CNN "State of the Union with Jake Tapper" - Transcript: Interview with Congresswoman-Elect Cori Bush and Congressman-Elect Jamaal Bowman

Interview

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BASH: Welcome back to STATE OF THE UNION. I'm Dana Bash.

The Democrats' majority in the House will be smaller, but more progressive, in just a few days. How will they work with a president from the old guard of the party?

Well, joining us now is -- are two members of the incoming Progressive Caucus, congressman-elect Jamaal Bowman of New York, who defeated a 16-term incumbent Democrat, and congresswoman-elect Cori Bush of Missouri, who defeated a 10-term incumbent and is now going to be Missouri's first black female member of Congress.

Thank you, and congratulations to you both.

Congresswoman-elect Bush, let me start with you.

[09:50:01]

Democrats, as I mentioned, they have a very slim majority in the House and may not win the majority in the Senate. So, you're coming in as newly elected progressive Democrats. How are you going to balance that agenda with the realities of divided government? Do you feel confident and comfortable with the notion of compromising?

CORI BUSH (D), MISSOURI CONGRESSWOMAN-ELECT: You know, I don't think that it's about what we would consider -- quote unquote -- "compromise."

I -- my first priority has to bring -- has to be to bring Saint Louis to the table. I'm bringing Saint Louis to Congress. And I'm doing it as the politivist, activist. I'm not taking that off of my -- off of my shoulders. I'm the activist and the politician.

So, I'm using what I learned on the streets of Ferguson and every other -- every other protest, every other movement I have been a part of, that moxie, that desire to apply pressure, that -- being bold and fierce, bringing that to Congress, making sure that our -- the voices of regular people, and bringing grassroots organizers, bringing the people that are actually on the ground doing the work, bringing that to Congress, and making sure that that voice is heard.

I feel like that is something that is -- that we're not seeing enough of. So, that's what I think that has to happen. When we talk about compromise, how can you compromise if you don't -- if you're not one of the people that know exactly what's happening on the ground in our communities?

I'm someone that's been there. I know what it's like to live paycheck to paycheck, to live unhoused. I know what it's like to live uninsured. And so that is what I bring, my lived experience.

BASH: And, congressman-elect Bowman, you are pretty outspoken in the fact that you support the defund police movement, and you call out your fellow Democrats who do not.

So, how are you going to put that into action when you are a member of Congress, actually legislate those ideals?

JAMAAL BOWMAN (D), NEW YORK CONGRESSMAN-ELECT: So, to piggyback on what Cori just mentioned, our job is to meet the needs of our constituents, period, point blank.

We have 30 percent poverty rates in different parts of my district. Our schools are underfunded. People are struggling to put food on the table and to keep a roof over their heads. I have had two police- involved shootings in my district over the last year.

So, as we talk about defunding the police, we're talking about reimagining public safety, reimagining public health, taking a holistic approach to legislating to truly meet the needs of the constituents in my district. That is the bottom line.

So, we cannot compromise when it comes to, what are the needs of the people in my district? People are hungry. People are homeless. People are jobless. Poverty rates are way too high. And my fight in Congress is going to be with the people of our district to make sure we deal with those issues explicitly and directly, without compromise.

BASH: I want to ask both of you about the bill that's sitting on President Trump's desk or with him in the golf cart at Mar-a-Lago.

Congresswoman-elect Bush, I will ask you first, do you support what passed, including the $600 direct payment? I know you said it's not enough. But is that OK for now?

BUSH: When we think about what's OK, $600, why do we treat our people like that? We want to toss some crumbs and then ask -- and hope that people are loyal.

You know, why are we -- why is that even a question to give people $600? Two thousand dollars is not enough. We're talking about, we haven't had -- some people didn't even see the $1,200. But for those that did, it's been months. And so when we talk about giving somebody $600, that's a slap in the face to people who are suffering.

And let me tell you, when you're hungry, you're hungry all day. That's an every moment, every hour feeling. And it does something to you.

BASH: So, is President Trump right not to sign it?

BUSH: President Trump -- you know what? The fact that he cares more about Twitter and what Twitter thinks about making sure that people have food, that's what we should be talking about.

Trump is -- Trump not signing it, it shouldn't be necessarily about the money. But I agree with the $2,000. It needs to at least be $2,000. So, he needs to talk to his Republican buddies and say, give the people the money. Come on, Mitch. Where's the money? Do that now.

But, instead, he's too busy worried about making sure that his friends get off, getting his friends out of prison. What we need to be doing is making sure that those homeless, those 40,000 homeless veterans have a place to go. That's what we should be doing.

We should be looking at cutting that Pentagon budget by 10 percent, like it has been proposed, to make sure that our veterans get the resources and our communities get the resources they need. That's what he should be doing right now, not worried about Twitter.

BASH: Congressman-elect Bowman?

BOWMAN: So, the House passed the HEROES Act several months ago, and we were talking about $1,200 checks, I believe, at that time.

We need to be at $2,000 per month to meet the needs of the American people, bottom line. We need to continue the $600-per-week unemployment insurance.

[09:55:09]

The president is just posturing. He recently suffered a malignant narcissist's harm by losing the election. He continues to go to court to try to overturn the results. He continues to lose. And now he's posturing to make himself -- to bring himself back as the hero of the American people, asking for $2,000.

Mnuchin negotiated on the president's behalf for this $600. So, initially, the president was fine with that. And now he's trying to switch it up. He's the embodiment...

BASH: So, real quick, do you think that Speaker Pelosi made a -- made a mistake in agreeing to this?

BOWMAN: The American people need relief right now. So, this bill was what we were able to come up with at this moment. But we need to go right back to the table to give people more in terms of relief.

The president is the embodiment of everything that's wrong with this country. He's a privileged person who rose to power as a reality TV star. And now he's trying to drive this country into chaos. I can't wait for him to be out of office.

(CROSSTALK)

BOWMAN: And the number -- and the number one thing is, we got to win those two Senate seats in Georgia, so we could take Mitch McConnell's power, so that we can properly govern for all the American people.

BASH: And real quick, before I let you both go, something looking ahead at that you're both going to have to vote on, which is the speaker of the House.

Congresswoman-elect Bush, will you vote for Nancy Pelosi as speaker?

(LAUGHTER)

BUSH: What I'm going to do is make sure that the voices of the people of Saint Louis are heard and that we have what we need.

And so you will find out then.

BASH: That's not a yes.

BUSH: I'm working with my community. I'm working with my community.

BASH: OK.

And, congressman-elect Bowman, will you vote for Nancy Pelosi as speaker?

BOWMAN: So, you will find out when my vote is tallied, and, again, organizing with our community to figure out what's best.

BASH: I'm just curious, why -- what does that mean? When you said organizing with our community, I mean, what do you want to hear from them, real quick, in order to make your decision whether Nancy Pelosi should be the speaker?

BOWMAN: So, for me...

BUSH: I think that...

BOWMAN: Go ahead, Cori.

BUSH: Go, Jamaal.

BOWMAN: No, for me...

(CROSSTALK)

(LAUGHTER)

BOWMAN: Go ahead.

(CROSSTALK)

BASH: We're almost out of time, actually.

So, just give me a 10-second answer.

(CROSSTALK)

BUSH: ... Jamaal.

BOWMAN: We got to bring HR-40 to the floor for a vote. We need reparations for the African-American community.

BASH: OK.

BOWMAN: We need a federal jobs guarantee. We need Medicare for all.

BASH: Thank you.

Thank you so much to you both. Congratulations. Merry Christmas. Appreciate it.

BUSH: Thank you.

BOWMAN: Thank you.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source