Reid's spokesman says the campaign's spending on gifts complies with FEC rules. Reid will refund campaign for gifts

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid will refund his campaign for the purchase of more than $16,000 in holiday gifts that came from his granddaughter’s jewelry company.

“I thought it would be nice to give supporters and staff thank-you gifts that had a personal connection and a Searchlight connection, but I have decided to reimburse the campaign for the amount of the expenditure,” Reid said in a Tuesday statement.


The refund comes after the Federal Election Commission sent a letter last week to Reid’s campaign, asking for additional information about two payments totaling $16,786.93 to “Ryan Elisabeth” on Reid’s 2013 year-end campaign finance report.

( PHOTOS: Harry Reid’s career)

The two payments were made in mid- and late-October 2013 and are paid for out of campaign funds earmarked for Reid’s 2016 primary campaign.

“The campaign complied with all FEC rules” said Chris Anderson, a spokesman with Reid’s campaign.

The news was first reported by Nevada-based reporter Jon Ralston on his website Ralston Reports.

Republicans denounced the spending, saying that Reid had abused his campaign account.

“It’s pretty brazen for Senator Harry Reid to funnel nearly $17,000 in campaign funds to his granddaughter for ‘holiday gifts.’ One of these days Reid will learn that Nevadans don’t appreciate him using campaign money as his personal slush fund,” said Jahan Wilcox, a Republican National Committee spokesman in a statement.

FEC rules ban gifts to family members using campaign funds, but in this case Reid’s granddaughter was acting as a vendor of jewelry — which would be permitted.

According to FEC rules, payments on campaign finance reports must conform to certain standard that make the purpose of the payment clear. According to the commission, “holiday gifts” does not conform to the FEC’s rules. Reid has until mid-April to amend his year-end reports to include additional information — or face fines or other administration action.

According to several websites, Ryan Elisabeth was the name of a jewelry line created by Ryan Elisabeth Reid. Ryan Reid is the daughter of Rory Reid and granddaughter of the Senate majority leader.

Ryan Reid did not respond to a request for comment.

“Ryan Elisabeth jewelry uses unique design to empower women, tell stories, and inspire change. The pieces are also pretty badass, to boot,” one website reported while featuring the collection online. The online website for the jewelry company has since been removed.

Ryan Reid, 22, is currently identified as the founder and artistic director of Sprat Theatre Company — a Brooklyn-based theater group. She wrote and directed Sprat’s premiere work “One Day in the Life of Henri Shnuffle,” which debuted in 2013.