Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez skirted House ethics rules by accepting over thousands of dollars in gifts—including an infamous "Tax the Rich" gown and accessories—for her 2021 Met Gala appearance. She has been ordered to pay an additional $2,700 to resolve the matter.
This, according to a newly released statement and report Friday from the House Committee on Ethics.
Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) was accused in an ethics complaint of accepting "impermissible gifts associated with her attendance at the Met Gala in 2021,” at which she appeared in the super-cringe dress. She also showed off several accessories with her outfit and brought along her boyfriend, now fiancé, Riley Roberts, along for the party.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez makes a statement at the #MetGala. https://t.co/vaX97iQM2B pic.twitter.com/0YFb26ARBd
— Variety (@Variety) September 13, 2021
DIVE DEEPER: AOC Hit With Ethics Complaint for 'Troubling' Improper Use of Taxpayer Funds to Pay Dance Company
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Manages to Add More Layers of Blunders to Her Met Gala Stunt
According to the Committee's findings, the socialist darling of the resistance party paid less than $1,000 for the sum of her outfit at the gala, when it in reality was valued at well over $3,000.
The math didn't math when the designer dress, along with luxury shoes, jewelry, a floral hairpiece, and a handbag, was determined to cost $3,724.04 at fair market value.
AOC's campaign initially "stiffed" some of the vendors for these products, according to the New York Post, before finally relenting and paying a modest sum of $990.76, well below the costs.
The difference of $2,733.28 will now have to be forked over according to the Committee report.
NEW: The fair-market value of AOC's glamorous getup for the 2021 Met gala amounted to $3,724.04, per House Ethics Committee report released Friday.
— Josh Christenson (@jchristenson_) July 25, 2025
Her campaign stiffed the vendors and only paid $990.76, while giving her then-beau Riley Roberts free admission. pic.twitter.com/3WB8MiduS9
"The Committee determined that Representative Ocasio-Cortez’s conduct was inconsistent with House Rules, laws, and other standards of conduct with respect to her acceptance of certain goods and services associated with her attendance at the 2021 Met Gala, and her delay in making appropriate payment for their receipt," their conclusion reads.
They went on to say that while AOC's violations were not "knowing and willful," she still "received impermissible gifts and must bear responsibility for the other conduct that occurred with respect to the delays in payment."
No other sanctions will be levied so long as Ocasio-Cortez forks over the additional amount for the fair market value of the goods and donates an additional $250 to atone for the value of her boyfriend's meal.
🚨JUST IN🚨
— Breanna Morello (@BreannaMorello) July 25, 2025
AOC agrees to pay after a complaint was filed with the House Ethics Committee for her costly 'Tax the Rich' Met Gala dress. pic.twitter.com/wUl6hpNMWo
Recognizing that the Democrats' leading contender for President in 2028 had gotten off with a slap on the wrist, her Chief of Staff, Mike Casca, issued a statement thanking the committee.
“The Congresswoman appreciates the Committee finding that she made efforts to ensure her compliance with House Rules and sought to act consistently with her ethical requirements as a Member of the House," he said. "She accepts the ruling and will remedy the remaining amounts, as she’s done at each step in this process.”
Still, it'll be fun to know that AOC must now pay her fair share after a stunt in which she complained about the rich not paying their fair share.
Oh, and adding some more irony to the situation? Aurora James, the fashion designer behind the "Tax the Rich" dress, appears to be someone who should take the message to heart. At the time of the Met Gala in question, she reportedly had multiple tax warrants levied against her companies and owed arrears in excess of $130,000.
Tax the rich, indeed.
Earlier this year, Ocasio-Cortez was hit with another ethics complaint from a nonprofit government accountability project over expenses involving "training" - expenses that involved improper use of taxpayer funds to pay a dance company and a man named "Juan D Gonzalez."
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