INDIANAPOLIS – Just weeks after returning from an impromptu trip to India, Secretary of State Diego Morales is off jetsetting again, this time to a familiar spot: Hungary.

Morales is making his second trip to Hungary in just three years to once again speak at the global hard-right political conference CPAC Hungary on Friday. That hasn’t stopped him from leaving Indiana several days early to have a European vacation with his wife, who was named an “Honorary Consul of Hungary to Indiana” at the Indiana Statehouse earlier this year. 

During this time, Morales has mixed vacation with some official business, meeting with local and national Hungarian officials, according to posts on his social media and reporting from the Indianapolis Star. Morales and his office have refused to say who paid for his trip – leaving Hoosier taxpayers to wonder if they’re on the hook.

“Diego Morales has spent his entire tenure as Indiana Secretary of State leaving Hoosiers wondering why they ever elected him. From the moment he took office, he has been using his position to give out six-figure jobs to relatives and hand out the largest spot bonuses on record by a statewide elected official. If that wasn’t enough, he’s used the position to fly to India, and to Hungary on multiple occasions, traveling like he’s the U.S. Secretary of State, not Indiana’s. In fact, his position for the state has little to nothing to do with international relations of any kind,” said Indiana Democratic Party Spokesperson Sam Barloga.

“Serving in public office should be about making Hoosier lives better, not new cars and trips across the world. Morales’s lack of leadership is nothing new. He had no problem using $90,000 in Hoosier taxpayer dollars to buy himself a new luxury vehicle from a dealer who had given him thousands in campaign contributions for his trips across Indiana. Next year, Indiana can elect a Democratic Secretary of State who will clean up the mess Morales has made. It is critical we have a SoS who will work to regain the public trust that Morales has eliminated from the office.”

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