Rep. Eric Swalwell's bid to use campaign funds for childcare services while traveling abroad has set off a firestorm between federal regulators appointed by Bush and Trump

• Two FEC commissioners are publicly fighting over the treatment of Rep. Eric Swalwell.
• Swalwell asked to use campaign funds to pay for overnight childcare services while working and abroad.

Two commissioners in the Federal Election Commission are beefing after an intense public hearing over California Rep. Eric Swalwell's request to use campaign funds for overnight childcare for when he travels abroad and for campaign events.

On May 26, 2022, counsel for Swalwell petitioned the FEC to see if the 5-term Democratic lawmaker could use campaign funds to pay for overnight childcare as both he and his wife both work full time, he travels often, and the couple have three children still in diapers.

Thursday's public hearing grew intense at its end when Trump-appointed Commissioner Trey Trainor took a moment to disparage Swalwell for his travels.

"To be real honest with you," Trainor said, "I'm actually going to pass judgment on it. I think it's abhorrent that Congressman Swalwell would have such a young child and want to leave them in the care of someone else, for a weeklong trip overseas and using donor contributions to pay for that. I think it's inappropriate we even had to address this question."

Following the hearing, FEC Commissioner Ellen Weintraub, a Democrat appointed by President George W. Bush, took to Twitter to address Trainor's rhetoric and treatment of Swalwell at the hearing. She likened his treatment to the TV show "The Handmaid's Tale."

"I have never seen a requestor treated so disrespectfully by a member of this Commission. This is the United States of America, not the Republic of Gilead," Weintraub tweeted.

Trainor publicly responded, writing that "I've never seen campaign donors treated so disrespectfully! The Republic will persevere even if Swalwell doesn't get all the junkets he'd like."

—Trey Trainor (@TXElectionLaw) July 14, 2022

Swalwell's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The congressman, who ran for president in 2020, came under fire for his international travels in July 2021 when photos emerged of him and fellow Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego of Arizona shirtless on camels, seemingly straying from their official duties. They were in Qatar during a trip that appeared to be funded by the US-Qatar Business Council.

Insider previously reported that Trainor spoke at an "election integrity" event held by the Republican Party in Denton, Texas, in late 2021, where he was billed as a member of the "Trump Elections Team."

The public spat among FEC leaders came after the election regulators were deemed one of the worst small federal government agencies to work for by the nonprofit Partnership for Public Service.