Pappas lied about his relationship with now-husband during a debate in a past congressional race, in which his opponent accused him of conflicts of interest
Rep. Chris Pappas (D.), running for Senate in New Hampshire on an “anti-corruption” agenda against “corporate special interests” in Washington, serves on a House committee that oversees Uber, where his husband, a former lobbyist, serves in an executive policy role.
Pappas, a member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, is married to Vann Bentley, a policy manager for cybersecurity and privacy at Uber who previously worked as a lobbyist for Amazon, according to his LinkedIn profile.
That poses a potential conflict of interest for Pappas because of Uber’s aggressive lobbying activity, including on bills spearheaded by the transportation committee. Uber has spent $1.5 million on lobbying in the first quarter of this year alone, according to lobbying records, including in support of the BUILD America 250 Act, a five-year “surface transportation” bill for which Pappas voted in May.
Bentley, who lobbied for Amazon through 2019 and married Pappas in 2023, is not registered as a lobbyist at Uber, though he has sought to influence regulatory agencies that oversee the ride-share giant. Last year, Bentley submitted a motion to the California Public Utilities Commission to sway its decision on whether to make consumer data public, according to California state filings. Uber opposed the measure.
Lobbyists for Uber have contributed $5,250 so far to Pappas’s Senate campaign, according to campaign finance and lobbying records.
Pappas, running against former senator John Sununu (R.), a scion of a New Hampshire political dynasty, has leaned heavily on an “anti-corruption” platform in a bid to replace outgoing Democratic senator Jeanne Shaheen. Pappas, who has sounded the alarm to national Democrats after polls showing him only narrowly leading Sununu, has called for regulating “shadow lobbying,” described by a government ethics group as “someone who performs advocacy to influence public policy, like meeting legislators or their staff, without registering as a lobbyist.”
“Chris Pappas knows the system is rigged against people and in favor of corporate special interests, dark money groups, and entrenched politicians,” Pappas’s campaign website states.
It’s not the first time Pappas has faced scrutiny over his husband’s corporate gigs. In 2020, Pappas came under fire for failing to disclose that he was dating Bentley, a lobbyist for Amazon at the time. Pappas voted on several pieces of legislation on which Bentley lobbied for the retail giant. Pappas initially denied the relationship during a debate against then-Republican House candidate Matt Mowers, though he admitted to it afterwards.
“You’ve been dating a corporate lobbyist who actually was lobbying on behalf of Amazon at a time when you then went on to cast votes on Amazon’s behalf on bills they lobbied you on,” Mowers told Pappas during a debate.
“It’s not true,” Pappas replied during the debate, calling the allegations “outrageous” and accusing Mowers of homophobic attacks. Pappas later admitted after the debate that he was dating Bentley.
One Nation, a Republican group that opposes Pappas, has used the exchange as part of a new ad campaign to accuse Pappas of hypocrisy on the issue.
“Congress badly needs ethics reform,” the ad says.
Pappas and Bentley’s finances also pose problems for Pappas’s anti-corruption platform.
According to Pappas’s financial disclosure, he and Bentley own between $150,000 to $350,000 in Uber shares and between $15,000 to $50,000 in Amazon stock through Bentley’s 401(k) account.
Pappas has called for regulating stock ownership for members of Congress and limiting corporate special interest influence. He has also sponsored legislation that would ban lawmakers from trading stocks and require them to place stocks in a private trust.
Pappas’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment.
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