SW Iowa Times

A state audit report on government expenditures alleges that Gov. Kim Reynolds improperly paid the salaries for 21 staff members with federal COVID-19 relief funds for three months in 2020.

"Republican Governor of Iowa Kim Reynolds embezzled federal covid allocated funds for payroll to her 21 staff for 3 months. $7143/mo per staff. Is that right?" Twitter user @K_TequilaShots said in a retweet of an NBC News story on the report. "I thought republicans were against socialism and government handouts?"

The governor improperly used up to $450,000 and attempted to hide the spending by passing it through the state Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, according to the report, The Associated Press reported.

State Auditor Rob Sand said it’s unknown as to why Reynolds, a Republican, covered the salaries with coronavirus related funding from Washington, D.C.

“What is not clear, is why these salaries were not included in the governor’s budget set prior to the fiscal year and prior to the pandemic,” Sand wrote in a review of Iowa’s governmental payroll system. “Based on this information, we conclude that the budget shortfall was not a result of the pandemic.”

Reynolds’s office insists the governor is looking to provide federal officials with the proper documentation for the funding.

“The United States Department of the Treasury confirmed that the use of Coronavirus Relief Funds to reimburse the salaries and benefits of a governor’s staff is an allowable expense,” her office said in a statement obtained by the AP. “During this time, the Governor’s staff spent a vast majority of their time responding to the pandemic. In fact, many members of Gov. Reynolds’ staff worked seven days a week out of the State Emergency Operation Center to provide direct support to Iowans. This has always been our justification for the expense. We are now working with Treasury to provide them documentation, per their request.”

Despite the revelations of inappropriate spending, Reynolds continues to enjoy a strong approval rating.

A poll revealed that more than half of the state believe the governor is doing a good job heading into a crucial election year, according to the Des Moines Register.