{"id":2174414,"date":"2026-10-01T15:43:05","date_gmt":"2026-10-01T12:43:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2174414"},"modified":"2026-10-01T15:43:05","modified_gmt":"2026-10-01T12:43:05","slug":"congressional-staff-planned-expensive-european-trip-on-taxpayers-dime-before-midterms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2174414","title":{"rendered":"Congressional Staff Planned Expensive European Trip on Taxpayer&#8217;s Dime Before Midterms"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>[analyse_image type=&#8221;featured&#8221; src=&#8221;https:\/\/imagez.tmz.com\/image\/f5\/16by9\/2026\/10\/01\/f5dc68c880fc42baba5efc25bc697ddf_xl.jpg&#8221;]<\/p>\n<article class=\"article article--permalink \">\n<header class=\"article__header\">\n<h1 class=\"article__header--headline-title\">Congressional Staff Planned Expensive European Trip on Taxpayer&#8217;s Dime Before Midterms<\/h1>\n<h2 class=\"article__header--headline-fragments\"><span class=\"article__header--hf1 text-uppercase h3\">House Speaker Mike Johnson<\/span><span class=\"article__header--hf2 text-uppercase h1\">Scraps Staff&#8217;s Pricey Trip To Italy And France<\/span><\/h2>\n<div class=\"social-media-container\" role=\"region\">\n<ul class=\"social social--sm\">\n<li class=\"social-item\">\n<li class=\"social-item\">\n<li class=\"social-item\"><\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=tmz.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" class=\"google-preferred-btn js-track-link\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"google-preferred-btn__icon\" src=\"https:\/\/static.tmz.com\/tmz-web\/img\/article\/google-icon.svg\" alt=\"Google\" loading=\"lazy\"><span class=\"google-preferred-btn__title\">Add TMZ on Google<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"byline\">By <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tmz.com\/pages\/about\/\">TMZ Staff<\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"date-wrapper\">\n                                                                        Published <time class=\"published-datetime\" datetime=\"2026-10-01T08:43:05-07:00\"><br \/>\n                              October 1, 2026<br \/>\n                            8:43 AM PDT<\/time><\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"article__blocks clearfix\">\n<section id=\"cb-47ac4160f72d3555d0d77372f4f66863\" class=\"canvas-block canvas-block-permalink canvas-image-block canvas-image-block-permalink canvas-image-block--default  canvas-block-is-first \">\n<div class=\"image-block\"><a class=\"js-click-image js-track-link image-lightbox-preview\" data-node-ref=\"tmz:image-asset:image_jpg_20261001_f5dc68c880fc42baba5efc25bc697ddf\" data-container-ref=\"tmz:article:b6c23eef-6ecc-45e5-9207-6a54bd751ffe\" data-context=\"{&quot;section&quot;:&quot;permalink&quot;,&quot;name&quot;:&quot;image&quot;}\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"img-wrapper\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"eager\" src=\"https:\/\/imagez.tmz.com\/image\/f5\/4by3\/2026\/10\/01\/f5dc68c880fc42baba5efc25bc697ddf_md.jpg\" alt=\"mike-johnson-getty-1\" width=\"728\" height=\"546\" class=\"img-fluid image-block__img-fluid img-aspect-auto\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"image-block__card-footer\"><span class=\"media-credit image-block__media-credit\">Getty<\/span><\/div>\n<p><\/a><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<section id=\"cb-e8efba8369b1fd75770ee6f1ea203bf9\" class=\"canvas-block canvas-block-permalink canvas-text-block canvas-text-block-permalink canvas-text-block--default  \" data-context=\"{&quot;section&quot;:&quot;permalink&quot;,&quot;name&quot;:&quot;text_block&quot;}\">\n<p>Working for House Speaker <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tmz.com\/people\/mike-johnson\/\" rel=\"noreferrer\"><strong>Mike Johnson<\/strong><\/a> has its perks &#8230; you can plan a wonderful trip to Italy and France on the taxpayers&#8217; dime, and even try to visit a Ferrari factory &#8230; but getting there is the problem.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section id=\"cb-44f8792425c68ab9ab43be46fd3c9958\" class=\"canvas-block canvas-block-permalink canvas-text-block canvas-text-block-permalink canvas-text-block--default  \" data-context=\"{&quot;section&quot;:&quot;permalink&quot;,&quot;name&quot;:&quot;text_block&quot;}\">\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/politics\/congress\/congressional-staff-planned-official-trip-luxury-stops-italy-france-we-rcna600690\" rel=\"noreferrer\"><strong>NBC News <\/strong><\/a>obtained a draft itinerary for Johnson&#8217;s top aide, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tmz.com\/people\/curt-beaulieu\/\" rel=\"noreferrer\"><strong>Curt Beaulieu<\/strong><\/a>, and other staffers from both sides of the aisle, in which they mapped out their whole European journey they had planned for mid-October&#8230; just weeks before the midterm elections.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section id=\"cb-0c4727c76ad852c17a263599a34606d4\" class=\"canvas-block canvas-block-permalink canvas-image-block canvas-image-block-permalink canvas-image-block--default  \">\n<div class=\"image-block\"><a class=\"js-click-image js-track-link image-lightbox-preview\" data-node-ref=\"tmz:image-asset:image_jpg_20260430_6a6ca0b03ce84757970ecf0fbd3da9a7\" data-container-ref=\"tmz:article:b6c23eef-6ecc-45e5-9207-6a54bd751ffe\" data-context=\"{&quot;section&quot;:&quot;permalink&quot;,&quot;name&quot;:&quot;image&quot;}\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"img-wrapper\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/imagez.tmz.com\/image\/6a\/4by3\/2026\/04\/30\/6a6ca0b03ce84757970ecf0fbd3da9a7_md.jpg\" alt=\"sub-Mike Johnson getty\" width=\"728\" height=\"546\" class=\"img-fluid image-block__img-fluid img-aspect-auto\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"image-block__card-footer\"><span class=\"media-credit image-block__media-credit\">Getty<\/span><\/div>\n<p><\/a><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<section id=\"cb-0b8fbda5819296488d8da5d8af0be3be\" class=\"canvas-block canvas-block-permalink canvas-text-block canvas-text-block-permalink canvas-text-block--default  \" data-context=\"{&quot;section&quot;:&quot;permalink&quot;,&quot;name&quot;:&quot;text_block&quot;}\">\n<p>The report says the bipartisan staff was not only planning to visit the Ferrari factory near Bologna, Italy, but they were also going to make pit stops at high-end brand stores in either Milan or Florence before heading to France&#8217;s Champagne region.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section id=\"cb-9a50511a8743794fa301144c59b73204\" class=\"canvas-block canvas-block-permalink canvas-text-block canvas-text-block-permalink canvas-text-block--default  \" data-context=\"{&quot;section&quot;:&quot;permalink&quot;,&quot;name&quot;:&quot;text_block&quot;}\">\n<p>Led by Beaulieu, Johnson&#8217;s senior policy and tax adviser, the contingent was also reportedly planning to visit the 173rd Airborne Mobile Brigade Combat Team in or around Vicenza, Italy.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section id=\"cb-4a5b3867716d2094ca0a5694fc8a62b4\" class=\"canvas-block canvas-block-permalink canvas-text-block canvas-text-block-permalink canvas-text-block--default  \" data-context=\"{&quot;section&quot;:&quot;permalink&quot;,&quot;name&quot;:&quot;text_block&quot;}\">\n<p>Also on their itinerary, NBC says, was an excursion to Parma, where the group would check out the headquarters of Barilla, the Italian food company.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section id=\"cb-0b4b200efed603f19b61878103d9236f\" class=\"canvas-block canvas-block-permalink canvas-image-block canvas-image-block-permalink canvas-image-block--default  \">\n<div class=\"image-block\"><a class=\"js-click-image js-track-link image-lightbox-preview\" data-node-ref=\"tmz:image-asset:image_jpg_20250906_461132199a544604a61ae2c8b0874daa\" data-container-ref=\"tmz:article:b6c23eef-6ecc-45e5-9207-6a54bd751ffe\" data-context=\"{&quot;section&quot;:&quot;permalink&quot;,&quot;name&quot;:&quot;image&quot;}\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"img-wrapper\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/imagez.tmz.com\/image\/46\/4by3\/2025\/09\/06\/461132199a544604a61ae2c8b0874daa_md.jpg\" alt=\"mike johnson donald trump sub getty swipe 1\" width=\"728\" height=\"546\" class=\"img-fluid image-block__img-fluid img-aspect-auto\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"image-block__card-footer\"><span class=\"media-credit image-block__media-credit\">Getty<\/span><\/div>\n<p><\/a><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<section id=\"cb-4d15e346bb2b2dce732e966b35f07037\" class=\"canvas-block canvas-block-permalink canvas-text-block canvas-text-block-permalink canvas-text-block--default  \" data-context=\"{&quot;section&quot;:&quot;permalink&quot;,&quot;name&quot;:&quot;text_block&quot;}\">\n<p>According to the itinerary &#8230; the point of the 7-day trip was for Congressional staffers to interact with their European counterparts to discuss the impact of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tmz.com\/people\/donald-trump\/\" rel=\"noreferrer\"><strong>President Trump<\/strong><\/a>&#8216;s tariffs.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section id=\"cb-16d8b66b5b774620346561bf1700ab74\" class=\"canvas-block canvas-block-permalink canvas-text-block canvas-text-block-permalink canvas-text-block--default  \" data-context=\"{&quot;section&quot;:&quot;permalink&quot;,&quot;name&quot;:&quot;text_block&quot;}\">\n<p>But their planned trip ultimately got canceled after NBC said they reached out to Johnson&#8217;s office for comment on Wednesday.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section id=\"cb-0d43c44de070a0e8d3c417f089ba9292\" class=\"canvas-block canvas-block-permalink canvas-text-block canvas-text-block-permalink canvas-text-block--default  \" data-context=\"{&quot;section&quot;:&quot;permalink&quot;,&quot;name&quot;:&quot;text_block&quot;}\">\n<p>As you may know, Johnson fully supports Trump&#8217;s sweeping global tariff policy taxing goods being imported into the U.S. from Europe and other countries. This should come as no surprise. The two Republicans see eye to eye on almost every issue.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section id=\"cb-0a5aabb8194b4ad7b79f6dcd2d03f034\" class=\"canvas-block canvas-block-permalink canvas-text-block canvas-text-block-permalink canvas-text-block--default  canvas-block-is-last \" data-context=\"{&quot;section&quot;:&quot;permalink&quot;,&quot;name&quot;:&quot;text_block&quot;}\">\n<p>But jetting off to Europe before a big election is a bad look &#8230; and it seems Johnson agrees.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col-12\">\n<ul class=\"social social--permalink\">\n<li class=\"social__item social__item--3items\"><a class=\"btn social__btn social__btn--facebook js-track-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tmz.com\/2026\/10\/01\/mike-johnson-congressional-staff-planned-european-trip-before-midterms\/\" data-node-ref=\"tmz:article:b6c23eef-6ecc-45e5-9207-6a54bd751ffe\" data-context=\"{&quot;section&quot;:&quot;main&quot;,&quot;name&quot;:&quot;facebook-footer&quot;,&quot;pos&quot;:1}\"><br \/>\n                Share<span class=\"social__hide-sm\"> on Facebook<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"social__item social__item--3items\"><a class=\"btn social__btn social__btn--x js-track-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tmz.com\/2026\/10\/01\/mike-johnson-congressional-staff-planned-european-trip-before-midterms\/\" data-node-ref=\"tmz:article:b6c23eef-6ecc-45e5-9207-6a54bd751ffe\" data-context=\"{&quot;section&quot;:&quot;main&quot;,&quot;name&quot;:&quot;twitter-footer&quot;,&quot;pos&quot;:2}\"><br \/>\n                Share<span class=\"social__hide-sm\"> on X<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"social__item social__item--3items\"><\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<section class=\"related-articles\">\n<header class=\"card-section-header related-articles__card-section-header\">\n<h3 class=\"card-section-title related-articles__card-section-title\">\n              Related articles<br \/>\n            <\/h3>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"row related-articles__row\">\n<div class=\"col related-articles__col\">\n<article class=\"related-articles__card\"><a class=\"related-articles__card-link js-track-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tmz.com\/2026\/09\/13\/mike-johnson-wants-artificial-intelligence-safety-laws\/\" data-node-ref=\"tmz:article:b6c23eef-6ecc-45e5-9207-6a54bd751ffe\" data-context=\"{&quot;section&quot;:&quot;main&quot;,&quot;name&quot;:&quot;related-article&quot;,&quot;pos&quot;:1}\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"related-articles__card-img ratio\">\n<div class=\"ratio-item\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/imagez.tmz.com\/image\/12\/16by9\/2026\/09\/13\/12b87503b91b4434bfe90b5ca3195129_xs.png\" alt=\"091326 mike johnson primary&apos;\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" class=\"img-fluid\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"related-articles__card-body\">\n<h4 class=\"related-articles__card-title\">\n                        Speaker Mike Johnson Calls for A.I. 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John James Enjoys Caribbean Vacation During Government Shutdown<br \/>\n                      <\/h4>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a><\/article>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<section class=\"tag-cloud\">\n<ul class=\"tag-cloud__list-group\"><a class=\"tag-cloud__list-group-item js-track-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tmz.com\/people\/mike-johnson\/\" data-context=\"{&quot;section&quot;:&quot;main&quot;,&quot;name&quot;:&quot;tag-cloud&quot;,&quot;pos&quot;:1}\"><br \/>\n                Mike Johnson<br \/>\n              <\/a><a class=\"tag-cloud__list-group-item js-track-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tmz.com\/people\/curt-beaulieu\/\" data-context=\"{&quot;section&quot;:&quot;main&quot;,&quot;name&quot;:&quot;tag-cloud&quot;,&quot;pos&quot;:2}\"><br \/>\n                Curt Beaulieu<br \/>\n              <\/a><a class=\"tag-cloud__list-group-item js-track-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tmz.com\/people\/donald-trump\/\" data-context=\"{&quot;section&quot;:&quot;main&quot;,&quot;name&quot;:&quot;tag-cloud&quot;,&quot;pos&quot;:3}\"><br \/>\n                Donald Trump<br \/>\n              <\/a><a class=\"tag-cloud__list-group-item js-track-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tmz.com\/categories\/president-trump\/\" data-context=\"{&quot;section&quot;:&quot;main&quot;,&quot;name&quot;:&quot;tag-cloud&quot;,&quot;pos&quot;:4}\"><br \/>\n                President Trump<br \/>\n              <\/a><a class=\"tag-cloud__list-group-item js-track-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tmz.com\/categories\/travel\/\" data-context=\"{&quot;section&quot;:&quot;main&quot;,&quot;name&quot;:&quot;tag-cloud&quot;,&quot;pos&quot;:5}\"><br \/>\n                Travel<br \/>\n              <\/a><a class=\"tag-cloud__list-group-item js-track-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tmz.com\/categories\/nbc\/\" data-context=\"{&quot;section&quot;:&quot;main&quot;,&quot;name&quot;:&quot;tag-cloud&quot;,&quot;pos&quot;:6}\"><br \/>\n                NBC<br \/>\n              <\/a><a class=\"tag-cloud__list-group-item js-track-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tmz.com\/categories\/politix\/\" data-context=\"{&quot;section&quot;:&quot;main&quot;,&quot;name&quot;:&quot;tag-cloud&quot;,&quot;pos&quot;:7}\"><br \/>\n                Politics<br \/>\n              <\/a><a class=\"tag-cloud__list-group-item js-track-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tmz.com\/categories\/news\/\" data-context=\"{&quot;section&quot;:&quot;main&quot;,&quot;name&quot;:&quot;tag-cloud&quot;,&quot;pos&quot;:8}\"><br \/>\n                News<br \/>\n              <\/a><\/ul>\n<\/section>\n<\/article>\n<p>[analyse_source url=&#8221;https:\/\/www.tmz.com\/2026\/10\/01\/mike-johnson-congressional-staff-planned-european-trip-before-midterms\/&#8221;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[analyse_image type=&#8221;featured&#8221; src=&#8221;https:\/\/imagez.tmz.com\/image\/f5\/16by9\/2026\/10\/01\/f5dc68c880fc42baba5efc25bc697ddf_xl.jpg&#8221;] Congressional Staff Planned Expensive European Trip on Taxpayer&#8217;s Dime Before Midterms House Speaker Mike JohnsonScraps Staff&#8217;s Pricey Trip To Italy And France Add TMZ on Google By TMZ Staff Published October 1, 2026 8:43 AM PDT Getty Working for House Speaker Mike Johnson has its perks &#8230; you can plan a wonderful [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[226,77],"class_list":["post-2174414","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-crawlmanager","tag-tmz-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2174414","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2174414"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2174414\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2174414"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2174414"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2174414"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}