US Representative Mike Collins (R-Jackson) never misses a chance to rail against supposedly wasteful government spending. Until, allegedly, it was coming from his own office.
Earlier this year, the House Ethics Committee announced it was extending an investigation into Collins after a whistleblower reported that his office had paid an intern more than $10,000 across 2023 and 2024. The only problem, according to seven current and former staffers, was that the “intern” was his chief of staff’s girlfriend. And she never came to work.
The intern in question, Caroline Craze, was listed as an employee at Cox Communications on her personal LinkedIn page during the same period she received a congressional paycheck. Her work with Collins’ office was not listed on her profile at all.
If the allegations hold up, the House Ethics report says, “then Rep. Collins may have violated federal law, House rules, and standards of conduct.”
The funds allegedly came from the Members’ Representational Allowance (MRA), the pool of taxpayer money used to cover official expenses like staff salaries, office space, and housing in Washington D.C.
Craig Holman, a government ethics expert and specialist in MRA regulations, says those funds are tightly controlled. Any use of the MRA funds for personal enrichment would constitute a clear violation of federal law.
“If he’s using taxpayer dollars for private expenses and then hiring a girlfriend of his chief of staff who doesn’t do any work, that’s an obvious abuse,” Holman told Courier Georgia.
At the center of the dispute is Brandon Phillips, Collins’ former chief of staff, now serving as the “senior policy advisor” for Collins’ Senate campaign.
Phillips is no stranger to controversy. In 2016, he resigned as Donald Trump’s Georgia campaign director after pleading guilty to trespassing charges. He was also arrested in 2022 for animal cruelty charges after kicking a dog.
Additionally, while working for Collins, Phillips racked up over $178,000 in credit charges that he billed back to the congressman’s office between 2023 and 2025. Collins’ office has yet to provide complete receipts or invoices for the charges, leading to speculation that they could have been for personal use, on top of Phillips’ $195,000 annual salary.
Neither Collins nor Phillips has cooperated with congressional investigators, prompting the House Ethics Committee to recommend subpoenas for both men, as well as Craze and several current and former staffers.
The allegations have dogged Collins on the campaign trail. He is currently running for US Senate, and his fellow Republican primary candidates have not been shy about piling on.
“If taxpayers can’t trust you to properly steward their money, how can they trust you to be US Senator?” asked Representative Buddy Carter (R-St. Simons), one of Collins’ primary opponents during a recent debate.
For his part, Collins has waved off the allegations that his office misused taxpayer funds, calling them “a total nothing burger.”
Despite the controversy, he remains the frontrunner in the Republican primary. A recent Atlanta Journal Constitution poll found Collins at roughly 22%, compared to 12.5% for Carter and 11% for ex-college football coach Derek Dooley, with more than half of the Republican electorate still undecided.
If he advances, Collins would face incumbent Democrat Jon Ossoff in November. Ossoff has made fighting corruption a centerpiece of his reelection campaign, pushing for bans on congressional stock trading and corporate PACs.
Early general election polling shows Ossoff leading Collins 48% to 43% in what is shaping up to be one of the most competitive Senate races in the country.
Collins has survived the ethics scrutiny so far, riding name recognition and a fractured field to the front of a crowded primary. But subpoenas are pending, and the investigation isn’t going away. If he makes it to November, he’ll face a senator who has spent years making corruption his calling card, in a race that may come down to a few thousand votes.
