Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid encouraged the federal government to allow taxpayer-funded trips to "resort towns" like Las Vegas. According to Roll Call:
In 2009, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) urged the White House and individual federal agencies to lift government travel bans on "cities known as resort towns" like Las Vegas — the site of a controversial $823,000 General Services Administration conference in 2010. …
Reid also solicited commitments from two dozen federal agencies to not discriminate against any city in choosing sites for their events and posted their letters of support to his Senate website. One of those agencies to write a letter to Reid was the GSA. …
As part of his campaign to encourage government offices to allow travel to Las Vegas, Reid posted a YouTube video touting the Emanuel letter and the White House’s commitment to open bidding for conferences, regardless of the town.