Why Are Republicans Being Wined-And-Dined By Lefties In Italy?

Republican congressmen and their plus ones have been attending conferences at Lake Como to discuss policy issues — and to enjoy the occasional boat ride — all on the left-wing Aspen Institute’s dime.

The Aspen Institute invited Democrats and Republicans to Bellagio, Italy, for conferences on food insecurity, artificial intelligence and energy security in a “nonpartisan” setting as a part of their Congressional Program.

The program is a “nongovernmental, nonpartisan educational program serving the United States Congress,” according to their website.

While the program was established in 1983, the trips to Lake Como began in 2023 and occurred in April, hosting over four dozen lawmakers total, according to NOTUS News.

The costs for an attendee and their guest has ranged between $10,000 to $15,000 for a few days in Bellagio, Italy, which includes business class airfare, meals and lodging paid for by the Aspen Institute, according to an invitation on ethics disclosures reviewed by NOTUS.

The congress members stay at the Rockefeller Foundation’s Bellagio Center, a villa overlooking Lake Como, which includes recreational and sports equipment and a beach on the lake, according to a Release Form for Bellagio Center Visitors.

The Aspen Institute is a global organization that aims to “spark curiosity, deepen understanding, and connect across different perspectives and experiences,” according to their website.

Their events are meant to help leaders engage with one another and the “complex moral and social challenges of our time” — such as climate change, clean energy and economic opportunity. (RELATED: Aspen Institute Commission Urges Tech Platforms To Censor Misinformation ‘Superspreaders’)

The Aspen Institute also hosted a “book talk” with Ibram X. Kendi on “How to Be an Antiracist” in Washington, D.C, in 2019, according to its website.

“Racist ideas stripped me of my power to resist.” —@DrIbram https://t.co/QT1Ul25esw

— The Aspen Institute (@AspenInstitute) October 10, 2019

The Rockefeller Foundation donated $1,250,000 to the Aspen Institute for the term of Sept. 30, 2024, to March 30, 2027, “in support of nonpartisan, educational convening of U.S. congressional leaders and experts…to foster civil discourse and encourage collaboration on critical public policy issues,” according to the Rockefeller Foundation’s website.

Its stated mission is to “[promote] the well-being of humanity,” according to their website.

Some of their main policy issues are climate change and clean energy, as demonstrated in their grant history, along with grants to Columbia University and Harvard.

“They put us on a small houseboat and took us over the lake to a little villa if you will, and the restaurant there. You talk about Italian, it was Italian,” Republican Texas Rep. Randy Weber, who went to Lake Como in April, told NOTUS.

“[Weber’s wife] got to into the little town there and try not only their cooking class but also got try their gelato, if you know what that is,” Weber said.

Lake Como is unique among foreign congressional trips since members normally visit cities of geopolitical significance, such as London, Berlin, Brussels, Jerusalem or Rome, NOTUS reported.

Former Pennsylvania Republican Rep. Charlie Dent leads Aspen’s Congressional Program.

After once chairing the Ethics Committee himself, he now submits forms to the ethics panel to help his members get their Lake Como visits approved, the outlet reported.

“There are no taxpayer funds involved in what we do, and there are no lobbyists involved,” Dent told NOTUS. “There are simply not enough opportunities in Congress for members to develop meaningful relationships across the aisle.”

Dent said in a 2025 ethics disclosure that the villa was chosen because “the location has a desired facility with appropriate security, technology and meeting space.”

In 2024, the stated reason was “the location provides access to experts related to conference topics,” according to an ethics disclosure.

The Aspen Institute says the Congressional Program is funded solely by established philanthropic foundations, and its conferences are reviewed in advance by the Senate and House Ethics Committees.

Some members of these committees also attend these conferences.

Republican Mississippi Rep. Michael Guest, Chairman of the House Committee on Ethics, helped approve other House representative’s paperwork to attend the Lake Como conferences — and he and his wife also disclosed attending two trips, according to NOTUS.

Republican Ohio Rep. Dave Joyce, who also joined Guest at the 2024 conference, signed off on Guest’s 2024 trip as acting chairman, according to ethics disclosures. An ethics committee spokesperson declined to comment to NOTUS.

Guest also signed off on a retroactive approval request relating to travel expenses for the 2023 Aspen Institute trip incurred by Republican Texas Rep. Pete Sessions and his wife, according to documents. Sessions did not receive an approval letter from the committee before his departure, according to the letter.

Kedric Payne, senior director of ethics at the Campaign Legal Center and a former investigator for the independent House ethics watchdog, the Office of Congressional Ethics, said the members’ travel forms did not raise any alarm for him, according to NOTUS.

“The question always becomes: What is behind what you see on paper?” Payne said in a NOTUS interview. “Is there anything else that is happening that is not disclosed that would make it seem as though this is a way for someone to get special access, influence, with members of Congress by providing them with a lavish vacation?”

Republican representatives who have attended these Lake Como trips include Georgia Rep. Earl L. “Buddy” Carter, North Carolina Rep. Greg Murphy, Illinois Rep. Darin LaHood and Florida Rep. Kat Cammack.

The Daily Caller reached out to the members above for comment but has not heard back at the time of publication.