Last updated on April 17th, 2021 at 08:10 pm
Republicans who voted to impeach former President Donald Trump for inciting an insurrection against Congress have spent more money on their personal security in the months since the event.
According to Punchbowl, Senator Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) “cut checks for nearly $70,000 on security. His campaign spent $39,000 with T&M USA LLC, which provides a variety of security services; $18,376 with Altronics, which provides closed-circuit security monitoring; $7,300 with Fortified Estate, which brands itself as “The Leader In Refined Ballistic Doors, Windows, Walls & Panic Roomsâ€; $3,900 at Tint Pro, which provides shaded windows; and $650 with Lehigh Valley Paladin LLC, security and intelligence professionals.”
The information came from first-quarter Federal Election Commission (FEC) records. The FEC allows these expenditures.
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Toomey isn’t the only one using campaign dollars on more personal security:
- Senator Mitt Romney (R-Utah) spent $43,633 with Ambolt Security Group
- Representative Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) spent $50,400 with Command Executive Services and added three ex-Secret Service agents to her entourage
- Representative John Katko (R-N.Y.) spent $19,874 on increased security from 3 Rings Protection.
- Representative Anthony Gonzalez (R-Ohio) also spent $1,540 on “residential security” with Osen Hunter Group, “which specializes in comprehensive, layered security solutions that scale and adapt with changing threats and client needs.â€
These lawmakers were among those who voted to impeach Trump after a mob of his supporters stormed the United States Capitol in a bid to overturn the results of the 2020 general election after he spent months spreading falsehoods that the election would be rife with fraud. No evidence of widespread election fraud has ever been found. Trump was ultimately impeached by the House (for the second time during his only term in office) but he would later be acquitted by the Senate after it failed to attain the two-thirds majority requirement to convict him.
The lack of evidence of widespread fraud has not stopped the former president’s supporters and threats against members of Congress have persisted for months. The Capitol Police last month asked the National Guard to continue to provide security at the United States Capitol for another 60 days; the Pentagon later granted the request.
Democrats have also boosted personal security, according to Punchbowl, including Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), one of Trump’s most high-profile critics. FEC information shows she has spent $45,000 on personal security, including on a trip to Houston amid continued death threats.
Alan is a writer, editor, and news junkie based in New York.
