After receiving a nomination to serve on the House Judiciary Committee on Friday, incoming Democratic Congresswoman Cori Bush (D-MO) balked at the idea that she would need a law degree to serve on the powerful committee.
Bush, a registered nurse and Black Lives Matter activist, instead declared that “no degree can teach you what it feels like to experience an officer’s boot stomping your head.” She also said that “the expertise of my community’s lived experiences will drive my work.”
Some people in my mentions are saying I need a law degree to serve on the Judiciary Committee.
No degree can teach you what it feels like to experience an officer’s boot stomping your head.
The expertise of my community’s lived experiences will drive my work.
— Cori Bush (@CoriBush) December 19, 2020
The House Judiciary Committee has 41 members, and the majority of them have studied law. However, the committee has no formal requirement that its members be lawyers.
Bush defeated long-time Missouri Congressman William Lacy Clay Jr. in a Democratic primary upset back in August and signaled in a victory speech to voters that moderation and compromise weren’t in the cards for the future of the district’s representation.
Alexandra Rojas, executive director of Justice Democrats, lauded Bush at the time as the newest member of “The Squad,” the group of far-left progressives elected in 2018 to serve in heavily blue congressional districts, including Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), Congresswoman Ihlan Omar (D-MN), Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) and Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY).
Bush declared that she was ready to hold police officers “accountable” once she entered Congress, reported The New York Times.
“If you didn’t understand what happened, what was birthed right here in St. Louis, Missouri, in St. Louis County, in Ferguson, we’re about to show you,” said Bush.
Justice Democrats alluded to this pledge while celebrating Bush’s nomination to the House Judiciary Committee on Friday.
Six years ago police officers maced @CoriBush in Ferguson as she helped spark a global movement called #BlackLivesMatter .
Now she’ll be holding police departments accountable as a member of the House Judiciary Committee. pic.twitter.com/xtGbtzcA77
— Justice Democrats (@justicedems) December 18, 2020
“Every time I step into that committee room, I will bring with me the power of my lived experience,” said Bush in a statement. “It is a power that comes from the pain of being a survivor of sexual abuse and domestic violence, or having been unhoused, stomped by the police, and forced to live paycheck-to-paycheck. But above all else, I will bring the stories of the people of St. Louis and fight for the change we need in Missouri’s First Congressional District.”
I ran for office on the promise of justice. Justice for Black lives. Justice for every community held back by racist systems and oppression.
St. Louis — we are taking our fight from the Ferguson Frontline to the U.S. House Judiciary Committee. pic.twitter.com/PVJEprKffv
— Cori Bush (@CoriBush) December 19, 2020
The Democrats’ committee nominations will go to the full caucus for approval.