Trey Gowdy slams Cori Bush after it emerges she spent $70,000 on private security while publicly calling to defund the police
Former US Rep. Trey Gowdy criticized Congresswoman Cori Bush on his Fox News show Sunday night for spending almost $70,000 on private security while openly calling to defund the police.
'Cori Bush tells us she is progressive, the better word might be hypocritical,' Gowdy said on his new show Sunday Night in America.
Bush, a freshman Democrat from Missouri, spent $69,120 in 'security services' from April 15 to June 28, according to filings with the Federal Election Commission.
The payments were made to New York-based RS&T Security Consulting LLC and a Nathaniel Davis of St. Louis, Mo.
'Members of Congress are spending more money than ever on their personal security,' said Gowdy, a four-term Republican from South Carolina who left office in 2019.
'It's a tragic reflection of the times we live in … safety is priority number one for members of Congress, as it should be. But what about you?'
Crime has risen in some parts of the US as the country reopens following Covid-related lockdowns.
In New York, concerns about crime took center stage in the mayoral race, leading to the Democratic primary win in June of former NYPD officer Eric Adams.
Cori Bush, 45, was elected in 2020 as the first black woman to represent Missouri in the House
Bush, 45, is an outspoken advocate of the defund the police movement, which seeks to redirect public funds away from law enforcement agencies and into social services.
The movement gained steam after last year's police killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, and the ensuing protests, some of which turned violent.
'When we say defund, we're talking about needing to divest from the parts of our society that are harming and killing us - and invest in the parts that help keep us healthy and alive,' Bush tweeted on May 30.
'We deserve life.'
Bush has said that policing in the US is built to 'enable white supremacy.'
'It is not just a few bad apples, it's a rotten tree,' she tweeted on Feb. 17.
Bush spent almost $70,000 on private security over just two-and-a-half months this year
Calls to 'defund the police' emerged during protests following last year's police killing of George Floyd. Above, protesters face police during a march May 30 in Chicago
'We need to transform public safety — and that starts with defunding the police and reinvesting in our communities.'
Some members of the Democratic Party, including party stalwarts like former President Barack Obama and House Majority Whip James Clyburn of South Carolina, have cautioned against using the divisive slogan 'defund the police.'
'But if you instead say, 'Let's reform the police department so that everybody's being treated fairly, you know, divert young people from getting into crime,' Obama said on a Snapchat show in December. 'And if there was a homeless guy, can maybe we send a mental health worker there instead of an armed unit that could end up resulting in a tragedy?'
'Suddenly, a whole bunch of folks who might not otherwise listen to you are listening to you.'
Gowdy, 56, pointed out that Bush's security costs would go a long way in his home state.
'She wants to defund the police - she wants to defund your police, but not her police,' the host said.
'She spent nearly $70,000 on her own personal security last year. I don't know about your city or state, but $70,000 would get your own personal police officer in South Carolina. Twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.'