The Albanian government’s embattled ambassador to the United States, Kevin Rudd, spent a whopping $24,000 in a single day in Washington.
The total amount spent by Mr Rudd in the last financial year amounted to $172,000.
The delegate spent A$24,000 on breakfasts, morning teas, dinners and a grand reception at his Washington, DC residence in a tax bill filed on October 1, 2023.
The bill for Australian taxpayers was revealed after its publication in The daily telegraph under freedom of information laws.
But many of the details about who Rudd actually met were redacted from the expenses, and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said their release would have a “substantial adverse effect on the proper and efficient conduct of an agency’s operations.”
The $17,000 reception for 190 people at Mr. Rudd’s home on October 1 was held “in honor of the US-Pacific Island Leaders Summit.”
Pacific leaders were in town for the summit, hosted by US President Joe Biden.
Taxpayers also paid for Rudd’s wife, Therese Rein, to visit the National Gallery of Art with the First Ladies of the Pacific Islands in September.
The total amount spent by Rudd (pictured with US President Joe Biden) in the last financial year amounted to approximately $172,000.
Anthony Albanese (pictured) previously expressed his support for Rudd as Australia’s ambassador to the US after growing speculation he could be forced to leave the role early.
Rudd (pictured) has previously been described as “Australia’s ambassador to the world”.
The former prime minister has been criticized in the past for his exorbitant spending.
In September it emerged that Rudd had racked up a travel bill of more than $150,000 since being elected to the key diplomatic post in 2022.
He has been described as “Australia’s ambassador to the world”, filling in for absent government ministers at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, and the Munich Security Dialogue in Germany in 2023, with a combined cost of 40,000 dollars.
As Rudd spends the middle of his four-year term as ambassador to the United States, there is speculation he may be forced to leave office early.
Rudd previously called Donald Trump a “traitor to the West” and a “village idiot,” and described him as the “most destructive president in history,” comments he has since removed from social media.
In response, Trump said before his re-election that Rudd was “disgusting” and would not last long in office if he returned to the White House.
However, Trump would not be able to fulfill his wish to “fire” Rudd.
Only the Australian Government can recall one of its ambassadors and both Albanese and opposition leader Peter Dutton have expressed their support.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade for comment.