U.S. Rep. Cori Bush didn’t have a typical trajectory to elected office. And she’s not going to have a conventional departure either.
Before she ousted Rep. Lacy Clay in 2020, a seismic moment in regional politics, the St. Louis County Democrat spent years as an activist in the protest movement sparked by Michael Brown’s killing in Ferguson. And her two terms in Congress were often defined by her eagerness to speak out.
Days after she was sworn in, a mob descended on the Capitol — prompting Bush to draft a measure expelling congressional colleagues who wanted to overturn President Joe Biden’s wins in Pennsylvania and Arizona. She became part of a group of progressive lawmakers known as “the Squad” that diverged from Biden on a landmark infrastructure bill.
Bush became one of the most prominent elected officials calling for a ceasefire in Gaza and criticizing Israel for its military invasion and waves of shelling that have reduced vast swaths of the Gaza Strip to rubble and killed over 44,000 people during the 13-month war, according to Palestinian health officials. Her criticisms prompted pro-Israel groups, including one linked to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, to spend millions of dollars aimed at sinking her re-election and supporting St. Louis County Prosecutor and Congressman-elect Wesley Bell.
As she prepares to depart from the U.S. House after losing a bruising and expensive primary to Bell, Bush said on The Politically Speaking Hour on St. Louis on the Air that she’s excited to become a private citizen again — but this time with the experience of being an elected official.
“Before I ever entered Congress, I was doing the same work that I was able to do and to lead in Congress,” Bush said. “So I'm just going back out as a private citizen doing the same work, but with a lot more knowledge and a lot more connections.”
During her time in office, Bush championed abortion rights and environmental legislation. Her bill that sought to map out where Biden should spend environmental funds was wrapped into the Inflation Reduction Act. And she supported Biden’s American Rescue Plan, which sent hundreds of millions of dollars to St. Louis and St. Louis County.
Among the challenges for Bush was working with Republicans who supported overturning Biden’s 2020 victory. She said the January 6 insurrection radically shifted her expectations about collaborating with the GOP in a closely divided Congress.
“I still want to expel them,” Bush said. “They should not be able to represent and serve the people of those districts. So … we worked together on the things that we could agree on, the things that we wanted and what I needed for St. Louis. And if they could help with that, or if they were a barrier to getting those things done, we dealt with that. But so for me, St. Louis always has to be my first priority and my focus.
“One thing that I am not and will never be is a fake person acting like all things are well — and you are this awesome person so I can get things done,” she added.
“I'm very clear: This is how you hurt the people of this country,” she said. “But I need this for St. Louis, so let's get this done. You know, I can't be phony.”
Divergence with Biden
Bush did split from Biden on several significant issues, including a major infrastructure bill that passed in 2021. She also voted against a foreign aid package that was a major priority for the departing Democratic president.
As she noted at the time, Bush said she voted against the infrastructure bill because she wanted Congress to pass a slew of domestic policies known as “Build Back Better.” She added “we could vote together on both bills, because that was what the President asked for.”
“We knew that if we didn't push at that moment to secure these investments for the people of this country, that the time would not come back for us to do it again,” Bush said.
She added the two senators who ended up torpedoing the Build Back Better plan were Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona. Manchin in particular said he couldn’t support the Build Back Better plan because it could exacerbate inflation.
Bush pointed out that Manchin and Sinema ended up leaving the Democratic Party and became independent, solidifying her belief that progressive lawmakers “were the ones who were actually fighting for” Biden’s agenda.
Bush’ vote against the infrastructure bill angered some trade unions who felt Bush should have supported a measure that would have provided steady work for its members. But she said it didn’t freeze her out with Biden’s administration, adding that she “always had an open line to the President, to the Vice President, to the administration.”
“We would communicate constantly with the White House,” she said. “There was never a shutout. There was never a freeze-out.”
But in October 2023, Bush became immersed in the national spotlight again after she spoke out against Israel’s military invasion of Gaza. Bush condemned Hamas for its Oct. 7 attack, but also called for an end to the U.S. government’s support for “Israel’s military occupation and apartheid.” She also said she wouldn’t be silent over “Israel’s ethnic cleansing campaign” after the country launched a military offensive in Gaza.
She also sponsored a congressional resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza — something that gained Democratic support as the war continued. But her criticism of Israel played a role in Bell abandoning his U.S. Senate bid to instead run against Bush. It also prompted groups supportive of Israel to spend millions of dollars against Bush's re-election bid.
While Bush said she wasn’t surprised that she became a target of organizations like AIPAC, she added she was taken aback that they spent so much money to defeat her.
“It's the unprecedented amount that they put forward,” Bush said. “ They had to spend an enormous amount of money to be able to unseat me.”
Bush said what really upset her was that the ads from pro-Israel groups didn’t mention her views on the Israel-Gaza War. She said that was purposeful, since the 1st Congressional District contains a Black plurality — and national polling showed that a candidate’s views on Israel ranks low on the priority list of African-American voters.
“If you can run and win on the truth, then you did your job,” Bush said. “But if you run and you win on lies, lies, fabrications, misinformation and disinformation, then you cheated the people of St Louis. And that is actually what happened.”
A rematch in the offing?
Bush’s concession speech in August was notable for its fiery tone — and its direct criticism of Bell and AIPAC.
She said last week that she has no regrets about how she reacted to her loss, but clarified that she doesn’t want Bell to fail once he takes office in January.
“I want him to take care of St. Louis. I want him to put St. Louis first. I want the people of St. Louis to thrive by the work that he's able to do. I want him to bring investments to St. Louis,” Bush said. “And so, my message is to take care of all of the people, not some of the people, to not be led by handlers and lobbyists. Don't be led by donors, be led by the people. And start that with those who have the greatest need.”
During her congressional farewell speech, Bush said her time in Congress was coming to an end “for now.” That seemed to leave the door open that Bush may run for Congress again, perhaps in 2026 during Bell’s re-election campaign.
She said on the Politically Speaking Hour “whatever purpose calls for at that moment, that's what I'm going to do.”
“So will I ever run for office again? Probably so, but I can't say absolutely,” Bush said. “Will I ever run for Congress again? I don't know. Right now, my focus is on how we continue to do this work to mitigate the harm that's going to come from a Donald Trump presidency.”
And while Bush said her immediate focus when she leaves office will be to spend time with family, she added professionally “nothing is off the table.”
“I'm free to go harder. I'm free to go longer — but I'm not going away,” Bush said. “And so I will be able to push from the outside. I will be able to support my colleagues and their work that's happening on the inside by pushing from the outside.”
“St. Louis on the Air” brings you the stories of St. Louis and the people who live, work and create in our region. The show is produced by Miya Norfleet, Emily Woodbury, Danny Wicentowski, Elaine Cha and Alex Heuer. Jada Jones is our production assistant. The audio engineer is Aaron Doerr.
