Earlier this week, we covered how Republican House Representative Wesley Hunt likes to stay home and not do his job. Yet, despite all that, his chief of staff, James Kyrkanides, has apparently been racking up quite the hotel tab:
James Kyrkanides, the campaign manager for Senate candidate Wesley Hunt, charged taxpayers more than $44,000 in hotel expenses over three years as Hunt’s congressional chief of staff. The charges average $457 per night, four times the national standard rate set by General Services Administration rate for many federal employees, according to a POLITICO analysis of House expense records.
That total accrued over 97 nights during 49 different stays. For instance, on Jan. 3, 2025, when Congress was being sworn in, Kyrkanides expensed a one-night hotel bill of $805. For May 20 to 22, 2024, he submitted a hotel bill of $1,692. And for a stay starting Aug. 6, 2024, he expensed two nights for a total of $1,321.
Damn, at which hotels has he been staying?
The expense records do not require the hotels or the city in which they’re located to be listed, and Kyrakanides declined to name the hotels.
Oh.
But I guess hotels are expensive nowadays. Is this actually a lot?
He said a number of the reimbursements were in Hunt’s hometown of Houston, where the GSA’s recommended federal lodging rate is $128 per night. Krykanides said expenses also included stays in Washington, San Diego and New York, which have had average GSA rates of $234, $205 and $277 over the last year, respectively.
Huh. So I guess that does seem like a lot. Especially working for a guy who doesn’t even bother to show up for votes.
I guess the question I have—again—is: do Hunt’s constituents know that his office is blowing tons of taxpayer cash on his chief of staff’s hotel stays? Do they even read Politico?
