Hon. Cheri Bustos
Government Relations • International Affairs
Partner
Former Congresswoman Cheri Bustos is a Partner at Mercury Public Affairs, working across its Washington, D.C., office while also leading its firm's operations in Illinois.
As a former senior member of Congressional leadership with a long career in both the public and private sectors, Bustos brings decades of experience in politics, journalism, healthcare and communications.
While representing Illinois’ 17th Congressional District for five terms, Bustos held powerful roles in leadership, serving as Co-Chair of the Steering and Policy Committee; Co-Chairing the Democratic Policy and Communications Committee, playing a key role in Democrats taking the majority; and chairing a key subcommittee of the House Agriculture Committee. She also was the top Democrat to bring home Community Project Funding to the Congressional District she represented.
Bustos served on the powerful Appropriations Committee; the House Committee on Agriculture; and on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.
While on the House Appropriations Committee, she served on some of the most powerful subcommittees: Defense; Labor, Health and Human Services and Education; Energy and Water; and Military Construction and Veterans Administration.
Outside of her public service work, Bustos has helped advance the next generation of Democratic leaders, protecting the Democratic House majority as Chairwoman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC). In that role, she helped raise a record-breaking one-third of a billion dollars for the organization.
Additionally, Bustos is the founder of Build the Bench, a program focused on identifying and training individuals interested in running for office at all levels. She is also a Founding Board Member of Elect Democratic Women, which has raised close to $50 million since the 2018 Election cycle.
Bustos was a 2023 Fellow at Harvard Kennedy School’s Institute of Politics and a 2024 Fellow at the Dole Institute of Politics at the University of Kansas.
She holds a bachelor’s degree in Government and Politics from the University of Maryland in College Park, and a Master’s in Public Affairs Reporting from the University of Illinois at Springfield.
As a former senior member of Congressional leadership with a long career in both the public and private sectors, Bustos brings decades of experience in politics, journalism, healthcare and communications.
While representing Illinois’ 17th Congressional District for five terms, Bustos held powerful roles in leadership, serving as Co-Chair of the Steering and Policy Committee; Co-Chairing the Democratic Policy and Communications Committee, playing a key role in Democrats taking the majority; and chairing a key subcommittee of the House Agriculture Committee. She also was the top Democrat to bring home Community Project Funding to the Congressional District she represented.
Bustos served on the powerful Appropriations Committee; the House Committee on Agriculture; and on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.
While on the House Appropriations Committee, she served on some of the most powerful subcommittees: Defense; Labor, Health and Human Services and Education; Energy and Water; and Military Construction and Veterans Administration.
Outside of her public service work, Bustos has helped advance the next generation of Democratic leaders, protecting the Democratic House majority as Chairwoman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC). In that role, she helped raise a record-breaking one-third of a billion dollars for the organization.
Additionally, Bustos is the founder of Build the Bench, a program focused on identifying and training individuals interested in running for office at all levels. She is also a Founding Board Member of Elect Democratic Women, which has raised close to $50 million since the 2018 Election cycle.
Bustos was a 2023 Fellow at Harvard Kennedy School’s Institute of Politics and a 2024 Fellow at the Dole Institute of Politics at the University of Kansas.
She holds a bachelor’s degree in Government and Politics from the University of Maryland in College Park, and a Master’s in Public Affairs Reporting from the University of Illinois at Springfield.
