Congressional Progressive Caucus Elects New Leadership

Members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus elected new leadership to steer the caucus at a time of unease and uncertainty within the Democratic Party following disappointing losses in the November election.

The unanimously elected team, unveiled at a Dec. 5 press conference, will be chaired by Rep. Greg Casar (D-Texas), with Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) as deputy chair and Rep. Chuy Garcia (D-Ill.) as whip.

Many Democrats are still reeling after Republican wins on Nov. 5, handing the GOP control of the White House and both chambers of Congress.

Attributing the losses to a rightward shift among working class Americans, Casar said he will focus on bringing those voters “back into the fold.”

“For decades, working class people and the entire country associated the Democratic Party with standing up for working-class people,” Casar said.

He said the shift began during the Tea Party era.

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“The Progressive Caucus is going to bring our ‘working people first’ reputation back to the Democrats,” Casar said.

Exit polls conducted by NBC News found that President-elect Donald Trump was the preferred candidate among voters with a total family income of under $100,000. He also won 56 percent of voters without a college degree.

Casar said “growing people’s paychecks” should be the priority for Democrats looking to sway voters.

“I think that’s what it’s going to take for us to win elections, for us to hold every part of this country across geography, across race, across ideology, and to not stand for injustice and oppression,” he said.

Casar will replace Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), who has helped to steer the Congressional Progressive Caucus for the last six years, first as co-chair and then as chair. Under her leadership, the caucus expanded to include more than 100 members.

“Despite our losses in November, we still see a clear path forward on offense,” Jayapal said, calling for renewed efforts to boost the minimum wage and enact universal childcare and affordable housing policies.

“We have to have a laser focus on showing people clearly how their lives will be materially different when they wake up in the morning and think about their family’s future,” she said.

On defense, the congresswoman said the caucus would “do what progressives have always done” and push back on the president-elect’s agenda, which she said would include efforts to cut Medicare and Social Security benefits.

Trump has repeatedly pledged to protect Medicare and Social Security benefits. His proposed tax policies include making the tax cuts enacted under the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act permanent and exempting tips, overtime pay, and Social Security benefits from taxes.

Another pillar of Trump’s platform was his promise to crack down on illegal immigration by launching “the largest deportation operation in American history.”

On that issue, Casar acknowledged that Democrats will need to build a more compelling narrative “if we ever want to get to a comprehensive and humane immigration solution.”