Rep. Lance Gooden (R-Texas) is under congressional investigation for allegations that he improperly sought taxpayer reimbursement for “extravagant” travel expenses, some of which may be unrelated to his job, and misspent campaign funds on personal trips.
The House Ethics Committee released a report Monday confirming the nature of its investigation into Gooden, which the committee publicly revealed in July without details.
The report was prepared by the Office of Congressional Conduct, an independent, nonpartisan entity within the House, and was referred to the ethics committee for review. It identified a “pattern of extravagant expenditures” by Gooden, whom the report noted received more travel reimbursements than any other member last year.
Across all 2025 travel expenses — including lodging, meals and airfare — Gooden reimbursed himself nearly $184,000, according to a Washington Post analysis.
The report accused Gooden of refusing to cooperate and concluded there is “substantial reason to believe” he booked overly expensive travel options and charged Congress for some personal or campaign trips.
In a statement, Gooden called the referral “insane” and “bogus.”
“The Ethics Committee will expose this witch hunt,” Gooden said.
He also called on another House committee to launch an investigation into the Office of Congressional Conduct’s ”target selection and record of failed inquiries.”
The release of the report on Monday was mandated by House rules because the ethics committee has repeatedly extended its review. The committee did not announce any other action, and its investigation is ongoing.
In its report, the Office of Congressional Conduct highlighted luxury hotel stays, business and first-class plane tickets, and extended car rentals that Gooden reimbursed in potential violation of House rules requiring travel and accommodations to be “reasonable” and “ordinary and necessary.”
The report identified at least one occasion last year where it said Gooden appeared to reimburse his son’s travel costs and at least two instances where staff booked Gooden’s flights through his wife’s credit card travel portal, which could have allowed her to obtain rewards points.
The Office of Congressional Conduct also noted that travel-related reimbursements by Gooden’s campaign committee were consistently higher than the itemized expenses. The report pointed to several instances in which Gooden paid for trips that it said did not appear to be related to a fundraiser or any other campaign purpose, including a $17,161 trip to a luxury resort in Vail, Colorado, in 2024 and a 2022 trip to New Orleans with his wife.
In a June letter responding to the report, Gooden’s attorney claimed that the congressman “expressed his willingness to provide evidence and explanations regarding any specific allegation,” but that the Office of Congressional Conduct had requested an “unreasonably burdensome” amount of documents and communications.
The letter directly disputed one alleged violation cited by the Office of Congressional Conduct, which accused Gooden of charging the taxpayers for his ride from the airport to a Washington fundraiser in October 2025. Gooden’s attorney said the congressman hosted a staff lunch at the same venue on the same say.
Gooden’s office did not immediately respond Monday when asked if it disputed other findings in the report.
House rules allow lawmakers to expense certain travel-related costs while in Washington on official business. Under a program launched three years ago, members are not required to provide receipts for some spending.
In 2025, Gooden reimbursed himself more than $72,600 for lodging — nearly twice as much as the next-highest member, Rep. Pete Sessions (R-Texas), who reimbursed $38,700, the Post analysis found. This figure includes receipt-free lodging reimbursements while he was staying in Washington, D.C. and expenses tied to other official travel.
Gooden submitted the six costliest individual lodging reimbursements of any House member in 2025, according to the Post analysis. His largest was $7,760 for an approximately 12-day stay in May. Each of the six reimbursements covered a short trip outside Washington and each exceeded $4,000 in hotel costs.
The analysis found Gooden also received more travel-related reimbursements paid directly to himself than any other representative in the two prior years: about $226,300 in 2024 and $233,000 in 2023.
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