Federal regulators last week allowed a legal loophole that could effectively let former members of Congress spend leftover campaign money on personal expenses, Axios' Lachlan Markay reports.

Why it matters: Campaign finance reform advocates say that opens the door to former public servants to live large off of money intended for political contests. Scores are already retired, and more members are heading for the door this fall ahead of potential Democratic losses and GOP challenges.

The details: It's illegal for current or former members of Congress to spend campaign money on personal expenses.

A Federal Election Commission complaint filed by the nonprofit Campaign Legal Center in 2019 alleged former Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.) violated that prohibition.

• After retiring from Congress in 2017, she transferred her remaining campaign funds to a leadership PAC — a common vehicle for current and former officeholders to put their unused donations to work on behalf of allied candidates.
• Ros-Lehtinen's leadership PAC proceeded to spend those funds on — among other expenses — high-priced meals, lodging and even Disney World tickets.
• The former congresswoman told the FEC all of those expenses covered legitimate political activities related to her support for other candidates and were not for personal use.

The FEC's general counsel nonetheless recommended the panel find "reason to believe" a violation occurred, saying "the available information raises a reasonable inference" campaign funds were used for personal expenses.

• Ros-Lehtinen, now a lobbyist at the firm Akin Gump, did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
• An attorney who represented her on matters related to the leadership PAC spending also did not respond to inquiries from Axios.

The FEC declined to pursue the case last week, deadlocking in a 3-3 vote on that reason-to-believe determination.

Commission rules require four votes to proceed with enforcement matters.

• The deadlock effectively killed FEC enforcement efforts — and signaled a divided commission won't enforce the personal spending ban for money that's transferred from a campaign to a leadership PAC.

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Democrats have a reality check for Black voters: achieving what they want all boils down to math.

Driving the news: "This is not a Joe Biden issue, and it's definitely not a caucus issue," Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), saidtoday to an annual gathering of Black print, TV and radio journalists attended by Axios' Alexi McCammond. "We don't have the numbers right now on voting rights."

Why it matters: Democrats are increasingly concerned that disappointment with President Biden and their party will lead to lower turnout with voters of color.

• That would come precisely at the time the party needs their support to hold or even expand their number of Senate seats this fall.
• Roughly 20 Democratic senators joined the hourlong roundtable discussion, convened by the Democratic Steering and Oversight Committee.
• It was moderated by Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.).

State of play: Democratic leaders have already projected a "bleak" midterms cycle for their party if they're not able to deliver on federal voting rights before November.

• Now, they're hoping to message to Black voters — through the conduit of Black journalists — about the biggest issues facing the African American community.
• They range from voting rights and student loan debt to maternal health and confirming what would be the nation's first Black female Supreme Court justice.

What they're saying: "There are still Black voters who feel apathetic, and who make the case that this party has not been able to protect our voting rights," Booker said of his experience talking with people in New Jersey. "That's a real apathy that we're hearing out there."

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Some Democratic governors up for re-election are proposing to use their budget surplus to give cash directly to residents through stimulus checks and rebates.

Why it matters: It's a direct form of relief to a beleaguered population — and potential voters — as Americans feel the effects of inflation and sky-high gas prices, Axios' Sarah Mucha writes.

The details: In California, Gov. Gavin Newsom is proposing to deliver $400-per-vehicle direct payments to drivers. It's capped at two vehicles per household.

• In Hawaii, Gov. David Ige is proposing to use his state's surplus to issue $100 refund checks.
• In Maine, Gov. Janet T. Mills recently proposed an increase in the amount of "direct relief" to residents. The $850 relief checks will be delivered "in the face of record-high inflation and rising oil and gas prices caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine," said a gubernatorial press release.
• In Kansas, taxpayers would receive a one-time $250 tax rebate, if Gov. Laura Kelly's proposal is passed.

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📄 Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.) told Axios' Andrew Solender he's "considering" introducing a resolution to censure Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas on the basis that impeachment — which some progressives have floated — is "not going to happen." He said his proposal is a "middle ground, something that can be done."

💉 The Senate is zeroing in on legislation to lower the cost of insulin — a lifeline for millions with diabetes, Axios' Sophia Cai reported tonight.

🏛 House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer told reporters he expects the House to vote next week on the Jan. 6 select committee’s contempt referrals against former Trump aides Peter Navarro and Dan Scavino for refusing to comply with the panel’s subpoenas.

❌ Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-Ga.) told Axios he was behind the surprising defeat of a bill renaming a Florida courthouse after Joseph Hatchett, the first black Florida Supreme Court justice. Clyde said he "let it be known" to colleagues that Hatchett authored a 1999 opinion banning prayer at public school graduations.

🎤 U2 frontman Bono visited the Capitol and met with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in her office, reportedly to discuss funding for global COVID-19 mitigation and vaccines that has stalled amid disagreements about how to offset it.

📊 A Marquette Law School poll found 66% of Americans say that, if they were senators, they'd support Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson's confirmation to the Supreme Court, with 46% saying she's "very qualified."

Vice President Kamala Harris returned to her alma mater — Howard University — to announce $4.7 billion of funding toward advancing inclusive growth in the capital region.