'We Tried to Stop the Bombings': Cori Bush on Democrats’ Failures, AIPAC, and More
The two-term Missouri lawmaker tells Prem she's 'not done in politics' as she exits Congress after losing to AIPAC-backed Wesley Bell in the second most expensive House primary in history.
There are 435 members in the US House of Representatives, but in two terms, Cori Bush had made more noise than many. In 2020, Bush became the first Black woman to represent Missouri in Congress, upsetting 10-term incumbent Lacy Clay. Bush – a pastor and nurse whose activism ascended during the 2014 Ferguson police brutality protests – quickly brought her theory of change to Congress by piercing the bubble of Washington and pressing her colleagues to be on the record on where they stand on crucial issues.
Hours after rioters stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, Bush introduced a resolution to remove every House member who supported attempts to overturn the election.
Months later, Bush slept on the steps of the Capitol as she successfully fought to extend an eviction moratorium amid the COVID pandemic.
On Oct. 16, 2023, Bush co-introduced a resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.
But, such noise attracted larger (and better funded) opposition.
Shortly after Bush co-led the ceasefire resolution, St. Louis prosecutor Wesley Bell announced he would challenge her. His campaign — buoyed by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), crypto interests, and more — made the House primary the second most expensive in US history. A gargantuan $18.2 million was spent — $15 million of which supported Bell or attacked Bush. All told, Bell, who often attacked Bush as being ineffective in Congress, won by just under 7,000 votes.
As she exits Congress, Bush spoke with Zeteo about her loss, where she thinks the party is failing, her thoughts on third parties, and what she might do next.
What are you most proud of when you look back at your time in Congress?
BUSH: A few things, but I'd say the first one is the eviction moratorium [and] being able to use what I know: activism – even when you don't have institutionalized power, still finding a way to bring about change. So, making the decision to camp out on the steps of the US Capitol for those four nights and five days to push the Biden administration to extend the eviction moratorium when 11 million people were at risk [of] losing their homes during the daily global pandemic. I am so proud of that. It feels unprecedented, and also it was just out of a desire to save lives. And we put one foot in front of the other, and we didn't know how it would turn out, but we were hopeful.
Do you have any regrets?
BUSH: I don't generally operate in regret, but I will say I really wanted to see a ceasefire [in Gaza]. [I] really wanted to be able to save lives in Gaza.