The leadership PAC of Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D., Fla.) has paid out nearly $100,000 more in salaries than it has given to Democratic candidates during the 2016 election cycle, a review of Federal Election Commission records shows.
The Democrats Win Seats PAC, or DWS PAC, has a stated mission of directing "resources to help elect Democrats around the country." However, records show the PAC has spent more on staff than helping campaigns.
Between Jan. 1, 2015 and April 30, 2016, the PAC paid $153,453 to Lindsey Schulte, the committee’s highest-paid employee, according to a review of the DWS PAC’s finances.
Jason O’Malley, the second highest-paid employee at the PAC, collected $69,112 in salary and an additional $20,000 for "fundraising consulting fees."
Meredith Swan made $37,463 and Anna Stolitzka made $3,164 since January 2015, bringing the PAC’s payroll to $283,282.
The DWS PAC contributed just $186,000 to the committees of Democratic politicians, with the largest donation of $15,000 going to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. The PAC disbursed $97,282 less to candidates than it paid to the people running the committee.
The four individuals collecting paychecks from Wasserman Schultz’s leadership PAC were simultaneously being paid by her official campaign.
Schulte, the highest paid from the PAC, has received $29,499 from the campaign since January 2015. All told, Schulte received $183,042 from both the PAC and the campaign this election cycle.
O’Malley received $76,666 in compensation for consulting work from Schultz’s congressional campaign, bringing his grand total to $165,778 from both entities.
Meredith Swan earned $9,893 from the Schultz campaign ($47,356 total) while Anna Stolitzka added $2,260 from the campaign ($5,424 total). Together, the four have pocketed $491,152 from the leadership PAC and the Wasserman Schultz campaign.
The DWS PAC also has a penchant for luxury accommodations and high-class restaurants.
The PAC dropped over $14,000 for an event at the Diplomat Resort & Spa in Hollywood, Florida in January of last year. A few months later, the group spent over $6,000 for accommodations at Hotel Monteleone in New Orleans, a four-star luxury hotel located in the French Quarter. In May 2015, the group spent almost $8,000 at the Westin Key West Resort & Marina.
Wasserman Schultz’s office did not return a request for comment on the salaries of the employees eclipsing that of the donations that have gone to Democratic Party members.