Conservative group files ethics complaint over Ocasio-Cortez appearance at Met Gala

A conservative group filed an ethics complaint against Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) after she attended New York’s Met Gala on Monday.

The American Accountability Foundation argued in its complaint that she had accepted a lavish gift of admission to the event “without having a permissible exemption.” The conservative watchdog claimed that if she purchased a ticket to the event using campaign funds, she also broke Federal Election Commission rules.  

Ocasio-Cortez’s office said in a statement to the Hill, “we’re confident we’ve complied with all Ethics rules.”

The New York representative made headlines after she arrived at the event wearing a white dress with the words “Tax the Rich” written across the back of it.

“When we talk about supporting working families and when we talk about having a fair tax code, oftentimes this conversation is happening among working and middle class people (on) the senate floor,” Ocasio-Cortez said at the event while explaining her attire, according to CNN. “I think it’s time we bring all classes into the conversation.”

The progressive immediately received pushback from people who pointed out that the lawmaker known for championing the working class was attending an event that costs $35,000 a person, according to The New York Times. Tables go for between $200,000 and $300,000. 

Ocasio-Cortez defended her attendance in social media posts on Tuesday.

“BEFORE anybody starts wilding out – NYC elected officials are regularly invited to and attend the Met due to our responsibilities in overseeing our city’s cultural institutions that serve the public. I was one of several in attendance,” she said in her post. 

Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D) also attended the event.

The Hill has reached out to the Office of Congressional Ethics and Ocasio-Cortez’s office for comment.