Mayor Michelle Wu spent nearly $10,000 to bring 11 people on her trip to D.C. for the sanctuary city congressional hearing in March, according to public records released to The Boston Guardian.

The trip was previously estimated to cost $8,500, in addition to the $650,000 spent by the city on outside legal counsel to prepare for the hearing.

Wu’s entourage was apparently larger than those of two of the other three mayors who attended the hearing, as well as presumably cheaper per person, according to additional public records requests.

Wu’s total cost was $9,542.54. Her entourage included her chief and deputy chief of staff, chief of equity and inclusion, speechwriting director, head of communications, director of scheduling, and a city lawyer from the Policy and Strategic Initiatives Counsel. Also in attendance were Chief of Policy Michael Firestone and his deputy, labor advisor Louis Mandarini, and Mohammed Missouri, the mayor’s Director of Stakeholder Engagement.

In contrast, Mayor Mike Johnston of Denver traveled with four people which are his chief of staff, senior planning advisor, city attorney and press secretary for a total of $11,318. One of Johnston’s staff told Deborah Smith, a journalist at the Denver Gazette, that the reason for this cost was hotel prices.

“Owing to the State of the Union taking place the night before the hearing, rooms were in short supply and exorbitantly expensive,” the staff member wrote to Smith. “We booked the best and most affordable option we could find within reasonable distance of the hearing. Additionally, one staff member chose to stay with friends to save on costs.”

Mayor Brandon Johnson of Chicago spent a total of $9,531.48, just $11 under Wu’s budget, according to a public records request. The record released the names of seven people on the trip but redacted the names from an additional eight purchases from airlines, so it is unclear how many people actually attended the hearing. The public names included Johnson’s executive assistant, senior aide, chief of external affairs, director of federal affairs, communications director, and corporate counsel.

Johnson’s team’s flight costs ranged between $417 and $886. In comparison, Wu’s team’s flights were all around $174 each way.

Boston covered costs included flights to and from D.C., hotels, and Uber rides for some entourage members. Wu stayed in a Hampton Inn for two nights for $855.48, while the majority of her team stayed at a Hilton-brand hotel called The Morrow. Most of the attendees arrived one day before the hearing, and everybody checked out on March 5, the day of the hearing.

The city almost entirely did not cover the cost of any food Wu’s entourage bought, despite the fact that multiple Uber receipts show that entourage members were driven to restaurants in the city. The only exception is one Whole Foods receipt, for $61.48. The person who registered this receipt was Phyliss St-Hubert, the mayor’s director of scheduling, who said it was “Food for Mayor for DC Hearing.” St-Hubert also covered the mayor’s parking fees, she wrote on her reimbursement form.

The public records did not specify any costs incurred by Wu’s security detail, though a city spokesperson confirmed that she did travel with one. The spokesperson did not specify how many security personnel came on the trip.

In contrast, Johnston of Denver did not bring a security detail, and his total cost included $1,380 of food. Johnson of Chicago’s invoice did not show any charges for food or security, but did include a number of charges to a travel agency. The office of Mayor Eric Adams of New York, the fourth mayor in attendance at the hearing, acknowledged a request for comment regarding his expenses, but simply responded that the cost was “in progress.”


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