WASHINGTON – Since early last year, Minnesota’s members of the U.S. House and their staffers have taken dozens of free trips to France, Israel, Greece, Mexico and other destinations.
A MinnPost analysis of “gift travel” filings found that both Democrats and Republicans in Minnesota’s congressional delegation have joined colleagues from all other states to take advantage of a congressional perk – trips whose every expense is paid for by special interests.
From Jan. 1, 2025, until the end of May of this year, the eight members of Minnesota’s delegation to the House and their staffers took 74 such trips.
Sometimes lawmakers and staff take free trips in an honest effort to learn more about an issue and meet people who will help them understand those issues. But often the sponsors of those trips have an agenda and providing free travel is a way for lobbyists and other special interests to gain favor with a lawmaker or an influential congressional aide.
Related: As the pandemic ebbs, Minnesota members of Congress and their staff resume ‘gift travel’
The MinnPost analysis found that Rep. Tom Emmer, R-6th District, accepted the most gift travel. That’s likely because many trips were offered to Emmer since he holds a politically powerful position as House majority whip.
Emmer’s office did not return requests for information about the trips he accepted.
But records show Emmer and his staffers took 29 trips during the 15-month period studied. For instance, Emmer and five of his staffers traveled to Israel last August at the expense of the American Israel Education Foundation, a non-profit established by AIPAC, the nation’s leading pro-Israel lobbying group.
Emmer’s trip, alone, was valued at $30,921. The lawmaker took his wife, Jaqueline, along on the trip.
The trips Emmer’s staffers took to Israel cost less. For instance, the cost of the gift trip accepted by Dennis Nalls, who has recently left Emmer’s whip office to become a lobbyist, was $17,447.
Rep. Michelle Fischbach, R-7th District, was accompanied by her husband, Scott, on her trip to Israel. The cost of that trip, $31,542, was also paid for by the American Israel Education Foundation.
Fischbach and Rep. Pete Stauber, R-7th District, were both on a trip to Greece hosted in April of 2025 by the Republican Main Street Partnership. That’s an organization founded to support Republican moderates that has, especially since President Donald Trump won a second term in office, shifted to the right.
The cost of sending Stauber and his wife Jodi to Athens and other points in Greece was $15,014. Fishbach’s trip was valued at about $8,000.
In her post-travel filing, Fischbach said the trip was necessary because she serves on the House Ways and Means Committee and “thus attending to the study of how U.S. funding is continuing to help the country.”
The reason Stauber took the trip was that, as a member of a panel with authority over transportation and infrastructure, he hoped “to study infrastructure preservation” in Greece, he said in a filing.
Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-5th District, also took some free foreign travel last year, to Mexico City. She was accompanied by her husband Tim Mynett. The trip, which involved meetings with Mexican officials, was valued at $1,677.
“It is crucial for progressives in Congress to understand how U.S. policies are impacting people, from immigration policies to the lack of regulation of guns to tariffs,” Omar said in a statement about her trip to Mexico. “What I heard on the ground will be pivotal for me to take back to Minnesota and Washington to be a better legislator for our community.”
Omar’s trip, which included a $66 fee for a translator, was funded by the PanAmerican Exchange, Inc.
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Even a short, one-day domestic trip can be pricey.
Stauber took two staffers with him on a trip to Kenner, La., on March 11 that was paid for by Arena Energy, an oil and gas company.
One of the staffers who accompanied Stauber on the trip was Shawn Rusterholz, a former lobbyist for the American Petroleum Institute. The total cost of the trip for the three travelers was $8,919.
The lawmaker who authorized the fewest free trips was Rep. Kelly Morrison, D-3rd District, who is a freshman Democratic lawmaker in a chamber controlled by the GOP.
Morrison approved a trip to Israel for one of her staffers that was paid for by the J Street Education Fund, a organization that is linked to a pro-Israel group that, unlike AIPAC, is critical of Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
In the past 15 months, staffers of Minnesota’s congressional delegation have accepted free trips to France, Sweden, Ireland, Thailand, Japan, the United Kingdom, Jackson Hole, San Francisco, New Orleans and other points, near and far, paid for by special interests.
Gift travel taken by staffers is often considered a perk for working on Capitol Hill.
Unforeseen loopholes
Gift travel existed in Congress for decades with few guardrails or oversight. But about 25 years ago, scandals that involved pricey outings to Scotland and elsewhere, paid for by notorious lobbyist Jack Abramoff, prodded Congress to implement tough new travel regulations.
But after that scandal, in which Abramoff was charged with bribery, Congress approved legislation that banned trips that are “planned, organized, requested, arranged, or financed in whole or in part by a lobbyist or foreign agent, or in which a lobbyist participates.”
Members of Congress and their staffers were required to seek permission from the House Ethics Committee to accept a free trip, provide an agenda and breakdown of expenses and file post-travel reports. And greater transparency was provided about gift travel.
Privately-funded travel dropped after the new restrictions were put in place. Additional restrictions were implemented in 2021. But there is evidence the popularity of gift travel is on the upswing.
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According to LegiStorm, lawmakers took 2,455 trips, with a total value of $10.4 million, in 2024. But just in the first six months of 2025, lawmakers accepted 1,824 trips with a value of about $9.6 million.
Craig Holman, a lobbyist for the nonprofit consumer advocacy group Public Citizen, said the restrictions on privately funded travel, which he advocated, have some unforeseen loopholes.
The largest one was seized upon by AIPAC, which simply “set up a foundation on paper” to continue to lead all others in providing lawmakers with free trips, Holman said.
Others involve “consultants” and other representatives of special interests who simply don’t file as lobbyists but perform the same function.
“What we find is that many who should register as lobbyists don’t and are not subject to the same public scrutiny,” Holman said.
He also found that while lobbyists are barred from traveling with lawmakers or their staff, they can show up at the trip’s destination.
There is another type of trip taken by lawmakers and their staffers. Those are the congressional delegation trips, or CODELs, that are considered official business and paid for – and approved – by congressional committees and use taxpayer dollars.
“They provide more transparency,” Holman said.
Yet he also said privately-funded travel can help broaden the knowledge of lawmakers and their staff if done properly. “They can be valid trips if they are financed by an entity that wants to educate, not get something back,” he said.
Many Minnesota congressional offices did not respond to requests for comment. But the office of Rep. Betty McCollum, D-4th District, sent a statement.
“Approved travel directly relates to legislative assistants’ policy portfolios, including national security, climate policy, artificial intelligence, and the congresswoman’s leadership as co-chair of the congressional Burma caucus,” the statement said.
It also said “sponsored congressional staff travel undergoes review and approval by the House Ethics Committee.”
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