US Senator Pays Six-Year-Old Cookie Debt After Social Media Post Goes Viral

Roger Marshall, a Republican US senator from Kansas, has paid a debt to a local bakery six years late, after a post by its owner on Facebook attracted wide attention. The story comes at an awkward time for him, as he is running for re-election to the US Senate in November.

The post and the unpaid bill

Holly Thomas, owner of the Kansas bakery Holly's Sweet Treats, published a post on 8 October that began by asking why she would never vote for Marshall. She said that in 2020 the senator's campaign team ordered cookies and other sweets for an election-night event. The order totalled $678.75 (about €585), but she never received payment.

Thomas said she spent nearly a year trying to get paid, calling and sending emails, but nobody responded. By her account, the situation was especially hard during the Covid-19 pandemic, when small businesses were struggling to survive. She stressed that her anger had nothing to do with political sympathies, but with the importance of meeting financial obligations.

The senator's response

On 10 October Marshall apologised on the platform X, saying his team had no idea how it happened. According to him, once the team learned of the matter it tried to contact the business and paid the 2020 bill twice over. He posted proof of a payment of $1,300.

Internet users noticed that double the original amount would be $1,357.50, not $1,300. Some commenters criticised the senator for paying only after the story became public, while others said interest for the six-year delay should have been added.

Thomas later confirmed on Facebook that the money had arrived and marked the bill as paid.