Kentucky auditor flags $360K congressional, $7K German limo on Beshear spending – as Dem governor eyes 2028
NEWNow you can listen to Fox News articles!
Kentucky Republican Auditor Allison Ball spoke to Fox News Digital this week about a report that raised concerns about excessive spending on the state’s executive branch led by Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear, who is believed to have presidential ambitions.
Ball released a report earlier this month detailing the spending by the executive branch for fiscal year 2025 that went into the federal budget and flagging problems he believes show an overspending of tax dollars that “needs to stop.”
“About expenses” listed include $183,575.87 in out-of-state travel expenses – including $7,632.07 for a limousine in Germany – a $17,012.73 dinner at a Kentucky distillery, and $360,000 for 75 people to attend the two-day conference.
“We’ve seen some outrageous, really troubling and questionable costs,” Ball told Fox News Digital. “For example, one of the things we saw was that the governor and the tourism cabinet spent about $338,000 on a nonprofit called First Saturday in May. So for people who are not from Kentucky, the first Saturday in May is [Kentucky] The Derby is happening. So that money actually went to events for VIPs to come in to celebrate and watch the Derby.”
DEE GOVERNOR IN DEEP RED STATE WANTS ICE OUT, RESURRECTING CONFLICT OVER OPERATING AUTHORITIES
Gov. Andy Beshear responded to the state auditor’s report on potentially problematic spending as “political.” (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley, File)
Ball says all the data used is entered by the executive branch into the Commonwealth’s eMARS system, and while he understands that elected officials need to spend more on security than ordinary citizens, he has allocated much of the money to what he labels “luxuries.”
“I think the governor needs security. We want people to be safe, we don’t want anything to happen to our elected officials,” Ball explained. “But this is a time when you look at, OK, are you spending too much money? And I think $7,000 for limo services in Germany, $5,000 for airport transfers in Switzerland, hotels like Beverly Hills, Aspen. We even got hundreds of dollars in spending from something called the Caribou Club, which is a private club in Aspen, so these expenses are a luxury when you consider where they are and what they’re paying.”
KENTUCKY GOVERNOR TAKES BIBLE BURNS TO PROTECT TRANSGENDER CHILDREN’S RIGHTS
Exterior photo of the Kentucky State Capitol in Frankfort, Kentucky. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley, File)
Fox News Digital reached out to Beshear’s office for comment but did not receive a response.
“They never asked us questions, and you have to if it’s an auditor’s report,” Beshear said recently. he told local media. “What they did was to take lines, and they didn’t ask questions, because if they got answers, they wouldn’t be able to attack politics.”
Ball said it’s “not surprising” when elected officials retract reports like his, “But my job is about transparency.”
Ball’s report noted $39 million in spending on executive branch promotional materials for various departments, more than $7 million in foreign travel, more than $23 million in in-state travel, and more than $16 million in training, conferences, meals, and trade shows.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS PROGRAM
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear attends the Clinton Global Initiative 2024 Annual Meeting at the New York Hilton Midtown on September 24, 2024, in New York City. (John Nacion/Getty Images)
“It is the budget year, and this is when the National Assembly decides what money they will spend with all the departments of the country’s government, that’s why they are asking us, this is at the beginning of the process, and they want to know, okay, what does the executive branch spend its money on?” It explains Football. “And they ask us specifically about travel, they ask about conferences, they ask us about food and drink, because those are the things that tend to come out quickly if you’re not paying attention. So we’re here to provide information.”
Beshear told CNN last summer that he was weighing a 2028 presidential bid as many predicted he would be a strong candidate given his popularity as a Democrat in red Kentucky.
In an interview with CNN on Thursday, The Hill reported that Beshear said he is still making a decision but won’t make a final decision until his term as governor ends in late 2017.
“We have to do more than just hit [President] Trump,” Beshear said. “We have to end this division. We must restore the American dream. We must restore hope to the American people for a brighter future. “
