News/Commentary

As ‘squad’ membership swells so too does spending on private security – to the tune of $1.2M

August 20, 2023 | | Print Article

The sum of the left’s hypocrisy was readily measured by the “Squad” spending $1.2 million for personal services they’ve pushed to publicly defund.

Unlike Icarus’ flight toward the sun, many of the same progressive politicians who ran on defunding the police have yet to be overtaken by their own hubris. While it cannot be known whether they would ever face a reckoning over the lifestyles they’ve led in comparison to the policies they preach, a new report calculated how much congressional figures like Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO) and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) valued their own security over that of their constituents.

Federal Election Commission filings reported by the New York Post showed more than $1.2 million of campaign funds from the eight “Squad” members to personal security in recent years.

Bush, who faces multiple ethics complaints for campaign finance violations, including paying the salary of her own now-husband for “security services” during the 2022 election cycle, had spent over $730,000 alone on private security.

Meanwhile, Ocasio-Cortez had a “$272,000-plus tab,” according to the report that included “security upgrades at her district offices.”

“Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minnesota) ranked third, spending $125.683.75 on security services since taking office in 2019,” the Post continued. “Rounding out the rest of the squad: Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) spent $64,763; Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) $20,480; Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) $7,872; and Greg Casar (D-Texas) $1,570; while Summer Lee (D-Pa.) has yet to document security spending. Both Lee and Casar are freshman members who joined Congress in January.”

As previously reported, Bush has faced a number of “clear and obvious” ethical allegations, including a more recent incident for an apparent use of congressional resources toward campaigning.

Likewise, Ocasio-Cortez’s FEC filings have shown a number of concerning details that included utilizing a Chinese-owned newspaper registered as a “foreign agent” to run campaign ads alongside a number of other lawmakers.

Those mounting concerns were a part of social media’s response to the report that featured many slams against the blatant hypocrisy that put self-interest above civil service.

“They’re all hypocrites. It’s wrong or unnecessary until they do it. Then it’s all okay,” wrote one individual as another suggested, “‘What is good for me is not for thee’ Next TAG LINE FOR AOC campaign.”

Cries against her hypocrisy also featured slams over unpaid college debts of Ocasio-Cortez to accompany her payments to alleged “Chinese spies.” As recently covered, the New York lawmaker had been exposed for her self-serving interest in having President Joe Biden forgive student loan debt as she herself was reported to owe up to $50,000 toward her own.

“That doesn’t surprise me… yet she’s still crying over her college debt…Seriously how she got into Congress 1 will always wonder,” expressed a user.

“And just think,” someone else posted, “that doesn’t include how much she’s spent paying Chinese spies monthly.”

Kevin Haggerty
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