Republican Lori Chavez-DeRemer spent campaign funds on hotel stays, limo services

Republican Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer spent nearly $50,000 of campaign funds on luxury hotel stays and car services. Chavez-DeRemer has already faced scrutiny for not living in the district she represents.

Chavez-DeRemer was elected to represent Oregon’s 5th district in 2022. She is now running for a second term.

According to campaign finance reports, Chavez-DeRemer spent $43,800 in campaign cash at 30 different hotels between February 2023 and May 2024. All of the hotels had four to five star ratings. The bulk of the expenditures were at two different Marriott properties in Washington D.C.

Other hotels Chavez-DeRemer stayed at include the The Ritz-Carlton in Miami, FL and the Phoenician Resort in Scottsdale, AZ. The Chavez-DeRemer campaign did not provide locations for all of the hotels listed.

Between December 2023 and May 2024, Chavez-DeRemer’s campaign spent $6,090 on private car and limousine services. Most of the services were based in Washington D.C. or surrounding areas.

In Feb. 2024, Chavez-DeRemer’s campaign spent $731.50 at Snow Country Limousine in Park City, UT. In this same period, Chavez-DeRemer stayed at the St. Regis Resort in Deer Valley, UT. The hotel offers ski packages and gourmet dining options.

Campaign finance law allows campaign funds to be spent on meals, events, and travel, but it also requires that these expenses be reasonable and necessary.

Chavez-DeRemer said in personal finance disclosures she has a net worth of $14.8 million. She lives with her husband, an anesthesiologist, in Happy Valley, OR.

When Chavez-DeRemer’s address is put into the online “find your representative” tool provided by the U.S. House of Representatives, it indicates that she lives in District 3, which is represented by Democratic Rep. Earl Blumenauer.

Chavez-DeRemer was scrutinized for living outside District 5 when she first ran for congress in 2022. She initially said she would move into the district once congressional maps were finalized. After being elected, she indicated that she had no intention to move into District 5.

Oregon does not require lawmakers to live in the district they represent.

Chavez-DeRemer’s Democratic opponent is state Rep. Janelle Bynum. A Chavez-DeRemer campaign spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment for this story.