New York Post Rep. Maxine Waters, chairwoman of the House Financial Services Committee, paid her own daughter more than $80,000 out of campaign coffers in that last fiscal year.
The California Democrat paid $81,650 in campaign funds to her daughter Karen Waters, according to campaign finance records reviewed by The Post.
The total was paid in 12 payments across several months during Fiscal Year 2021 for âslate mailer managementâ fees and âGOTVâ â or âGet Out the Voteâ services.
The payments mirror ones the congresswoman made to her daughter last election cycle when she paid her around $240,000 for work under the same labels.
More than $212,600 in disbursements to Karen were broken down into 26 entries such as âslate mailer managementâ fees, âoffice expensesâ and âcanvassingâ between March 2019 and September 2020.
It was previously reported by Fox News that Waters had paid her daughter $74,000 in donor cash through September.
The House Financial Services Committee Chairwoman has been slammed for such payments to her daughter before, as she has paid Karen or her public relations firm Progressive Connections for their work on her campaigns since 2004.
According to Fox News, Watersâ daughter has received over $1.1 million for such work.
The payments have drawn criticism from social media users, with some calling Waters a âcrookâ and others accusing her of âenrichingâ her family. In 2004, Waters defended the payments to her daughter, insisting her politics and their business were separate.
âThey do their business and I do mine,â Waters said at the time, according to the Washington Post. âWe are not bad people.â
Despite concerns over hiring and paying family members, federal regulations do not prohibit candidates or members of Congress from hiring members of their family for a campaign. However, there are Federal Election Commission regulations on salary.Â
Salary payments to a candidateâs family member, unless the person is âproviding bona fide services to the campaign,â are prohibited. Furthermore, if the family memberâs salary payment for their bona fide services are âin excess of the fair market value of the services providedâ the salary is then considered personal use and prohibited.
Waters won re-election last November to Californiaâs 43rd Congressional District, a seat sheâs held since 2013. She will be up for re-election once again in 2022.
