Federal lawmakers and political committees have diverted millions of dollars of campaign contributions this year to cover the cost of security, with campaigns of political lightning rods such as Sen. Ted Cruz and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez reporting five- and six-figure security bills last quarter alone.
Even a couple of ex-lawmakers, including former Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, are using leftover campaign funds to cover security costs — something the Federal Election Commission recently authorized so “a federal candidate or officeholder or their family and staff” can address “ongoing dangers or threats” that would not exist but for their status as a candidate or officeholder.
Since the updated FEC rule went into effect on Jan. 1, federal candidates and committees have spent at least $9.9 million on security expenses, according to a NOTUS analysis of federal campaign finance data.
And that’s before factoring in new reports due Wednesday to the FEC that cover congressional candidate spending between July 1 and Sept. 30.
The security spending surge signals a new era of political spending poised to divert valuable campaign cash to stay safe.
That congressional candidates “have to ask their donors for money not to have physical violence against them” is an unfortunate commentary on Congress itself not allocating enough money to adequately protect federal lawmakers, said Robin Kolodny, a Temple University political science professor and co-author of “The Fundamentals of Campaign Finance in the U.S.: Why We Have the System We Have.”
Among the notable security spending from the October filings:
Sen. Raphael Warnock, Democrat of Georgia
Warnock has established himself as one of Congress’ biggest spenders on security over the past couple of years, and the third quarter of this year is no exception: His re-election committee spent more than $127,000 with Georgia-based Executive Protection Agencies between July 1 and Sept. 30, according to FEC records. That represents almost one-fourth of his campaign’s total spending during that time.
Executive Protection Agencies, which advertises a “new team of security heavies,” was the security firm choice of another notable Georgia politician: two-time failed gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams, whose seven-figure security bills, paid for by a political action committee she founded, made headlines earlier this decade.
Warnock’s campaign committee has consistently spent five- and six-figure sums on security each of the last several quarters, FEC records indicate. In 2021, while Warnock was a candidate, a judge sentenced a man to 33 months in federal prison for threatening to kill the now-senator. “Warnock is going to have a hard time casting votes for communist policies when he’s swinging,” the man posted online, adding in reference to Warnock that “dead men” can’t pass laws.
Sen. Ted Cruz, Republican of Texas
Cruz’s campaign has routinely spent tens of thousands of dollars on security costs since late 2023. The Texas Republican spent nearly $107,000 on security services and equipment installation between July and September, according to a new report filed Wednesday with the FEC.
In June, a federal grand jury indicted a man accused of threatening Sens. Cruz and Deb Fischer and their families. Fischer’s campaign, like many others, did not report spending its funds on security last quarter or any period before.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Democrat of New York
The campaign of Ocasio-Cortez, a frequent target of the right and even her own colleagues, reported spending nearly $290,000 on security services since January, including almost $62,000 last quarter.
The New York Democrat canceled several public events last month in the wake of the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk last month.
“From the moment I was elected, I have felt that I accept a certain level of risk in doing this job,” Ocasio-Cortez told reporters last month. She also said that the security protocols for members of Congress were “not designed for a digital threat environment era.”
Rep. Angie Craig, Democrat of Minnesota
Craig, who’s now running for the U.S. Senate, spent $32,700 last quarter on security services with Relative Intel LLC, a Minnesota-based firm.
In 2023, a man who attacked Craig in an elevator in Washington, D.C., was sentenced to 27 months in prison. “While my physical recovery was days, my mental and emotional recovery has taken much longer and is ongoing,” Craig wrote in a victim impact statement, noting that she also faced other death threats.
Rep. Ilhan Omar, Democrat of Minnesota
Omar has faced repeated threats during her time in elected office, some of it directed at her ethnicity and religion — she’s a Somali American and Muslim. In 2022, a federal judge in Florida sentenced a man to three years of probation and mental and substance abuse treatment for threatening to kill Omar and three other members of Congress.
Last quarter, Omar’s campaign spent more than $21,000 on security costs with Relative Intel.
Sen. Adam Schiff, Democrat of California
Schiff’s campaign reported spending nearly $21,000 last quarter on “security services” from Ares Defense Group, a Virginia-based firm. This continues a pattern of his campaign spending well into the five-figure range in recent quarters for security.
Schiff, who served as a Trump impeachment manager when a U.S. House member, has been a target of some of President Donald Trump’s most cutting rhetoric, with the president recently calling him the “lowest of the low,” “dishonest, crooked guy” and a “serious lowlife.” The Department of Justice is also actively investigating Schiff for mortgage fraud, something Schiff denies.
Schiff has also received credible physical threats to his safety. In 2020, for example, federal authorities arrested a man for threatening to kill him.
“I am very concerned. … I’ve had conversations with my staff and family about it, those conversations are going on throughout the Senate,” Schiff last month told NBC Bay Area about his personal security situation.
Rep. Eugene Vindman, Democrat of Virginia
Vindman’s campaign reported spending more than $32,600 last quarter, all with Samaritan Protective Services LLC of Woodbridge, Virginia.
Vindman has consistently spent well into the five-figure range on security since late in the 2024 election, when he was still a candidate. He is the twin brother of Alexander Vindman, who provided key witness testimony in Trump’s first impeachment trial — and later sued Trump allies for allegedly attempting to intimidate him.
Sen. Mark Kelly, Democrat of Arizona
The astronaut-turned-lawmaker spent more than $13,000 from his campaign account last quarter on security services from Elite Interactive Solutions, a California-based firm.
In 2011, Kelly’s wife, Gabrielle Giffords, then a member of Congress herself, was shot in the head in Arizona. Giffords survived and now leads a leading anti-gun advocacy organization.
Rep. Jamie Raskin, Democrat of Maryland
Raskin’s campaign purchased about $7,500 worth of security services last quarter from Virginia-based Global Guardian.
Raskin, who played a key role in Trump’s second impeachment trial, last year secured a protective order against a man who, according to the New York Times, “showed up at his house and screamed in his face about the COVID-19 vaccine, Mr. Trump’s impeachment and gender-related surgeries.”
Sen. Jim Justice, Republican from West Virginia
Sen. Jim Justice’s campaign reported spending $11,250 on security services during the third quarter. That’s on top of the $27,500 his campaign reported spending between April and June.
While there have been no public reports of threats since he was sworn in in January, he reportedly faced death threats during his tenure as governor of West Virginia.
Justice is also by far the richest member of Congress, according to personal financial disclosures.
Rep. Lucy McBath, Democrat of Georgia
McBath’s campaign committee spent $8,625 on security costs during the third quarter of this year, tapping the same company used by Warnock, Executive Protection Agencies. McBath’s son, Jordan Davis, was killed in 2012 by a man angry about the loud music he was playing at a gas station; the man was sentenced to life in prison.
Rep. Jasmine Crockett, Democrat of Texas
Crockett’s campaign reported spending $4,250 on security services last quarter, down from the nearly $25,000 the campaign spent during the second quarter.
In January, Rep. Nancy Mace, a South Carolina Republican, got into a shouting match with Crockett, which led to Mace asking Crockett if she’d like to “take it outside.” Tougaloo College in Mississippi also received threats and contacted law enforcement after Crockett delivered a commencement speech there in May, the Mississippi Clarion Ledger reported.
Sen. Jim Banks, Republican of Indiana
Sen. Jim Banks’ campaign reported spending more than $2,700 on event security last month in the wake of Charlie Kirk’s killing. His campaign has not previously reported spending on security services, according to FEC records.
Sen. Bernie Sanders, Independent of Vermont
Sen. Bernie Sanders’ campaign reported spending more than $1,800 on event security last month. While the disbursement came just a few days after Kirk’s death, Sanders’ campaign has reported spending almost $131,000 on event security since January.
Sanders’ latest security spend went to Advanced Security & Investigations Inc., the same New York-based security service that Ocasio-Cortez has used since January.
Rep. Jim Jordan, Republican of Ohio
The chairman of the House Committee on the Judiciary, Jordan reported spending more than $5,000 from July through September on “security services” from several individuals, three of whom list their mailing address as that of the Champaign County Sheriff’s Office in Urbana, Ohio — part of Ohio’s 4th Congressional District, which Jordan represents.
Rep. Ayanna Pressley, Democrat of Massachusetts
Pressley’s campaign spent nearly $4,000 last quarter on security services from Massachusetts-based Ware Security Consultants. Pressley’s campaign has paid similar amounts for security for several years.
Former Members of Congress
Several former members of Congress who are not currently running for office have dipped into their old campaign accounts to cover security costs, including former Sen. Kyrsten Sinema.
Sinema announced in March 2024 that she would not seek reelection and, in March, joined the government relations practice at the legal and lobbying giant Hogan Lovells. She’s not running this cycle, but that hasn’t stopped her campaign from shelling out tens of thousands of dollars for security services, including food and event tickets for her security detail.
Sinema’s campaign shelled out almost $54,000 for security expenses between July and September, according to campaign finance disclosures filed Wednesday with the FEC. That’s on top of the nearly $109,000 Sinema’s campaign spent on security-related expenses during the first six months of the year.
Former Rep. Peter King, who left Congress in 2021, is also using campaign funds to cover security costs. During the third quarter, his campaign spent $2,775 on “security.” He spent around $9,000 during the first six months of the year.
Neither Sinema’s nor King’s campaign responded to requests for comment from NOTUS.
…And Some Members Haven’t Reported Security Spending
Most members of Congress have not reported spending campaign funds on security costs. The campaigns for firebrand Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene, Nancy Mace and Lauren Boebert and Sens. Mike Lee and Rand Paul — big personalities in the Republican Party that attract significant public scrutiny — did not disclose spending any money on security between July and September.
That might be because there are other options for lawmakers looking to cover additional security.
House leaders last month announced that members would be allowed to spend up to $10,000 per month to cover personal security costs, double the $5,000 that was made available over the summer as part of a pilot program.
The Senate unanimously passed a measure that will allow senators to divert money allocated to their official offices for security costs.
And the budget for the U.S. Capitol Police — a force of 2,300 officers and civilian employees as of last year — could get a major upgrade. The budget is already more than $790 million, and Capitol Police have requested $967.8 million for the 2026 fiscal year.
But that’s far from enough money to protect members of Congress when they’re away from Washington, D.C., whether in their home states and districts or traveling elsewhere.