Congressional investigators say Texas Republican Rep. Lance Gooden used taxpayer money to fund a pattern of luxury travel, reimbursing himself nearly $184,000 for 2025 trips alone — more in travel reimbursements than any other member of the U.S. House.
The nonpartisan Office of Congressional Conduct (OCC) concluded that Gooden made what it called “extravagant expenditures” and misreported campaign spending. Its findings were referred to the House Ethics Committee, the body with actual power to discipline members, which is still investigating.
According to the Washington Post, the OCC report flagged luxury hotel stays, business and first-class plane tickets, and extended car rentals that Gooden reimbursed himself for — expenses investigators say may have violated House rules requiring travel costs to be “reasonable” and “ordinary and necessary.” The report also says Gooden charged Congress for some trips that were personal or campaign-related rather than official business.
Investigators identified at least one instance last year where Gooden appeared to reimburse his son’s travel costs, and at least two cases where staff booked his flights through his wife’s credit card travel portal — a setup that could have let her collect the rewards points.
Gooden is denying all of it.
“There’s a reason the Senate doesn’t have an OCC — because of insane, bogus referrals like this one,” Gooden said in a statement. “The Ethics Committee will expose this witch hunt, and I’m calling on House Administration to launch an oversight investigation into the OCC’s target selection and record of failed inquiries.”
His attorney raised a separate objection back in June, saying Gooden had offered to provide evidence and explanations for specific allegations but that the OCC’s document and communications request was “unreasonably burdensome.”
Gooden is not an isolated case. Several House members have faced ethics allegations this year, with some forced to resign, as polling heading into the midterms showed voters citing corruption in Washington as a major reason for turning on the Republican Party — though Democratic lawmakers have faced their own allegations as well.
The case now sits with the House Ethics Committee, the only body that can actually hold Gooden accountable. Its investigation is ongoing, and no findings have been issued.
