Former White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany drew attention this week to the sharp increase in Rep. Ayanna Pressley’s personal finances since her election to Congress in 2018, citing publicly available financial disclosure filings and property records that show a significant rise in net worth over a relatively short period of time.
During remarks discussing congressional disclosures and ethics rules, McEnany said her team reviewed OpenSecrets data and mandatory financial reports filed by Pressley and her household.
According to McEnany, those records show that Pressley entered Congress with a negative net worth and has since accumulated assets valued in the millions.
“Looks like Ilhan Omar isn’t the only millionaire squad member. Our team dug into open secrets and financial disclosure reports, what we found is that when Ayanna Pressley was elected to Congress back in 2018 she had a negative net worth. Fast forward to today, she’s worth $1.3 million with assets worth up to 8 million that’s a massive increase in just six years, especially for someone on a $174,000 congressional salary. It’s impressive, really. But how did she do it?” McEnany said.
McEnany pointed to real estate holdings disclosed by Pressley as one explanation for the increase. She said that Pressley’s filings in recent years list multiple properties that were not previously reported when she first entered federal office.
“Well, part of its property in 2024 Presley reported owning a Martha’s Vineyard rental worth up to $5 million as well as multiple Boston rentals worth up to $1 million each. Now, for context, back in 2019, she only reported owning one property in Boston,” McEnany said.
Financial disclosure forms filed by members of Congress require reporting of assets within broad value ranges rather than precise figures.
Pressley’s disclosures show ownership interests in rental properties in Massachusetts, with estimated values listed within those ranges. Members of Congress are paid an annual salary of $174,000.
McEnany also focused on the professional activities of Pressley’s husband, Conan Harris, noting a change in his employment around the time Pressley entered Congress.
According to McEnany, Harris left his position with the City of Boston shortly before Pressley was sworn into office.
“We’re also learning days before Presley was sworn into Congress, her husband quit his $92,000 annual Boston City Hall job to start his own consulting firm called Conan Harris and Associates,” McEnany said.
McEnany said additional disclosures show that Harris’s income increased after the launch of his consulting firm and that his clients included organizations connected to government and political institutions.
“And as we read more of the congresswoman’s financial disclosure reports, we learned that her husband also saw his income jump while he was in Washington. His client list consists of some government organizations, including one with deep ties to the Obama Foundation,” she said.
McEnany said the overlap between Harris’s business activities and Pressley’s role in Congress raised ethics questions, particularly in light of actions Harris allegedly took while still employed by the city.
“But as he started his firm and seek new clients, he faced ethics concerns because of Presley’s job in Congress. Quote as Harris’s days dwindled in the city’s Office of Public Safety, he used his city issued email account to pitch Walsh’s chief of staff on staying on as a consultant. City officials say they did not solicit nor accept the offer, and state ethics laws bar municipal employees from knowingly using official resources for personal gain,” McEnany said.
Under Massachusetts ethics law, municipal employees are prohibited from using government resources for private benefit. City officials previously stated that the consulting offer referenced was neither requested nor accepted.
McEnany said Pressley was given an opportunity to respond to the questions raised by the financial disclosures and her husband’s business dealings but did not do so.
“Now we asked Presley for comment, and we even invited her on. She did not answer,” McEnany said.
McEnany concluded by noting that accumulating wealth is not itself improper but argued that the disclosures raise questions that warrant scrutiny.
“But Fox Business anchor David Asman joins me now. He’s been looking over this information, and David, there’s nothing wrong with gaining financial resources. We see this a lot in Congress, but there are questions,” she said.
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