$2,933 for ‘Girl’s Night’: Medicaid chief’s consulting expenses revealed

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A sweeping congressional investigation found that Medicaid chief Seema Verma spent more than $3.5 million taxpayer dollars on a range of GOP-connected consultants

The report draws on roughly 10,000 pages of documents obtained by congressional staff from the Trump administration's health department, including some of Verma's emails. The Democrats on the House Energy and Commerce, House Oversight, Senate Finance and Senate HELP committees also reviewed extensive billing records and other documents provided by consultants to CMS.

That firm, Nahigian Strategies, billed for nearly $3 million in taxpayer funds from CMS for aiding Verma, the Democrats found. The contracts were halted in April 2019, after POLITICO's investigation. One of the consultants featured in the report pushed back on its findings. Barlow questioned the Democrats' intentions in conducting the investigation, telling POLITICO that the committees never sought to interview him.

The Medicaid chief initially turned to consultants like O'Donnell and Barlow as she was settling into her role in early 2017, seeking communications advice and having been blocked by the White House from hiring Barlow as an agency staffer.

 

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Shame on Seema Verma! Hold her accountable to repay the taxpayers

Seems like Vermin

LockHerUp

Fire up the wood chipper and toss her in it

Wow she needs to be prosecuted

Pragmatic solution to corruption - pay your civil servants better, on par with private sector. Disincentivize the revolving door.

How many ppl that money could have helped. Asshole.

These people are robbing the country blind...

Brimshack But Medicaid cant afford to pay for cough syrup for a child with bronchitis. No wonder. Disgusting.

She's the one who billed taxpayers for her jewelry

Another pardon; they're all going to walk. 😡

Trump could care less he loves grifters just like him it's all about branding an image. Vote blue 2020

A corrupt administration!

KejNah this is old news really..

Brimshack I know it's a high bar to hit, but she is one of the most reprehensible people in the entire disgusting administration. She truly seems to get pleasure from inflected pain and suffering.

JonLemire The republican party is no longer part of our Democracy.. They have now become this corrupt third world banana republican party who has vowed total allegiance to their dictator wannabe.They are stealing our country blind, destroying our economy & responsible for killing Americans

Lock her up.

It’s as though the tax dollars I wrote a July check for don’t mean anything other than filling their own bank accounts .

Lawt64 The corruption never ends

Isnt she that one who tried to get reimbursed for 'stolen jewelry'? Trump hires the BEST CORRUPT.

Disgraceful! She needs to pay back every dime of taxpayers money.

JonLemire The strategy is working 'keep the country mired in chaos so that the sheer magnitude of swampiness and corruption don't ever break thru.'

MedicaidGov is this a standard acceptable practice? Any comments on this matter?

JonLemire Is not one of these appointees decent? Seems they are all dirty.

She should change her last name to Vermin.

In an Administration of grifters and con artists, she has stood out for her unprincipled use of taxpayer money to boost her own profile. Corruption, they name is Seema.

diainthesprings This...while people are struggling & a worthless SenateGOP continues to stall, pretending they're actually working for wtf theyr'e paid. Why is it when govt officials are caught using and abusing our taxes do they rarely have to pay it back?

This should be headline news right below 'He lied and 200000 died'.

There needs to be better constraint to stop this type of waste from getting out of control

GOP must go! TrumpKnewVoteBlue

If you know anything about Verma, or the majority of the Trump political appointees in general, you are not surprised by this information. Just another part of the corrupt swamp Trump has created, getting rich and living large from money taken from our paychecks.

If you are interested in profit, you go into business, not government. Public service is clearly not your thing.

Why is the taxpayer paying to build her brand? RepKClark AyannaPressley

More CORRUPTUON in TRUMP administration. You can't look anywhere without finding more! DISGRACEFUL!

Everyone absolutely everyone in this administration is corrupt! Oversight! Can only think she was paying Republican consultants to figure out how to dismantle Medicaid. Deplorable

The GOP is a criminal organization.

JackTzu1 The grifting never ends...

No wonder now they want to gut Medicade! They are just spending money left and right, like it’s a piggy bank! 🤦‍♀️🤬

Democrats spent 40 million on a fake Russian investigation so I’m fine with 3 million.

Drain the swamp. Sure.

The depths of deceit from this administration is mind boggling.

Seems as if the members of this administration were initiated through the game, FOLLOW THE LEADER.

The corruption knows no bounds.

The Obama administration gave away hundreds of millions to Democratic organizations and the press never noticed.....

All of these people out of work struggling & this corrupt administration & these corrupt GOP continue to steal from our country than do hardly anything to assist Americans during this pandemic in fact killing US,ruining the economy & making things worse

grammy_linen GOP thy name is corruption.

docrocktex26 Another swamp critter.

Maybe you guys just didn’t report it. But I don’t remember anything like this happening with the former administration.

Jake_Bernstein There is only 1 way out: vote massively BidenHarrisToSaveAmerica and BidenHarrisToEndThisNightmare especially in swing States...

herculez65 Keep revealing. Let's see where our tax dollars go. And for the record: I don't mind paying taxes as they are necessary for a civilized, functioning society. I do, however, have a problem with wasting my damn money. That goes for corporate socialism bailouts and girls night.🤦🏻‍♀️

TrumpLiedPeopleDied

THAMMBNAS or the Hatch Act makes me be neutral and silent.

IMPEACH THE GOP. REPUBLICANS KNEW TrumpKnew PenceKnew RepublicansKnew

That’s all they do. How about some goddamn help out here. Dems must be kicked out of the majority

Trump has a unique ability to find the most disgraceful and corrupt people possible

How's that drain the swamp thing workin' out for ya, MAGAts? DrainTheSwamp my ass. Your asses too. WakeUpAmerica

Drain the swamp, he said!!

I support the minority woman!

The entire administration is robbing the American taxpayer & half the country seems to be just fine with it, as long as the administration continues to hurt minorities, immigrants, women, the elderly, the disabled, and anyone who cares about the planet. Wtf. Wtf.

Banana Republic.

ThatShockratees Put her in Jail. Another grifter.

Trump's cult of criminals continues to feed themselves with the People's money. The nation is past tired of this man and his lies, his negligence, his crimes, his face make-up, his bad posture, his combover and his wife & kids. NOVEMBER 3rd can't get he soon enough!!!

Her punishment should be generating the equivalent number of wRVUs and billing them in EPICEMRparody

DEFEAT TRAITOR REPUBLICONS AND RE-IMPEACH CROOKED tRUMP & CRONIES. DEFEAT CORRUPT REPUBLICONS. THROW OUT THE ENTIRE REPUBLICON SWAMP. CROOKED REPUBLICONS KNEW ABOUT THE CORONA FOR YEARS, AND DID NOTHING. THEN CUT THE CDC, VACINNIES, W.H.O., SOCIAL SECURITY . FIX CLIMATE CHANGE

Swamp 101

Time for her to go, her federal piggy bank should be closed

This is CORRUPTION. Book her. Hook her.

Plus the senate.

Den of thieves.

All grifters!

Take the money and run!

The Corruption Never Ends in This Administration!!!

Terrible...

'but her emails' 🤬

Grifters Opportunists Pandemidiots, Trump’s criminals.

Wow did you forget about all the Dem. EPA people Obama put in place.

No schit Sherlock! I'm surprised that the GOP is corrupt...

No surprise. This is the most corrupt administration ever.

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