Michigan Congressman Jack Bergman has spent years living part time in a Capitol Hill rowhouse owned by one of his longest friends and biggest campaign donors, and even after the house changed hands to his daughter and son-in-law in February, he kept claiming monthly taxpayer-funded lodging expenses tied to the property.
The arrangement, detailed by The Detroit News, centers on a Washington, D.C., home. Bergman, the U.S. representative for Michigan's 1st Congressional District, appears to have spent time at the property since 2022, according to the newspaper's reporting.
The home was previously owned by an entity managed by Kim Kiyosaki, the former wife and longtime business partner of Robert Kiyosaki, author of Rich Dad Poor Dad.
A Sale That Kept It In the Family
In February, Kim Kiyosaki sold the Capitol Hill home for $1.55 million — the same price at which it had been purchased in 2022 — to Bergman's daughter and son-in-law. The sale was financed through a land contract that gives them seven years before any principal repayment is due, with no principal owed until 2033, and a related entity called RD House LLC acting as lender, per the Detroit News account.
Bergman has continued to live part time in the home even after ownership passed to his daughter and son-in-law, and he kept claiming monthly lodging expenses after the February sale, the newspaper reported. His office did not provide documentation or receipts for rent paid to either his daughter or the Kiyosakis, and did not answer questions about why Bergman himself did not purchase the home.
Campaign finance records cited by the Detroit News show Robert and Kim Kiyosaki have given more than $257,000 to Bergman's campaign and affiliated committees since 2016, including $50,000 given in August. Representatives for Robert and Kim Kiyosaki did not respond to questions about the house, and Molly Risberg did not return a request for comment, the paper reported.
Reimbursements and a Disputed Rental License
Separately, a Washington Post analysis found that more than 300 House lawmakers were reimbursed at least $5.8 million combined for food and lodging in Washington under a taxpayer-funded program that does not require receipts, as reported by The Washington Post. The Post analysis also included Bergman's 2023 lodging and meal reimbursements.
The Detroit News also found that as of October 21, the D.C. Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection showed no active rental license for the property. The agency's own guidance states that a person renting out a single-family home in the city must obtain a Basic Business License in the One Family Rental category, according to the D.C. Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection.
D.C. permit records separately and mistakenly listed Bergman as the property's owner from 2022 through 2024, the Detroit News reported. Bergman's name appeared on 2022 permit paperwork for electrical and other work at the home, and a 2023 permit authorized installation of a solar-powered array on the home's rear garage roof — at a time when a 30 percent federal solar tax credit was available to homeowners, before Congress voted to end that credit at the end of 2025.
How Bergman's Arrangement Compares
Bergman's defenders and critics have pointed to how his situation stacks up against comparable rentals and other lawmakers' housing arrangements. Comparable Capitol Hill rowhomes were listed for rent in the report at prices ranging from $5,500 to $7,500 per month, and one local real estate agent told the paper the Bergman-occupied home could rent for $6,700 or more per month.
Other members of Congress have had their own donor-linked or discounted housing arrangements scrutinized. Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy rented a room in GOP pollster Frank Luntz's condo in 2021, with his office saying he paid $1,500 per month — an arrangement that prompted the Campaign Legal Center to file an ethics complaint seeking an investigation. Michigan Sen. Elissa Slotkin leased a Lansing condo owned by a campaign donor during her 2022 House campaign, paying $2,000 per month including utilities for the furnished Old Town unit.
Ethics Experts Weigh In
House ethics rules generally prohibit members from accepting goods or services worth more than $250 without a waiver or fair-market payment. Don Sherman told the Detroit News that whether the rent and the home sale were conducted at fair market value is key to assessing ethics compliance, and said Bergman's choice to rent from someone with whom he has a close personal relationship seemed intentional. Brendan Fischer said the transaction involving Bergman's daughter might have been intended to sidestep congressional ethics rules, according to the same report.
A spokesperson for Bergman, James Hogge, said the congressman pays fair-market rent and complies with House ethics rules.
Robert Kiyosaki has previously said publicly that he and others buy real estate using debt and legally pay no tax, and has also said he was $1 billion in debt — statements the Detroit News included as context for Kiyosaki's broader investment philosophy, separate from the Bergman property transaction itself.
