U.S. Rep. Cori Bush used her farewell speech to her House colleagues to reflect on her unlikely political journey and to chastise her Democratic colleagues for not speaking out against Israel in the war against Hamas in Gaza.
Bush is set to leave the U.S. House in January after losing a Democratic primary earlier this year to St. Louis County Prosecutor Wesley Bell. In a roughly 30 minute speech on Thursday, Bush talked extensively about how she struggled with homelessness and abusive partners — and how she got involved in the protest movement that arose after Michael Brown’s death in Ferguson.
“I am the activist from the front lines of Ferguson, the Ferguson uprising movement, who in 2014 was out on the streets for over 400 days protesting police violence after the killing of Michael Brown,” Bush said. “My life experiences are different from many of my colleagues here on Capitol Hill. But outside these walls, my experiences are all too familiar.”
Bush also alluded to how after two unsuccessful political campaigns, she defeated U.S. Rep. Lacy Clay in 2020. This was a seismic political change, since both Lacy Clay and his father Bill Clay represented Missouri’s 1st Congressional District since the late 1960s.
“I stand before you as the first Black woman and first nurse to represent Missouri in Congress, the first woman to represent Missouri’s 1st Congressional District and the first activist from the movement to save Black lives to serve in Congress,” Bush said. “From the day that I was sworn in, I have brought you my community and my own lived experiences with me into every vote, every committee hearing and every floor speech.”
Bush was only days into her tenure in the U.S. House when a mob of people stormed into the U.S. Capitol. She sponsored a resolution calling for the expulsion of any lawmaker who tried to overturn President Joe Biden’s win in the 2020 election.
Among other things, Bush also honed in on environmental issues during her House tenure, including sponsoring a bill mapping out where Biden should direct environmental-related funds. That eventually made it into the Inflation Reduction Act, which Biden signed into law in 2022.
Bush also talked about her advocacy for an eviction moratorium, which culminated with her sleeping on the steps of the Capitol to spur Biden to act.
“The decisions we make here within these walls do not exist in a vacuum. They ripple outward, touching the lives of millions,” Bush said. “They impact the unhoused veterans searching for safety, the survivor waiting to be heard and believed, the child admitted to the emergency room because they're asthmatic and can't breathe. We must honor the humanity and circumstance of those we serve, because being in Congress is a privilege. Don't waste it, and don't settle.”
‘Humanity as a superpower’
Bush often diverged from her party, most notably in 2021 when she voted against the federal infrastructure bill. She said at the time she wanted to vote on the Build Back Better Act, which would have focused on a number of domestic policy needs.
“We may have lost that fight, but there must be a reckoning,” Bush said. “This November’s election has shown that we were right to fight. We were right to fight as hard as we fought, to put everything we had for Build Back Better. This party must do better.”
During her address, Bush talked extensively about how she spoke against Israel’s military actions in Gaza — which she said played a role in her defeat.
After Bell supported Israel following the Oct. 7 attack on the country by Hamas he received the backing of pro-Israel groups, including political action committees associated with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. Those groups spent millions of dollars on ads criticizing Bush’s voting record, especially on the 2021 infrastructure bill.
“Too many of us, who should be allies, remain silent in the face of injustice,” Bush said. “Many of us, especially my Democratic colleagues, were taught that we are the party for human rights, the party for justice. That we fight loud and proud for all people, no matter their race, their background, sexual orientation, faith or ethnicity. Yet when it comes to Palestinian Liberation, so many have chosen silence.”
She added: “My radical and unconditional love for humanity is not a weakness, it’s my superpower.”
“The only reason why I will not be here next year is because I didn't bend my morals to special interests,” Bush said. “They tried to silence me, but it didn't work. They thought I would crack under the pressure, but they underestimated me. They tried to buy me, but you can't buy someone who refuses to be bought. No one can buy my silence.”
It’s unclear whether Bush will try to reclaim her seat in 2026. She did note near the end that her “time in Congress may be coming to an end … for now.”
“I came into Congress with my voice. Congress didn't give that to me, so Congress can't take that away when I leave,” Bush said.
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