Maxine Waters pays daughter another $16,500 in campaign funds, adding to $1.2M in previous payments

The reelection campaign of Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., shelled out another $16,500 to her daughter in June, adding to the more than $1.2 million the congresswoman has paid her daughter over the past nearly two decades.

Karen Waters, who has been organizing slate-mailing operations to bolster her mother's re-election since 2003, and her company, Progressive Connections, have received more than $1.2 million from Waters’ campaign.

A Federal Election Commission filing Friday by Citizens for Waters shows that the younger Waters received four payments totaling $16,500 from the committee in June for "slate mailer management fees."

Slate-mailing is an uncommon practice in federal elections, where a consulting firm is hired to create a pamphlet of sorts that contains a list of candidates or policy measures, and advises voters how to cast their ballots.

MAXINE WATERS CONTINUES TO PAY DAUGHTER WITH CAMPAIGN CASH, ADDING UP TO $1.2 MILLION SO FAR: FEC

Rep. Waters, the U.S. House Financial Services Committee chairwoman, was reportedly the only federal politician to use a slate-mailer operation during the 2020 general election.

Other members of the Waters clan have also made off with donor cash over the course of the congresswoman’s decades-long career.

In 2004, the Los Angeles Times revealed that the Waters campaign had shelled out over $1 million to other family members over the previous eight years. Waters defended the practice at the time, telling the paper, "They do their business, and I do mine." 

"We don’t have to answer your questions," she added. "We are not bad people."

Both Democrats and Republicans have paid relatives with campaign contributions over the years. While it's legal for federal lawmakers to employ family members on campaigns, the practice is generally frowned upon by ethics experts. 

Waters' campaign did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.