Progressive firebrand AOC has been hit with a serious fine from the House Ethics Committee after it was determined that she had violated the House of Representatives’ “Gift Rule” when she wore a white dress emblazoned with the words “Tax the Rich” to the MET Gala in 2021 after paying less than the full price due to her political celebrity status.
For background, in a report released by the House Ethics Committee on July 25, 2025, it was revealed that Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), better known as AOC, had violated a house rule by “impermissibly” accepting gifts related to her infamous appearance at the 2021 MET Gala, during which she wore a viral “Tax the Rich” dress.
In the report, the Ethics Committee concluded that AOC had not “intentionally underpaid” for any costs related to the event, but that the designers of her notorious dress may have “lowered costs in response to statements from Representative Ocasio-Cortez’s staff, and that payments to vendors were significantly delayed and, in several cases, did not occur.”
Moreover, the committee made the case that AOC should “make additional payments of personal funds to compensate for the fair market value of certain expenses” based on her violation of the House’s “gift rule,” which prevents representatives from accepting any gifts — including discounts.
In response to the Ethics Committee’s ruling, one of AOC’s spokespeople reportedly said that she will “remedy the remaining amounts.” Moreover, the representative’s chief of staff, Mike Casca, told CNN, “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.”
In addition, the Ethics Committee noted in its report that AOC will be obligated to pay $3,000 to vendors after she did not pay the full market value for the items she wore to the MET Gala. Furthermore, the congresswoman reportedly may not have paid for her own ticket to the gala, which would have cost at least $30,000. The outstanding charges include a $250 fee for her partner’s meal at the gala, along with “an additional $2,733.28 for the fair market value of the goods that she received in connection with her 2021 Met Gala attendance.”
In response to the concerns about the questionable nature of her MET gala attendance, AOC previously told reporters in 2023 that she “just never, ever, ever would have allowed that to happen, knowing what I have learned,” adding, “But I wasn’t privy to the invoices, wasn’t privy to the ones that had been sent.”
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Nevertheless, the House Ethics Committee conceded that AOC had demonstrated “general cooperation in the matter.” However, 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.”
See AOC’s infamous dress:
Featured image credit: video screengrab