Cori Bush: 'The Sky Is Not Even My Limit' After Being Elected To Congress
At the end of a year defined by political divisions and a pandemic, Democratic Rep.-elect Cori Bush has countless reasons to feel optimistic.
Appearing on “Full Frontal with Samantha Bee” Wednesday, Bush ― who became the first Black woman elected to represent Missouri in Congress last month ― explained how she expects her activist background to influence her first months in office.
“I know what it’s like to be hungry and not know where my next meal is coming from, know what it’s like to be low-wage,” she said. “So being able to take that knowledge and use that to inform policy ... I’m at the point where, like, the sky is not even my limit.”
“I’m a Black Lives Matter activist and somebody who’s been evicted and I am in Congress,” she continued. “I have to be optimistic ― look what just happened!”
A single mother, ordained minister and former nurse, Bush has been outspoken about the challenges of being a Black woman on the job. Last month, she said many of her Republican colleagues mistakenly called her “Breonna” after she wore a face mask with Breonna Taylor’s name printed on it to honor the Black woman killed by police in Louisville, Kentucky.
In her chat with Bee, Bush said she plans to measure her success “in knowing that I was able to help a family to not only eat for today, but eat for tomorrow,” and went on to offer some suggestions on how progressives and establishment Democrats can work together to achieve common goals.
“It’s kind of like when you argue with your family,” she said. “You still get together for dinner. There may be some infighting, but we’re still able to work together, and then the big things, we can work on that after we make sure that people eat and have the COVID testing they need and get some stimulus money in the door.”
Watch a clip from Cori Bush’s interview with Samantha Bee below.
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This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated.
