During the first quarter of 2022, Rep. Cori Bush has spent tens of thousands of dollars in private security, bringing the total to more than $300,000.
According to Federal Election Commission filings, Bush’s campaign reported spending $70,489 on security services between Jan. 1 and March 31.
The payments were $50,489 to Peace Security, $15,000 to Cortney Merrits and $5,000 to Nathaniel Davis.
FEC records from last year show she spent a total of $233,663 on security services. She has now spent $304,152 for security this election cycle.
Despite the amount spent on these services, Bush still calls for the defunding of law enforcement.
In February, she told Axios “I always tell [fellow Democrats], ‘If you all had fixed this before I got here, I wouldn’t have to say these things'”.
Bush claims that the “defund the police” slogan isn’t the problem and blamed it on Democrats not delivering their promises.
When asked about the cost and whether it was hypocritical to hire security while pushing to defund police, Bush asked “They would rather I die?”
“You would rather me die? Is that what you want to see? You want to see me die? You know, because that could be the alternative,” she said.
Bush claimed she has had attempts on her life and has “too much work to do”. “So suck it up, and defunding the police has to happen”.
She has been a large advocate of defunding the police and often praises cities for stripping money from police forces.