Watchdog Seeks FEC Probe of AOC Payments to Psychiatrist

The National Legal and Policy Center has filed a March 27, 2026 complaint with the Federal Election Commission and the House Office of Congressional Conduct alleging that Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s campaign improperly used $18,725 in donor funds to pay Boston psychiatrist Dr. Brian W. Boyle in 2025. The three payments, reported to the FEC as “leadership training and consulting,” were made on March 10, May 15 and Oct. 1, and the group argues they were actually for personal psychiatric services for Ocasio-Cortez or her staff, which would constitute prohibited personal use and misreporting under federal election law. Boyle specializes in interventional psychiatry and ketamine therapy for depression, PTSD and anxiety, and does not advertise campaign leadership training, a discrepancy the complaint cites as evidence the expenses were not for a bona fide political purpose. The filing quotes FEC and House ethics standards requiring campaign spending to be both bona fide and verifiable, and asks regulators to investigate and impose penalties if violations are found, while acknowledging the allegations are not yet proven. Ocasio-Cortez’s campaign has so far not responded to Fox News’ requests for comment, and the story is already circulating heavily on social media, where critics frame it as abuse of donor money and defenders describe it as a partisan hit absent concrete proof of how the services were actually used.