U.S. Rep. Kai Kahele, D-Hawaii, has reportedly been voting by proxy since January and this caught the attention of Jake Sherman, the founder of Punchbowl News and former congressional reporter for Politico.
Sherman shared some of his findings in a lengthy Twitter thread that seemed to raise more questions than it answered, reporting that the Democratic lawmaker has been moonlighting as a commercial pilot.
Turns out, Kahele, who was elected in 2020 to replace former U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, is employed by Hawaiian Airlines — outside income for members is limited to around $29,000, according to House ethics rules.
Kahele is licensed to fly the Airbus A330, Boeing 767 and Boeing 757, according to the FAA – all long-haul aircraft.
— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) April 12, 2022
Sherman noted that Kahele’s office stated that the congressman was making less than that while working for the airline, while also pointing out Hawaiian Airlines’ minimum flight requirements that would contradict that.
But in the years we’ve been covering Congress and congressional ethics, we’ve never seen an arrangement quite like this before.
— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) April 12, 2022
And this is where the questions come into play, including whether there are any documents detailing the Ethics Committee’s approval of the arrangement and whether Kahele had voted by proxy while he was actually flying.
→ We asked Kahele’s office if he has been flying for Hawaiian Airlines while voting by proxy. They didn’t answer this either.
— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) April 12, 2022
Kahele’s office told Politico that the lawmaker flies a “drastically reduced schedule to maintain his active status.”
“The congressman is not making $120,000. He is fully in compliance with Ethics,” spokesperson Michael Ahn said. “He is an active member of the airline union, the ALPA Pilots Union, and is a certified commercial pilot and active member of Hawaiian Airlines. He does fly occasional flights to maintain his certification.”
Hawaiian Airlines would only confirm to Politico that Kahele is an active employee.
Sherman further noted that the airline has business before the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, on which Kahele sits.
→ Kahele has, on one occasion, talked about Hawaiian Airlines in a congressional hearing, expressing dismay about furloughs. pic.twitter.com/v1Pp0V9fWY
— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) April 12, 2022
As previously stated, there are more questions than answers at the moment but Sherman vowed to keep pursuing the story.
“Not to mention, employees of Hawaiian get perks. We asked if Kahele takes advantage of these, they didn’t answer,” he tweeted. “We are going to stay on top of this story.”
Not to mention, employees of Hawaiian get perks. We asked if Kahele takes advantage of these. they didn’t answer
We are going to stay on top of this story
— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) April 12, 2022
A social media user noted that Kahele is also an Air National Guard pilot and may possibly have had the option of getting airtime while in service to his nation.
What’s so stupid about this is he’s also an Air National Guard pilot. If he wanted to fly instead of working in DC, no one would fault him if he was voting by proxy because he was busy flying C-17s to Poland. https://t.co/GnedL2B1Hg
— Carlos Mucha (@mucha_carlos) April 12, 2022
Suffice it to say, the unhinged left was not pleased with the spotlight being placed on Kahele’s moonlighting, as seen here:
Ok, Jake, can you focus on the biggest f-info political issue of our time, please??? Namely: sedition, insurrection, and treason. Cut the 💩, and expose the attempted overthrow of the duly-elected government, FFS!!!
— Striped🦄 #MaskUp #StayHome (@StripedUnicorns) April 12, 2022
Here’s a quick sampling of a few other responses to the story from Twitter:
How will this ‘fly’ with his constituents? Sorry, couldn’t resist.
— Inverted Pyramid (@DemByBirth) April 12, 2022
Probably should contact FAA as see how many hours he has flown and if under the min required find out how he is bypassing a FAA requirement. Safety issue if he is only flying commercial aircraft once in a blue moon- ie earning only 20k
— craig lavazza (@CraigLavazza) April 12, 2022
I’m sorry but this is on Pelosi. If she didn’t keep extending that dopey proxy voting, the Congressmen would have to be in DC, not Oahu.
— Bill🌻 (@Tastywaves77) April 12, 2022
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