Ethics watchdog files House complaint against Rep. Gallego

A government accountability group filed a House ethics complaint against Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) on Friday, accusing him of soliciting campaign contributions while referencing legislation he authored.

The Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust (FACT) has requested the House Office of Congressional Ethics to investigate whether Gallego, 43, improperly asked for campaign contributions while touting “critical legislation” concerning extreme heat, which he introduced as a member of Congress.

The Arizona Democrat, who is running in 2024 to unseat Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.), sent a fundraising email to supporters that linked to a webpage requesting readers to “Support the Extreme Heat Emergency Act” and asking for campaign donations.

The House Ethics Manual prohibits solicitations for campaign or political contributions by any lawmaker while acting in their official capacity.

“Gallego inextricably intertwines a specific piece of legislation with a solicitation for a campaign donation,” FACT executive director Kendra Arnold told OCE chief counsel Omar Ashmawy in requesting an immediate investigation.

“Moreover, this damages public confidence in our elected officials,” she added. “Members are to act impartially and on merit, not on ‘partisan affiliation’ or for ‘campaign contributions’ — this type of fundraising indicates the exact opposite.”

The bill would add extreme heat to the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s list of qualifying events for major disaster declarations.

Gallego is polling 16 percentage points above his potential Republican opponent Jim Lamon — 43% to 27% — in the 2024 Senate race, according to an April Public Policy Polling survey.

The poll also showed Sinema with a lower favorability rating than Gallego. Only 27% of voters view her favorably, whereas 39% approve of him.

Sinema, 47, left the Democratic Party in December and registered to run as an independent in the 2024 Arizona Senate race — potentially creating “a nightmare scenario for Democrats,” a GOP strategist had told The Post.

The centrist Arizona senator still caucuses with Democrats and has wielded immense power in the upper chamber by opposing efforts to end the 60-vote filibuster and placing checks on left-wing priorities in President Biden’s agenda.

Gallego, a former Marine who fought in the Iraq War, has tried to contrast himself with Sinema by citing his working-class upbringing as the son of a single mother and a first-generation college student.

“You never fully come back from war — you’re not the same person,” he has also said. “Fighting through PTSD, there were some very low moments in my life. But I still didn’t give up hope and pushed forward. I found a new way to keep serving.”

Reps for the lawmaker did not respond to a request for comment Friday.