News

Meadows writes check to cover aide's improper mileage payment

Kenny West, then chief of staff for U.S. Rep. Mark Meadows, speaks at the Henderson County Republican Convention in March 2015.

By Bill Moss, Published: September 3, 2015

U.S. Rep. Mark Meadows wrote a personal check for $400 to reimburse the government for what he said were improper mileage reimbursements payments to his former chief of staff, the news site Politico reported.

Meadows, the second term 11th District representative who gained attention on Capitol Hill this summer for his procedural move to oust House Speaker John Boehner, acknowledged the improper payments to Kenny West, one of eight candidates who ran for the Republican nomination for the Western North Carolina seat in the spring of 2012. West, an insurance agent from Clay County, finished sixth, with 4.2 percent of the vote.
Meadows hired West as his first chief of staff in early 2013. The two parted ways last May. In an interview with the Hendersonville Lightning in June, Meadows attributed West’s departure to the aide’s desire to spend more time at home in Clay County. West told Politico that he resigned because he loved his wife “more than I loved Washington.”
Alyssa Farah, a spokeswoman for Meadows, told Politico that West “received vacation and severance pay until August 15.”
Three payments after Aug. 21, she said, “should not have been reimbursed" through the Members Representational Allowance, which pays 57 cents a mile when representatives or their aides drive their personal vehicles on official business.
“To rectify the situation, Congressman Meadows has cut a $400.96 check from his personal funds to the Department of Treasury,” Farah told Politico. “He has also alerted the Committee on House Administration of the error. Ensuring that he is a good steward of taxpayer dollars is of the utmost importance to Congressman Meadows.”

Reached by phone, West said he was unaware of any improper mileage payments.

"You’re about the third one that’s called and I’m not aware of anything," he said. "I’m not going to say anything because I wasn’t aware.”