Rep. Aaron Schock Resigns Amid Luxury Spending and Mileage Fraud Scandal

Rep. Aaron Schock (R-IL), once considered one of the Republican Party’s rising stars, announced his resignation from Congress effective March 31, 2015, amid mounting allegations of misusing federal funds and campaign finance violations. The 33-year-old congressman, known for his camera-ready appearance and prolific fundraising, faced a congressional ethics investigation into reports that he used taxpayer money to fund lavish trips, events, and office renovations.

The scandal began when Schock’s “Downton Abbey”-inspired office decorations became public, revealing he paid decorator Annie Brahler $35,000 and spent more than $100,000 in taxpayer funds to renovate his Washington and district offices between January 2009 and 2014. More seriously, investigators discovered Schock billed the federal government and his campaign for 170,000 miles on his personal car, but when he sold the vehicle, it only had 80,000 miles on the odometer—meaning he fraudulently claimed reimbursement for 90,000 miles the car never traveled.

Additional revelations showed Schock was one of the top travel spenders in the House, repeatedly using taxpayer and campaign funds to rent private aircraft in apparent violation of House rules and campaign finance law. In his resignation statement, Schock said “constant questions over the last six weeks have proven a great distraction.” In November 2016, Schock was indicted on 24 federal counts including wire fraud, theft of government funds, false statements, and filing false tax returns. In March 2019, federal prosecutors dropped all charges against Schock after he agreed to repay the IRS and his campaign committee, and to pay a fine—sparking criticism about elite impunity and two-tier justice.