Congresswoman-Elect Cori Bush Joins The Small But Mighty ‘Squad’
Until now, there have been four women on ‘The Squad’ of Congress. These progressive women have been making changes, fighting against the status quo, and impacting their constituents and the whole nation.
With the recent election bringing in changes, newly elected officials are joining ‘The Squad,’ including Cori Bush, the first Black female representative from Missouri.
Who Is Cori Bush?
Congresswoman-elect Bush is a pastor and nurse from Missouri who was moved to seek office beginning shortly after the police killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, MO, on August 9, 2014. Bush offered medical support during protests around Mr. Brown’s death, not far from her home district. Bush had no intentions of becoming an activist or politician until this period.
During an interview with PEOPLE, Bush said, “I think I always had a little bit of activism in me. I just didn’t always realize what it was…I was working with members of the un-housed population, working to fight human trafficking. So that was my first real step into activism. I started doing some of that work as a nurse and some as an ordained pastor.”
Since that time, Bush has attempted to win national office for several years. This year, however, she won the nomination in August from the legacy incumbent William Lacy Clay. Clay’s family held the seat for over 50 years.
On November 3, 2020, Bush became the first Black female representative from Missouri to be elected to Congress. Her progressive Democratic stands bring her into the fold of the Squad. It’s expected that Bush will champion for minimum wage rights, defunding the police, housing for all, and Medicare for all.
What Bush Plans To Do In Congress
During an interview for Refinery29, Bush was asked what she would do to persuade lawmakers to back progressive changes and how she personally hoped to change things while in office.
Bush responded, “I’m going to approach it from a place of, ‘You can’t take my story from me.’ And I have this story because some [lawmakers] didn’t do the work to make sure that things were in place so that I didn’t have to end up low-wage, so that I didn’t have to end up unhoused, so that I didn’t have to go through what I went through with sexual abuse and domestic violence, so that I didn’t have to go through what I went through being uninsured and fighting to pay student loans, or even fighting to go to school. If you had done the work, then I wouldn’t have been in that place. But since you didn’t do the work, I now have it as my mission to make sure those things stay on the forefront. And as my sister Rep. Ayanna Pressley always says, those closest to the pain should be closest to the power. They’re going to get who I am, and who I am at the core is [someone who] loves humanity. So what you won’t get is a mean-spirited person that just wants to be nasty to people and ‘I have to get my way.’ I’m not Donald Trump. I’m going in with a heart to change history and help change our country. And I understand that that also means building relationships and working with my colleagues, doing that as well.”
