Shapiro charged taxpayers for luxury hotels, critics question spending
Regional News
Audio By Carbonatix
9:00 AM on Monday, February 16
Mark Stricherz
(The Center Square) – Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat and a likely 2028 presidential candidate, spent nearly $1,700 of taxpayer dollars for three nights at high-end, luxury hotels, according to records The Center Square obtained under state open records laws.
Shapiro spoke at an annual parade in downtown Pittsburgh on Labor Day two years ago and attended the funeral of former President Jimmy Carter at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. last January.
Neither hotel is the most expensive in its city, and each per-night stay would have been less on an ordinary occasion.
But one Republican lawmaker, a frequent critic, said Shapiro’s travels highlight his lack of regard for state taxpayers and their money.
“From luxury hotel stays, to extensive travel on state aircraft, and a VIP tent at the US Open in Oakmont, Governor Shapiro certainly appears to be trying to live the lifestyle of the rich and famous at taxpayer expense,” State Senator Jarrett Coleman, a Republican, said in a statement to The Center Square.
A spokesperson for Shapiro did not immediately return an email for comment but called after the story was posted.
Rosie Lapowsky, Gov. Shapiro's spokeswoman, told The Center Square that Shapiro was on official business.
"Neither of those events was political," Lapowsky said.
On Sept. 3 and 4, 2023, Shapiro spent $1,154 for a room and meals at the Kimpton Hotel Monaco in Pittsburgh, a hotel that the American Automobile Association recognized as worth four diamonds. Fewer than 5% of all AAA-approved hotels in North America receive the rating—1,750 in all —for featuring “upscale style and amenities with the right touch of service.”
On its website, the Kimpton Hotel Monaco described itself as “your playfully unafraid answer to boutique hotels in Pittsburgh.”
On Jan. 9, 2025, Shapiro charged taxpayers $589 for a room and meals at the Conrad in downtown Washington, a hotel the AAA designated that August as worth four diamonds. The ten-story glass-panel build features floor-to-ceiling windows, white-marble bathrooms, and on the eighth floor and above, partial views of the Capitol.
“Experience modern luxury in Washington, D.C., with a stay in our exceptional guest rooms and suites,” the Conrad said on its website. Only a dozen hotels in the nation’s capital received a designation of four- or five diamonds last year, according to the AAA.com website.
Shapiro, 52, is widely considered to be a candidate for the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination in 2028. He was a finalist to be the vice-presidential pick of Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris in the summer of 2024, but he took himself out of the running.
In the Keystone State, Shapiro enjoys a 60% approval rating, according to a Morning Consult poll released on Feb. 3. He is running for a second term in office this fall. His likely opponent will be State Treasurer Stacy Garity, the GOP’s presumptive nominee.
As The Center Square reported, Republican critics have accused Shapiro of profligate spending. The Keystone’s state annual budget, excluding federal contributions, has increased from $45.2 billion in 2023 to a proposed $51.5 billion this year. That would represent a 13.5% hike in four years.
While Republicans note he has not raised sales or incomes taxes as governor, he has sought to create new taxes. His latest budget proposal calls for legalizing marijuana use for adults and taxing their sale and for taxing online “skill games” like poker and backgammon at gas stations and liquor stores.
“He’s a spend first but push the consequences off to the future type of politician,” Nathan Benefield, chief policy officer at the Commonwealth Foundation, a conservative-leaning think tank, said in an interview with The Center Square.
Questions about spending
Coleman, a GOP state senator, has raised questions about Shapiro’s request to spend $1.1 million to secure his family home in the Philadelphia suburbs. The expenses include $290,000 for landscaping and other groundskeeping. Shapiro has asked for an additional $32 million to upgrade security at the governor’s mansion after part of it was set on fire.
On April 13, 38-year-old Cody Balmer broke into the Governor’s mansion in Harrisburg and set part of the house ablaze, a crime that resulted in him receiving a 25-to-50-year prison sentence for arson and attempted murder.
Shapiro’s spending on personal and political expenses has varied. On the one hand, at both the Kimpton Monaco and Conrad hotels Shapiro ate in his room. At the Conrad, he ordered an oatmeal breakfast with pecans, a side of toast, and a large pot of coffee for $56.38, white at the Kimpton Hotel Monaco he ordered soup and salad with a soda for $30.75.
