post first reported the spending.
The expenditures were listed around the times Ocasio‑Cortez joined Sanders on stops that were billed as part of a larger effort to mobilize the progressive base and criticize wealth and corporate influence. At the March Las Vegas appearance, Ocasio‑Cortez told supporters that "endless greed by those at the very, very top" was harming the country and urged a movement of working‑class Americans.
Sanders’ campaign finance records show payments to some of the same hotels, but in smaller amounts for certain properties. Sanders’ disclosures include a $624.28 charge to the Leo Kent on April 10 and three payments of $487.54 each to the Vdara on March 24. Overall, Sanders’ campaign reported many more hotel entries this year — more than 200 FEC filings related to lodging — though much of that spending was in Illinois and Vermont and appears unrelated to the co‑sponsored events.
It was not detailed in the filings what specific room types or services were purchased, how many staffers were included in the reservations, or which dates the charges covered. Baseline rates at some of the listed hotels can reach several hundred dollars a night; public rate information for the Vdara and other properties shows prices that vary by date and room type.
The reported lodging charges add to prior public scrutiny of Ocasio‑Cortez’s travel and wardrobe choices. In 2021 the congresswoman’s attendance at the Met Gala prompted an inquiry by the House Ethics Committee, and the New York Post previously published a photo it said showed Ocasio‑Cortez in a first‑class cabin on a flight from New York to Las Vegas the day before the March town hall.
Representatives for Ocasio‑Cortez and Sanders did not respond to requests for comment made by the New York Post, which first reported the campaign expenditures. The filings themselves are publicly available through Federal Election Commission disclosures and campaign finance reports.
Ocasio‑Cortez, a member of the House Democratic caucus known for her progressive positions and prominence among younger voters, has been discussed as a potential future candidate for higher office. Sanders, an independent senator from Vermont who caucuses with Democrats, has been campaigning on similar economic populist themes for decades and is a self‑described democratic socialist.
Campaign travel and lodging are common expenditures for members of Congress and candidates, and the FEC requires disclosure of payments tied to campaign activity. Political committees often report contractor and vendor names and amounts but do not always provide line‑item detail about room categories or attendees. Analysts and political opponents sometimes use such filings to critique perceived inconsistencies between public rhetoric and campaign spending.
The filings do not indicate any violations of campaign finance law. The payments are presented as campaign expenditures on publicly available reports, which are a routine part of federal campaign compliance. Any further questions about the nature of the bookings or their relation to specific events would require explanations from the campaigns themselves or additional documentation not included in the FEC summaries.
The "Fighting Oligarchy" events were billed by organizers as efforts to focus attention on economic inequality, corporate influence in politics and legislative priorities that supporters say would curb the power of wealthy interests. The reports of hotel spending come as candidates and elected officials across the political spectrum face scrutiny over travel, lodging, and use of campaign funds amid ongoing debates about transparency and ethics in Washington.
No legal or agency findings relating to the listed charges were reported alongside the campaign filings reviewed by the New York Post.