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An embattled House Democrat in North Carolina’s first congressional district is facing a spending audit for more than $40,000 in furniture and interior design firms to renovate a district office.
In the second quarter of 2023, Davis reported $27,300 in taxpayer-funded “living expenses” and another $13,030 in “office supplies and furniture,” according to congressional disclosure records — second only to the 435-member House of Representatives.
“In my first election to Congress, we immediately began working to establish our congressional office in a new district, starting from scratch with no furniture and limited equipment. After the subsequent redistricting, we expanded our offices to better serve our constituents,” Davis told Fox News Digital. “These costs underscore not only the growing costs we face across the country but also the financial impact of redistricting.”
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Rep. Don Davis, DN.C., speaks at a rally on October 13, 2024. (Cornell Watson of The Washington Post via Getty Images)
Only one member, Rep. Bobby Scott, D-Va., who appeared to have higher housing costs than Davis in 2023.
Taff Office, currently operating as “Little Office” after the merger in 2025, is an interior design firm that designs “spaces that inspire, motivate and engage.”
When asked about the expenses, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) argued that the expenses fell within the appropriate limits of Davis’ duties.
“One of the basic jobs of Congress is to keep the office working for the people in their district. Congressman Davis has some of the best resources in the country. Maybe if the Republicans follow his example they won’t feel the need to divide the state again in an effort to save their burning House majority,” said Madison Andrus, spokesperson for the DCCC.
However, during the 2022 election cycle, the DCCC used housing costs as an attack against Rep. Steve Chabot- R-Ohio, who spent a fraction of the $40,000+ that Davis did. Fox News Digital’s review of the oppo research letter compiled by the DCCC against Chabot, shows that he spent less than $7,000 between 2011 and 2022.
A spokesman for the GOP-run Congressional Leadership Fund (CLF) called Davis’ spending out of step with the challenges facing state residents and framed it as part of a larger spending pattern.
“North Carolina families struggle every day to make ends meet while Congressman Don Davis squanders their hard-earned money on $2,300 Uber and $40,000 office renovations. This is not just a waste of money—it’s a pattern of misusing the taxpayer dollars Davis was entrusted to protect. North Carolinians will have had enough of Donlair’s November 2015 appearance in office, and the November 2015 spokeswoman the CLF, said.
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Rep. Don Davis, DN.C., speaks at a campaign event on Oct. 13, 2024. (David Yeazell/Anonymous)
While not the highest cost of living among lawmakers, Davis’ 2023 record comes amid reports of other high costs paid by taxpayers during his years of public service. By comparison, Congresswoman Valerie Foushee, another North Carolina Democrat who was sworn into office in 2023, appears to have spent less than $3,000 on living expenses that year.
Reporting from Center Square in March revealed that Davis took $4,500 in cash during the 19 days he did not participate in any votes, accepting grants to cover lodging and travel expenses for lawmakers’ trips to the state capital.
Since being elected to Congress, Davis has also received criticism for spending nearly $10,000 on a trip to the southern US border in 2024, racking up nearly $7,000 in airfare.
Members of Congress are required to report expenses paid by the government, such as the cost of holding office.
Among the categories of included items, accommodation expenses include “minor, small expenses for decorating the offices.”
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Rep. Don Davis, DN.C., pictured in 2024 (Getty Images)
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“This category includes furniture items such as chairs, tables, etc., that cost less than $500. Furniture that costs more than $500 and less than $25,000 should appear under the expense category or budget item code for furniture and furnishings under $25,000,” the House website reads.
The spending on living expenses has varied widely depending on the needs of lawmakers, but it has also landed some lawmakers in hot water for extravagant spending.
Former Rep. Aaron Schock, R-Ill., drew criticism in 2015 for spending and then returning $40,000 in taxpayer funds to renovate the district office in the style of Downtown Abby, according to the Associated Press.
Davis will face Laurie Buckhout, a “retired Army colonel and decorated military commander” in the November general election.
