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Cori Anika Bush (born July 21, 1976) is an American politician, registered nurse, pastor, and
Black Lives Matter Black Lives Matter (abbreviated BLM) is a decentralized political and social movement that seeks to highlight racism, discrimination, and racial inequality experienced by black people. Its primary concerns are incidents of police bruta ...
activist serving as the
U.S. representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...
for . The district includes all of the city of St. Louis and most of northern St. Louis County. A member of the
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...
, on August 4, 2020, Bush defeated 10-term incumbent Lacy Clay in a 2020 U.S. House of Representatives primary election largely viewed as a historic upset, advancing to the November general election in a solidly Democratic congressional district. Bush is the first African-American woman to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives from
Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...
. She previously ran in the Democratic primary for the district in
2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...
and the 2016 U.S. Senate election in Missouri. She was featured in the 2019
Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
documentary '' Knock Down the House'', which covered her first primary challenge to Clay.


Early life and education

Bush was born on July 21, 1976, in St. Louis and graduated from Cardinal Ritter College Prep High School in 1994. Her father, Errol Bush, is an
alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many Jurisdiction, jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council membe ...
in Northwoods, Missouri and previously served as mayor. Bush studied at
Harris–Stowe State University Harris–Stowe State University is a historically black public university in St. Louis, Missouri. The university offers 50 majors, minors, and certificate programs in education, business, and arts & sciences. It is a member-school of the Thurgoo ...
for one year (1995–96) and worked at a preschool until 2001. She earned a Diploma in Nursing from the
Lutheran School of Nursing The Lutheran School of Nursing was a for-profit nursing school in St. Louis, Missouri. Based at the campus of the Saint Alexius Hospital Jefferson campus, the school offered a 26-month graduate diploma program. The school was credited by the Accre ...
in 2008. From 2011 to 2014, she served as a pastor at Kingdom Embassy International Church.


Early career

In 2011, Bush established the Kingdom Embassy International Church in
St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...
. She became a political activist in the 2014 Ferguson unrest, during which she worked as a
triage nurse In medicine, triage () is a practice invoked when acute care cannot be provided for lack of resources. The process rations care towards those who are most in need of immediate care, and who benefit most from it. More generally it refers to prio ...
and organizer. She has said she was hit by a police officer. Bush is a Nonviolence 365 Ambassador with the King Center for Nonviolent Social Change. Bush was a candidate for the
2016 United States Senate election in Missouri The 2016 United States Senate election in Missouri was held on November 8, 2016, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the State of Missouri. It was held concurrently with the 2016 U.S. presidential election, as well as oth ...
. In the Democratic primary, she placed a distant second to Secretary of State Jason Kander. Kander narrowly lost the election to incumbent Republican Roy Blunt.


U.S. House of Representatives


Elections


2018

In 2018, Bush launched a primary campaign against incumbent Democratic representative Lacy Clay in . Described as an "insurgent" candidate, Bush was endorsed by Brand New Congress and Justice Democrats. Her campaign was featured in the
Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
documentary '' Knock Down the House'', alongside those of
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (; ; born October 13, 1989), also known by her initials AOC, is an American politician and activist. She has served as the U.S. representative for New York's 14th congressional district since 2019, as a member of th ...
,
Amy Vilela Amy Lynnette Vilela (born 1974 or 1975) is an American politician from the state of Nevada. She worked as an accountant before becoming an advocate for single-payer healthcare, also known as Medicare for All, after her daughter was turned away fr ...
, and Paula Jean Swearengin. Clay defeated Bush 56.7% to 36.9%.


2020

In 2020, Bush ran against Clay again. She was endorsed by
progressive Progressive may refer to: Politics * Progressivism, a political philosophy in support of social reform ** Progressivism in the United States, the political philosophy in the American context * Progressive realism, an American foreign policy par ...
organizations, including Justice Democrats,
Sunrise Movement Sunrise Movement is an American 501(c)(4) political action organization that advocates political action on climate change. When launched in 2017, the movement's goal was to elect proponents of renewable energy in the 2018 midterm elections, fi ...
, and Brand New Congress, and she received personal endorsements from Vermont Senator
Bernie Sanders Bernard Sanders (born September8, 1941) is an American politician who has served as the junior United States senator from Vermont since 2007. He was the U.S. representative for the state's at-large congressional district from 1991 to 2007 ...
, NY-16 Democratic nominee Jamaal Bowman, former
Ohio state Senator The Ohio Senate is the upper house of the Ohio General Assembly. The State Senate, which meets in the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus, Ohio, Columbus, first convened in 1803. Senators are elected for four year terms, staggered every two years such tha ...
Nina Turner, activist Angela Davis,
West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...
Democratic nominee for Senate Paula Jean Swearengin, and actress Michelle Forbes. Bush narrowly defeated Clay in the primary election in what was widely seen as an upset. Bush received 48.5% of the vote, winning
St. Louis City St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...
and narrowly losing suburban St. Louis County. Her primary victory was considered tantamount to election in the heavily Democratic district. Her primary win ended the Clay family's 52-year hold on the district. Clay's father,
Bill Bill(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States) * Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature * Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer * Bill, a bird or animal's beak Plac ...
, won the seat in 1968 and was succeeded by his son in 2000. The district and its predecessors have been in Democratic hands for all but 17 months since 1909 and without interruption since 1911. No Republican has received more than 40% in the district since the late 1940s. With a
Cook Partisan Voting Index The Cook Partisan Voting Index, abbreviated Cook PVI, CPVI, or PVI, is a measurement of how strongly a United States congressional district or U.S. state leans toward the Democratic or Republican Party, compared to the nation as a whole, based ...
of D+29, it is easily the most Democratic district in Missouri and tied for the 23rd-most Democratic district in the country. As expected, Bush won the general election handily, defeating Republican Anthony Rogers with 78 percent of the vote.


Tenure

Soon after being sworn in, Bush joined " The Squad", a group of progressive Democratic lawmakers. She posted a photo on Twitter of herself, the four original Squad members, and another new member, Bowman, with the caption "Squad up." On January 6, 2021, hours after pro-Trump rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol, Bush introduced a resolution to remove every Republican who supported attempts to overturn the 2020 United States presidential election from the House of Representatives. In her support for the
second impeachment of Donald Trump Donald Trump, the 45th president of the United States, was impeached for the second time on January 13, 2021, one week before his term expired. It was the fourth impeachment of a U.S. president, and the second for Trump after his first imp ...
, Bush called the attack on the Capitol a "white supremacist insurrection" incited by the "white supremacist-in-chief". In August 2021, Bush took a leading role in fighting to extend the CARES Act's eviction moratorium, sleeping on the steps of the U.S. Capitol to make her point; the CDC extended the moratorium on August 3. On August 5, 2021, Bush defended spending tens of thousands of dollars on personal security for herself as a member of Congress while also saying Democrats should
defund the police "Defund the police" is a slogan that supports removing funds from police departments and reallocating them to non-policing forms of public safety and community support, such as social services, youth services, housing, education, healthcare and o ...
, saying, "I get to be here to do the work, so suck it up—and defunding the police has to happen. We need to defund the police." On November 5, 2021, Bush was one of six House Democrats to break with their party and vote with a majority of Republicans against the
Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill and originally in the House as the INVEST in America ActH.R. 3684, is a United States federal statute enacted by the 117th United States Congress ...
, because it was not accompanied by the Build Back Better Act. As of July 2022, Bush had voted in line with Joe Biden's stated position 93.0% of the time.


Foreign and defense policy

Bush was one of four House Democrats to vote against H.R. 567: Trans-Sahara Counterterrorism Partnership Program Act of 2021, which would establish an interagency program to assist countries in North and West Africa to improve immediate and long-term capabilities to counter terrorist threats, and for other purposes. In September 2021, Bush was among 38 House Democrats to vote against the National Defense Authorization Act of 2022. She was among 51 House Democrats to vote against the final passage of the 2022 National Defense Authorization Act. On September 23, Bush was one of eight Democrats to vote against the funding of Israel's Iron Dome missile defense system. In November, Bush was one of 29 House Democrats to vote against the
RENACER Act Reinforcing Nicaragua's Adherence to Conditions for Electoral Reform Act of 2021, known as the RENACER Act for short, is a bill that extended United States sanctions against Nicaragua and that granted the President several measures to address acts ...
, which extended U.S. sanctions against
Nicaragua Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the cou ...
and granted the president several ways to address acts of corruption and human rights violations by the
Daniel Ortega José Daniel Ortega Saavedra (; born 11 November 1945) is a Nicaraguans, Nicaraguan revolutionary and politician serving as President of Nicaragua since 2007. Previously he was leader of Nicaragua from 1979 to 1990, first as coordinator of the ...
administration, including the power to exclude Nicaragua from the
Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement Dominican may refer to: * Someone or something from or related to the Dominican Republic ( , stress on the "mi"), on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles, in the Caribbean ** People of the Dominican Republic ** Demographics of the Dom ...
(CAFTA-DR) and to obstruct multilateral loans to the country. In July 2022, Bush was one of 77 House Democrats to vote for an amendment that would have cut the proposed defense budget by $100 billion. On the same day, she was one of 137 House Democrats to vote for a separate amendment that would have removed a proposed $37 billion spending increase in the defense budget.


Committee assignments

* Committee on the Judiciary ** Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties ** Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security *
Committee on Oversight and Government Reform The Committee on Oversight and Reform is the main investigative committee of the United States House of Representatives. The committee's broad jurisdiction and legislative authority make it one of the most influential and powerful panels in the ...
** Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy ** Subcommittee on Environment


Caucus memberships

* Congressional Progressive Caucus *
Congressional LGBTQ+ Equality Caucus The Congressional LGBTQ+ Equality Caucus was formed by openly gay representatives Tammy Baldwin and Barney Frank June 4, 2008, to advance LGBT+ rights. The caucus had 165 members (164 Democrats and one Republican, Jeff Van Drew) in the 116th ...
* Congressional Black Caucus *
Medicare for All Caucus The Medicare for All Caucus is a congressional caucus in the United States House of Representatives, consisting of members that advocate for the implementation of a single-payer healthcare system. It was announced by progressive members of the H ...


Political positions

Bush is a
progressive Progressive may refer to: Politics * Progressivism, a political philosophy in support of social reform ** Progressivism in the United States, the political philosophy in the American context * Progressive realism, an American foreign policy par ...
Democrat, supporting policies such as
defunding the police "Defund the police" is a slogan that supports removing funds from police departments and reallocating them to non-policing forms of public safety and community support, such as social services, youth services, housing, education, healthcare and ...
, criminal justice and
police reform Criminal justice reform addresses structural issues in criminal justice systems such as racial profiling, police brutality, overcriminalization, mass incarceration, and recidivism. Criminal justice reform can take place at any point where the cr ...
, abortion rights,
Medicare for All Single-payer healthcare is a type of universal healthcare in which the costs of essential healthcare for all residents are covered by a single public system (hence "single-payer"). Single-payer systems may contract for healthcare services from p ...
, a $15
minimum wage A minimum wage is the lowest remuneration that employers can legally pay their employees—the price floor below which employees may not sell their labor. Most countries had introduced minimum wage legislation by the end of the 20th century. Bec ...
, tuition-free state college and trade school, and canceling student debt. She was endorsed by, and is a member of, the
Democratic Socialists of America The Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) is a Left-wing politics, left-wing Democratic Socialists of America#Tendencies within the DSA, multi-tendency Socialism, socialist and Labour movement, labor-oriented political organization. Its roots ...
. Bush supports the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement and has called
Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
an "
apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...
state." She stands "unwaveringly with Black Lives Matter's demands". During her campaign, Bush advocated defunding the
United States Armed Forces The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is the ...
. After receiving criticism from California Representative Kevin McCarthy and a ''
St. Louis Post-Dispatch The ''St. Louis Post-Dispatch'' is a major regional newspaper based in St. Louis, Missouri, serving the St. Louis metropolitan area. It is the largest daily newspaper in the metropolitan area by circulation, surpassing the ''Belleville News-Dem ...
'' editorial, Bush clarified that she supported the reallocation of defense funding to healthcare and low-income communities. After supporters of then-president Donald Trump stormed the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021, Bush introduced a resolution to investigate and expel members of the House who promoted the conspiracy theory that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from Trump. On January 29, after House Speaker
Nancy Pelosi Nancy Patricia Pelosi (; ; born March 26, 1940) is an American politician who has served as Speaker of the United States House of Representatives since 2019 and previously from 2007 to 2011. She has represented in the United States House of ...
accepted her request, Bush changed offices from the
Longworth House Office Building The Longworth House Office Building (LHOB) is one of five office buildings used by the United States House of Representatives. The building is located south of the Capitol, bounded by Independence Avenue, New Jersey Avenue, C Street S.E., and Sou ...
after Congresswoman
Marjorie Taylor Greene Marjorie Taylor Greene (born May 27, 1974), also known by her initials MTG, is an American politician, businesswoman, and far-right conspiracy theorist Sources describing Greene as "far-right" include: * * * * * * * * * who has served as th ...
"berated" her and her staff in a hallway and refused to wear a mask. Greene accused Bush of calling for violence against a couple involved in the controversial July 2020 march through a gated St. Louis street.


Personal life

Bush lives in
St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...
. She has two children. For 14 months, she and her then husband lived in their car with the young children after being evicted because of loss of income after illness during her second pregnancy made it necessary for her to quit her preschool job. In May 2021, Bush testified to the House Oversight and Reform Committee that during her first pregnancy, she informed her doctor of severe pain but was ignored, and as a result went into pre-term labor. She attributed this to "harsh and racist treatment" that Black women face during pregnancy and childbirth. In a subsequent tweet, she wrote, "Every day, Black birthing people and our babies die because our doctors don't believe our pain."


Electoral history


2016


2018


2020


2022


See also

*
Black women in American politics Black women have been involved in American socio-political issues and advocating for the community since the American Civil War era through organizations, clubs, community-based social services, and advocacy. Black women are currently underrepre ...
* List of African-American United States representatives * Women in the United States House of Representatives


Explanatory notes


References


External links


Representative Cori Bush
official U.S. House website
Campaign website
* * , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Bush, Cori 1976 births Living people 20th-century African-American people 20th-century African-American women African-American activists 21st-century African-American politicians 21st-century African-American women 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians Activists from St. Louis African-American members of the United States House of Representatives African-American nurses African-American people in Missouri politics African-American religious leaders African-American women in politics American women activists American women nurses Black Lives Matter people Candidates in the 2016 United States Senate elections Candidates in the 2018 United States elections Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Missouri Female members of the United States House of Representatives Harris–Stowe State University alumni Left-wing populism in the United States Democratic Socialists of America politicians from Missouri Missouri socialists Politicians from St. Louis Prison reformers Progressivism in the United States Women Christian religious leaders Women civil rights activists Women in Missouri politics