With 62 Black members in Congress and the highest number of Black federal lawmakers in history, the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) plans to fight back against President-elect Donald Trump’s Project 2025 agenda, NBC News reports.
Instead of upholding policies for Black and marginalized people under a Harris-Walz administration, the CBC has pivoted to hold Trump and his GOP-led allies accountable for what’s to come. Ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.), says the group has no problem working with all legislative colleagues, but that doesn’t mean some won’t be called out on issues that are triggering. “We’ve always been the conscience of the Congress, and that’s no matter who’s in charge,” Meeks said.
“We always try to work with folks where we can. But we call them out also. And now we have more of these leaders to call truth to power, to make sure that the voices of the voiceless are heard.”
There will be 67 Black lawmakers serving in Congress. The five Black Republicans are not members of the CBC.
With a 53-year history, the group’s goal is clear for the 119th session of Congress — “loudly” challenge the Trump administration on policies affecting Black people with a specific hold on access to healthcare, prescription drug costs, the call to eliminate Obamacare, also known as the Affordable Care Act, education, and more. Such issues have come under scrutiny as Trump has nominated controversial cabinet picks, including wrestling executive Linda McMahon for secretary of education and Dr. Mehmet Oz to oversee Medicaid and Medicare.
Meeks has expressed concerns over the selections and says the pushback from the Caucus will not be silenced. “Instead of just having a quartet, now you’ve got a whole choir,” Meeks said. “And we will be loud, we will be clear, and we’re going to be constant and consistent because this administration is a danger.”
While the House and Senate will be under Republican control, the presence of Black Democratic lawmakers hasn’t gone unnoticed. Executive Director of the Rolling Sea Action Fund, Niccara Campbell Wallace, calls the group’s growth “noteworthy.” “Despite the Republicans having the House and the Senate next session, you feel good about what these historic number of Black Congress members can do in terms of helping influence what comes down the pipe,” she said.
In a statement, the CBC says their new members are ready to fight for American voters of all creeds and protect them from Trump’s dangerous rhetoric. “The CBC will hold the line to protect Americans from the danger of extremist Republicans and their hate-filled Project 2025 agenda,” the statement read, according to The Hill.
“In the streets, the courtroom, and in Congress, the CBC will build coalitions with Americans of goodwill to fight for a fair economy and defend freedom. House and Senate Republicans should be on alert. We will expose and define their dangerous, reckless agenda out the gate — Americans will have a clear-eyed-view of the stakes next November.”
The caucus’s leadership will see the return of its chair, Rep. Steven Horsford, who just won Democratic re-election in Nevada, and ranking committee members, including Virginia’s Rep. Bobby Scott on Education and the Workforce, Rep. David Scott of Georgia on Agriculture, Mississippi’s Rep. Bennie Thompson for Homeland Security, and Rep. Maxine Waters on Financial Services.
New faces will include historymakers Rep.-elect Janelle Bynum, the first Black woman to represent Oregon, and Sens.-elect Angela Alsobrooks (MD) and Lisa Blunt Rochester (DE).
RELATED CONTENTS: Congressional Black Caucus Says Trump’s ‘Platinum Plan’ To Help Black Americans Is Similar To Their Proposal
