ST. LOUIS — For U.S. Rep. Cori Bush, the campaign trail has led to the altar.
Bush's office reported Sunday that "this month," the St. Louis Democrat married Cortney Merritts — a security specialist who was paid more than $62,000 by Bush's campaign in 2022.
A press statement from Bush chief of staff Abbas Alawieh noted that Bush and Merritts have been partners "since before her Congressional tenure and is not employed by her Congressional office."
The statement described Merritts as a U.S. Army veteran and a security professional.
According to Federal Election Commission filings, the "Cori Bush for Congress" campaign paid Merritts a total of $62,359 in 2022.
Most of the payments, 24 of them, were periodic payments of $2,400. In summer 2022, there also was $2,359 paid in four installments for expense reimbursements.
Any continued employment of Merritts by the campaign appears to be allowed by FEC rules, which state that "campaign funds may be used to make salary payments to members of the candidate's family," provided that the member provides a "bona fide service" and the payments "reflect the fair market value."
It is not known if Merritts has a relationship with Peace Security, an 8-year-old firm in the Benton Park neighborhood that has received several hundred thousand dollars from Bush's campaign.
Bush's office declined to answer further questions outside of the statement.
In 18 months, from July 2021 through December 2022, Bush's campaign has paid $305,433 to Peace Security for security services, FEC records show.
In her two years in Congress, Bush has drawn criticism for the amount of money she spends on private security while also being one of the most vocal advocates for a movement to defund the police.
Since January 2021, when Bush took office to begin her first term, her campaign has paid a total of $557,676 for security services.
A February 2022 article in Axios showed Bush as having spent more than any other U.S. House member for the 2021 year, about $233,000, in security spending.
