One thing hasn’t changed for White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt: her defunct congressional campaign committee remains deep in debt.
Karoline for Congress owes more than $326,000 to a host of creditors as of March 31, according to a financial disclosure document the committee filed April 11 with the Federal Election Commission.
During the first three months of 2026, the committee didn’t raise a penny toward retiring its debts and had no cash on hand, according to the disclosure.
Most of Karoline for Congress’ debt stems from its failure to refund dozens of donors who made illegally excessive campaign contributions to her 2022 campaign to represent New Hampshire’s 1st Congressional District. Rep. Chris Pappas, a Democrat, defeated Leavitt in a general election that year.
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Federal campaign finance law requires campaigns to reallocate or refund donations that are above the individual contribution limit within 60 days — Karoline for Congress has failed to comply for more than three years.
The committee also owes more than $100,000 in total to several consulting and advertising firms, including Axiom Strategies, AxMedia, Fundraising Inc., Remington Research Group and Olympic Media.
Neither the White House nor Robert Phillips, the Karoline for Congress committee treasurer, immediately responded to NOTUS’ requests for comment.
Under federal law, Karoline for Congress has several options for raising money to retire its debt: It could conduct fundraisers, rent its supporter lists to other campaign committees or data brokers or solicit prospective donors who want to help her balance her old campaign’s books once and for all.
While Leavitt is not personally liable for her committee’s debts, she could personally donate any amount of money to her campaign committee to retire its debts. Leavitt earned an annual federal salary of $195,200 last year.
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