Bush was just sworn into office on Sunday, and she’s already working to hold Republican lawmakers accountable for their role in stoking Wednesday’s insurrection.
It’s Rep. Cori Bush’s fourth day in office, and she is already making waves.
Bush, a Democrat who represents Missouri’s 1st District, was sworn in to her new position on Jan 3. Days later, armed Trump supporters stormed the United States Capitol to challenge President-elect Joe Biden’s victory.
In response, Bush quickly called for Republican lawmakers who have undermined the integrity of the 2020 election—and, as a result, incited a violent uprising at the nation’s capitol—to be removed from their positions.
RELATED: Republicans and Right-Wing Media Fueled Wednesday’s Insurrection. Now They’re Fueling The Next One.
Repubican Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas and Josh Hawley of Missouri and more than 100 House Republicans championed overturning the election results without any evidence—both before and after Wednesday’s insurrection.
Before beginning her term in office this month, Bush worked as a registered nurse and ordained pastor. She is the first Black woman Missouri has ever sent to Congress.
Bush also led protests following the police shooting death of Michael Brown, spending more than 400 days protesting the injustice and leading the “Ferguson Frontline.” She provided triage medical care to the community during the unrest, and in the years since co-founded the Truth Telling Project.
Now in her first days on the Hill, Bush has set her sights on holding officials accountable for their role in the coup attempt.
Not long after the Capitol building was secured Wednesday afternoon, Bush announced an online petition calling for the investigation and expulsion of members of Congress that attempted to overturn the election results. The petition has since garnered more than 160,000 signatures as of press time.
“Republican members of Congress who incited this domestic terror attack through their attempts to overturn the election must face consequences,” the petition states. “They have broken their sacred Oath of Office.”
In an interview with the Associated Press, Bush pointed out that the reason why the Capitol rioters were able to breach the building and inflict as much damage as they did was because of their race. Had the mob been Black, “we would have been laid out,” Bush said. “The thing is, these are the same people who called us terrorists,” she continued, referring to her time on the activist front lines. “Confederate flags, ‘don’t tread on me,’ ‘blue lives matter’ flags, the Trump flags — all of it symbolizes the same thing. It symbolizes racism and white supremacy.”
Reps. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez (D-NY), Ayanna Pressley (D-MA), Jamaal Bowman (D-NY), Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), and Ilhan Omar (D-MN), along with organizations like the Common Defense, the Center for Popular Democracy, and the Justice Democrats have all signed on to the petition.
READ MORE: Why Cori Bush’s Win in Missouri Is Such a Big Deal
Elle Meyers Elle Meyers is a Congressional Reporter for COURIER where she covers national politics and lawmakers on Capitol Hill. Previously Elle was a beat reporter in Montgomery County, Maryland and she is a native of Portland.
