Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s ‘Tax the Rich’ Dress May Have Broken House Rules

Billy House and Jarrell Dillard
·2 min read
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(Bloomberg) -- A congressional watchdog says that progressive Democrat Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez might have broken House rules when she attended the 2021 Met Gala in New York in a rented designer gown, which attracted as much if not more attention than anything the celebrities alongside her were wearing.The New York congresswoman made a surprise appearance at the event, which comingles the fashion and entertainment worlds, walking up a staircase at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in a Brother Vellies white strapless dress with “Tax the Rich” in big bright red letters running down the back.A report by the Office of Congressional Ethics prompted the House Ethics Committee on Thursday to decide it should continue to investigate whether she violated rules and accepted “impermissible gifts” for the star-studded ball.

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“But for the OCE opening this review, it appears that Representative Ocasio-Cortez may not have paid for several thousands of dollars’ worth of goods and services provided to her,” despite notices that the payments were overdue, according to the the report.An Ocasio-Cortez campaign staffer involved could not explain why the costs for the rental gown were reduced from $1,300 to $300.

The OCE sought to interview another witness, but said that person declined to cooperate.When asked about the delays in payments for the variety of goods and services, the report says Ocasio-Cortez acknowledged “there was a ball that was dropped” and described the situation as “deeply regrettable.”

Lauren Hitt, Ocasio-Cortez’s communications director, said in a statement on Thursday night that there had been delays in paying vendors and “the congresswoman finds these delays unacceptable, and she has taken several steps to ensure nothing of this nature will happen again.”Hitt went on to say, however, that “these delayed payments definitively do not rise to the level of a violation of House Rules.” She added that Ocasio-Cortez has since paid the bills “from her own personal funds.”

Separately on Thursday, the Ethics Committee also opened an investigation into another New York lawmaker, Republican George Santos, for alleged unlawful acts, including whether he engaged in sexual misconduct involving an individual seeking employment in his congressional office. No details were provided on the allegation.

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