ST. LOUIS — Cori Bush said yes — to keeping her husband on the payroll.
For more than a month, the Democrat congresswoman from St. Louis declined to say whether she would continue to pay Cortney Merritts, whom she married in mid-February, for providing security services.
But when the latest Federal Election Commission finance reports came in on April 15, Bush's filing showed she indeed plans to continue the business relationship with her personal partner.
Late Tuesday, and after six weeks of not responding to media inquiries, the campaign finally sent an email confirming Merritts' place on the campaign payroll.
Raw data included with the April 15 report to the Federal Election Commission shows post-nuptial payments were made to "Merritts" for security services: payments of $2,500 on both Feb. 15 and March 14.
Merritts also was paid twice shortly before the wedding, with $2,500 payments on Jan. 19 and Feb. 6, according to the reports that cover the first three months of 2023.
In 2022, Merritts was paid $62,359 by Bush's campaign for security services, according to FEC records.
Since the issue arose, Bush's congressional office has maintained that Merritts is not paid by the U.S. Congress, but by her campaign, and has referred questions to an email address for Bush's campaign.
On Tuesday, the campaign committee responded with a statement:
"The campaign has paid Mr. Merritts for bona fide services provided to the campaign, and not for personal use or personal purposes," the statement said.
The statement echoes FEC rules, which do not contain a blanket prohibition on candidates employing family members.
The rule states that campaign funds may be used to pay family members, as long it is for a "bona fide service" and "reflect the fair market value."
In all, the latest campaign report shows the Bush campaign raised about $144,000 in the first three months of 2023, and spent about $111,000.
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.
From January 2021 through 2022, Bush's campaign paid a total of $557,676 for security services.
According to the latest FEC report, Bush has paid a total of $43,500 for security services in the first quarter of 2023, which is almost 40% of Bush's overall spending during that period.
Along with paying her husband $10,000, she also has paid Peace Security about $18,500, and $15,000 to Nathaniel Davis.
And the Bush-Merritts arrangement also is the subject of two pending complaints filed last month with the FEC.
A conservative political-action committee, Committee to Defeat the President, called Bush's campaign fund her "personal piggy bank" and has alleged that Merritts' employment violates two federal campaign laws.
The Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust also has filed a similar FEC complaint.
The complaints allege that the Bush campaign has improperly converted campaign funds to personal use, and has fraudulently reported a false purpose for campaign disbursements.
The FEC does not comment on complaints, a spokesman said.
