Senator Raphael Warnock faces an ethics complaint over his rent-free residence in a church-purchased $989,000 luxury home while the same church reportedly evicts low-income tenants over small debts.
Key Takeaways
- Senator Warnock lives rent-free in a nearly $1 million luxury home purchased by Ebenezer Baptist Church, where he serves as a part-time pastor earning $31,815 annually.
- Ethics watchdog FACT has filed a complaint alleging this arrangement may violate Senate ethics rules and the Ethics in Government Act.
- The arrangement appears particularly questionable as Warnock’s church has reportedly attempted to evict low-income tenants for minor rent delinquencies as low as $28 during the pandemic.
- Warnock’s financial disclosure forms do not mention this living arrangement, raising transparency concerns.
- The timing of the church’s purchase and Warnock’s subsequent real estate transactions have further fueled questions about the propriety of the arrangement.
Luxury Living Arrangement Raises Red Flags
Georgia Senator Raphael Warnock has been living rent-free in a luxury home since 2023. The property, built in 2022, was purchased by Ebenezer Baptist Church, where Warnock serves as a part-time senior pastor, for $989,000. Located in DeKalb County, the home features high-end amenities including a 100-bottle wine fridge, bluetooth-enabled cooking range, and remote-controlled privacy curtains. The Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust (FACT) has now filed an ethics complaint questioning whether this arrangement violates Senate ethics rules.
BREAKING: Raphael Warnock Slapped With Ethics Complaint for Living in Free $1 Million Luxury Home https://t.co/e07kINZJKZ
— Conservative War Machine (@WarMachineRR) April 21, 2025
Potential Ethics and Tax Violations
The ethics complaint specifically targets the absence of this housing arrangement from Warnock’s financial disclosure forms. FACT alleges that the arrangement may breach the Ethics in Government Act, particularly given the disproportionate value of the benefit compared to Warnock’s limited church duties and $31,815 annual church salary. Additionally, concerns have been raised about potential IRS violations, as such an arrangement might constitute an excessive benefit under tax regulations, potentially triggering penalties.
“Especially given the limited amount of time Senator Warnock has for outside employment and the $31,815.12 annual salary he receives from the church in addition to the housing, it appears clear that the housing is excessive and unreasonable for the services he is actually performing,” said Kendra Arnold, executive director of FACT.
Contrasting Treatment of Low-Income Tenants
Adding to the controversy is the reported treatment of tenants in a low-income apartment building owned by Ebenezer Baptist Church. The National Legal and Policy Center previously filed a complaint regarding the church’s real estate dealings, highlighting aggressive eviction practices during the COVID-19 pandemic. Critics have pointed to the apparent contradiction between providing the Senator with a rent-free luxury residence while pursuing evictions against vulnerable tenants for minor rent delinquencies.
“It’s obscene that Senator Warnock’s church allows him to live rent-free in a new million-dollar house while it evicts poor black residents from its apartment building for being late in paying back rent for as little as $28,” said Paul Kamenar, a lawyer for the NLPC.
Previous Housing Controversies
This is not the first time Warnock’s housing arrangements have drawn scrutiny. During his 2022 reelection campaign, questions arose regarding a $7,417-per-month tax-free housing allowance he received from the church. The timing of the current arrangement has raised additional questions. According to reports, Warnock sold his own house after the church purchased the luxury property, a sequence of events that watchdog groups consider suspicious. The Senate Ethics Committee has yet to announce whether any investigation will be pursued.
“This is a matter of plain common sense. It is difficult to fathom [how] any citizen could look at this situation (a U.S. Senator being a part-time employee of an organization that happens to buy him a million-dollar house to live in for free after he was elected to Congress, and after which he sells his own house) and not think something potentially very wrong is afoot,” said Arnold.
