A prominent liberal Democrat in the U.S. Senate is facing backlash from conservative activists online over a potential pay-to-play arrangement involving himself, his wife, and allegedly profitable legislative actions. The Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust (FACT), a right-leaning ethics watchdog, was the first to highlight a connection between Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and an environmental nonprofit controlled by his wife, Sandra Whitehouse.
The nonprofit has received as much as $12.2 million in federal funding over the past several years, much of which was allocated through legislation approved by the Senate. FACT provided evidence of the arrangement to Sen. James Lankford (R-OK), the chair of the Senate Select Committee on Ethics, with a request “to determine whether he violated the Senate ethics rules on conflicts of interest.”
