Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo., is facing her final days in Congress after the "Squad" member was defeated in a primary last August.
Bush, an outspoken critic of the Israeli government, blamed the millions spent by the pro-Israel group AIPAC for her defeat. Bush, who was elected in 2020, was also criticized for voting against a bipartisan infrastructure bill.
The Missouri congresswoman said she wished Democrats had done more to support her.
"Democratic leadership has to do something," Bush said to Politico in an exit interview. "Democratic leadership must make the decision that this corporate money should not be able to be used in Democratic primaries. Because that was the deciding factor in this race."
Bush's fellow Squad member, Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., was also defeated in a primary, while Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., lost a bid to be the top Democrat on the Oversight Committee. Despite the setbacks, Bush said the group will keep fighting.
"They're not going to change their priorities and what they believe," Bush said to Politico. The number of people in Congress on the team will just be smaller. But they've never been silent. Anyone who underestimates our power is severely mistaken because we aren't going anywhere, and I will always be Squad. I'm not going far."
Bush, who did not rule out a run for office in the future, said she wished she had pushed harder for a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel.
"Our work was coming from a place of wanting to save as many people as we could — the lives of all people, whether Israeli or Palestinian, people abroad and people in the United States," Bush said to Politico. "I probably could have flipped over a few more tables. St. Louis deserves the best."
Sam Barron ✉
Sam Barron has almost two decades of experience covering a wide range of topics including politics, crime and business.
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