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 its like to be hungry and not know where my next meal is coming from, know what its like to be low-wage, she said. So being able to take that knowledge and use that to inform policy ... Im at the point where, like, the sky is not even my limit.

Im a Black Lives Matter activist and somebody whos 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.

Its kind of like when you argue with your family, she said. You still get together for dinner. There may be some infighting, but were 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.

Your Support Has Never Been More Critical

Other news outlets have retreated behind paywalls. At HuffPost, we believe journalism should be free for everyone.

Would you help us provide essential information to our readers during this critical time? We can't do it without you.

Can't afford to contribute? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.

You've supported HuffPost before, and we'll be honest we could use your help again . We view our mission to provide free, fair news as critically important in this crucial moment, and we can't do it without you.

Whether you give once or many more times, we appreciate your contribution to keeping our journalism free for all.

Whether you give just one more time or sign up again to contribute regularly, we appreciate you playing a part in keeping our journalism free for all.

Support HuffPost

Watch a clip from Cori Bushs interview with Samantha Bee below.

","type":"video","meta":{"author":"Full Frontal with Samantha Bee","author_url":"https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC18vz5hUUqxbGvym9ghtX_w","cache_age":86400,"description":"Sam sat down with unflappable optimist, Tim Gunn-approved style icon, and first Black woman to represent Missouri in Congress, Cori Bush, to learn how the Congresswoman-elect manages to maintain that optimism in the face of, well, everything. \n\nThis piece was produced by Razan Ghalayini with Ishan Thakore and edited by Daphne Gomez-Mena.\n\nWatch Full Frontal with Samantha Bee all new Wednesdays at 10:30/ 9:30c on TBS!\n\nSubscribe: https://www.youtube.com/fullfrontalsamb?sub_confirmation=1\n\nFollow Full Frontal with Samantha Bee:\nTwitter: https://twitter.com/FullFrontalSamB\nFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/fullfrontalsamb/\nInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/fullfrontalsamb/\n\nSamBee.com\n\n#SamanthaBee\n#FullFrontalSamB","options":{"_end":{"label":"End on","placeholder":"ex.: 11, 1m10s","value":""},"_start":{"label":"Start from","placeholder":"ex.: 11, 1m10s","value":""},"click_to_play":{"label":"Hold load & play until clicked","value":false}},"provider_name":"YouTube","thumbnail_height":720,"thumbnail_url":"https://i.ytimg.com/vi/EuuBMcGrM0I/maxresdefault.jpg","thumbnail_width":1280,"title":"The Unwavering Optimism of Cori Bush | Full Frontal on TBS","type":"video","url":"https://action.news/watch?v=EuuBMcGrM0I","version":"1.0"},"flags":[],"enhancements":{},"fullBleed":false,"options":{"theme":"news","device":"mobile","editionInfo":{"id":"us","name":"U.S.","link":"https://action.news","locale":"en_US"},"originalEdition":"us","isMapi":false,"isAmp":false,"isVideoEntry":false,"isEntry":true,"isMt":false,"entryId":"5fd13be1c5b652dce5859730","entryPermalink":"https://action.news/entry/missouri-cori-bush-samantha-bee-interview_n_5fd13be1c5b652dce5859730","entryTagsList":"2020-election,black-lives-matter,samantha-bee,missouri,cori-bush","sectionSlug":"politics","deptSlug":"politics-news","sectionRedirectUrl":null,"subcategories":"black-voices,women,media","isWide":false,"headerOverride":null,"noVideoAds":false,"disableFloat":false,"isNative":false,"commercialVideo":{"provider":"custom","site_and_category":"us.politics","package":null},"isHighline":false,"vidibleConfigValues":{"cid":"60afc111dcf87c2cd2f5d8bf","overrides":{"front_page_top_videos":{"desktop":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d","mobileweb":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d"},"top_media":{"desktop":"60b8e6bdc5449357a7ada147","mobile":"60b8e701c5449357a7ada2ee","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"},"anthology":{"desktop":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","mobile":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"},"content":{"desktop":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","mobile":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"}},"playerUpdates":{"5668ae6ee4b0b5e26955d6a6":"60d2472d9340d7032ad7e443","56aa41bae4b091744c0440d8":"60e869dc7c5f3b17b6741b81","5841b2b5cc52c716ec6e5a7f":"60b8e355cdd90620331ba185","58b5e2b8d85a10302feee895":"60b64316b171b7444beafdb2","58b74698f78ced31417819ae":"60b8e5bec5449357a7ad9b52","58b74ccecebcea57e2c3a3d1":"60b8e5eac5449357a7ad9ca5","58cff690d85a100b9992bc39":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","58cffb3fb6d9b972a49a3c9d":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","58cffdd74d96935d7d6ec180":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","58d03a84f78ced6518eb2fa7":"60b643c82e76be41f112735c","592edf20e0fa177b0c26f7fd":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","5b35266b158f855373e28256":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d","5c116f29f79c4171d82b7c2a":"60b64440b171b7444beb040b","5c1170fc600c9a697bf0c6b9":"60b646102e76be41f1127ffc","5c47791afa1b317df8ae0c4f":"60b8e6bdc5449357a7ada147","5c477987a6b48b35f164773d":"60b8e701c5449357a7ada2ee","5c4779ee943c3c2a64f28371":"60b8e747cdd90620331bb861","5c477a26fcd67b26879bc7c2":"60b8e788c5449357a7ada67b","5d8921a78c3ae845f366c9b6":"60ae7be5f3a7c13a30417ff9","58b98b00ba82aa39a6534321":"60d0de7c9340d7032ad1146c","58b9d14cb6d9b96c9ec32af3":"60d0dec19340d7032ad115a0","58cff8eccebcea42931e0436":"60d0e005b627221e9d819d44","592edf5de0fa177b0c26f95b":"60d0e38fb627221e9d81adcf","58cff72fd85a100b9992c112":"60d0e447b627221e9d81b0da","56b4d34fe4b022697697c400":"60d2472d9340d7032ad7e443","60b8e4c0c5449357a7ad957d":"60e869dc7c5f3b17b6741b81"}},"connatixConfigValues":{"defaultPlayer":"ff7fdddc-5441-4253-abc4-f12a33fad58b","clickToPlayPlayer":"d014396e-b366-4c17-aeac-3ce906fa3fd0","videoPagePlayer":"f010447b-d244-4111-a314-7b4542ae4145","verticalPlayer":"e58cb05a-0bc8-4210-9108-fea82726c065","stickyPlayerControl":"52ea1755-d601-4ad1-bccc-d8cce3f0e5da","stickyPlayerON":"8055e9e5-3bda-4933-8d45-9ad814fb6e22"},"topConnatixThumnbailSrc":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAABCAQAAAC1HAwCAAAAC0lEQVR42mNkYAAAAAYAAjCB0C8AAAAASUVORK5CYII=","customAmpComponents":[],"ampAssetsUrl":"https://amp.assets.huffpost.com","videoTraits":null,"positionInUnitCounts":{"buzz_head":{"count":0},"buzz_body":{"count":0},"buzz_bottom":{"count":0}},"positionInSubUnitCounts":{"article_body":{"count":9},"blog_summary":{"count":0},"before_you_go_content":{"count":0}},"connatixCountsHelper":{"count":1},"buzzfeedTracking":{"context_page_id":"5fd13be1c5b652dce5859730","context_page_type":"buzz","destination":"huffpost","mode":"mobile","page_edition":"en-us"},"tags":[{"name":"2020 election","slug":"2020-election","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/2020-election","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/2020-election","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/2020-election"},"department":{"name":"Latest News","slug":"politics-news"},"section":{"title":"Politics","slug":"politics"},"topic":{"title":"2020 Election","slug":"2020-election","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/news/topic/2020-election"},{"name":"black lives matter","slug":"black-lives-matter","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/black-lives-matter","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/black-lives-matter","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/black-lives-matter"},"relegenceId":6417938,"department":{"name":"Voices","slug":"voices"},"section":{"title":"Black Voices","slug":"black-voices"},"topic":{"title":"Black Lives Matter","slug":"black-lives-matter","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/voices/topic/black-lives-matter"},{"name":"Samantha Bee","slug":"samantha-bee","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/samantha-bee","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/samantha-bee","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/samantha-bee"},"relegenceId":2839285,"department":{"name":"Entertainment","slug":"entertainment"},"section":{"title":"Comedy","slug":"comedy"},"topic":{"title":"Samantha Bee","slug":"samantha-bee","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/entertainment/topic/samantha-bee"},{"name":"Missouri","slug":"missouri","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/missouri","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/missouri","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/missouri"},"relegenceId":3689467,"department":{"name":"Latest News","slug":"politics-news"},"section":{"title":"U.S. News","slug":"us-news"},"topic":{"title":"Missouri","slug":"missouri","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/news/topic/missouri"},{"name":"Cori Bush","slug":"cori-bush","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/cori-bush","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/cori-bush","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/cori-bush"},"url":"https://action.news/topic/cori-bush"}],"isLiveblogLive":null,"isLiveblog":false,"cetUnit":"buzz_body","bodyAds":["

\r\n\r\n","

\r\n\r\n"],"adCount":0},"isCollectionEmbed":false}">