The internet had a field day last summer when a picture surfaced of Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., with his arm around a former Democratic member of Congress.
Hawley was at an event in St. Louis, Missouri, celebrating the inclusion of expanded funds for victims of nuclear radiation in President Donald Trump’s signature economic bill. In the photo, the far-right Republican smiled down on former Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo., who had worked with him on the measure, as he embraced her.
Bush was no longer in Congress at the time. She was ousted from her St. Louis seat in a Democratic primary the summer before, after facing more than $18 million in spending from outside groups, including the super PAC for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.
Bush’s AIPAC-backed replacement, Rep. Wesley Bell, stood in the background of the photo, off to the side.
“Cori, thank you,” Hawley said. “We would not be here without you and your work.”
