Raphael Warnock Voted for Covid Bill that Sent $75K to Social Justice Group He Founded 

Sen. Raphael Warnock (D., Ga.) voted for a COVID-19 relief bill that steered $75,000 to a nonprofit social justice group he founded that's run by the church that supplements his Senate salary to the tune of more than $100,000, according to government records.

The Martin Luther King Sr. Collaborative, a community activist group that Warnock led as CEO until at least 2020, sought and received COVID relief funding from the American Rescue Plan in September 2021, according to Georgia financial records. The Martin Luther King Sr. Collaborative was founded by the Ebenezer Baptist Church, where Warnock is still employed as lead pastor and which paid him $120,000 last year in addition to his Senate salary.

Warnock voted for the American Rescue Plan in March 2021, two months after ousting Republican Kelly Loeffler in a special Senate election. The bill passed on a 50-49 partisan split, with Warnock giving Democrats the 50th vote necessary to put it over the top.

"We were able to deliver on our promise to Georgia to pass historic COVID-19 relief. Georgia in a very real sense is delivering relief to the whole country," Warnock said at the time, calling the bill "historic legislation."