Kamala Harris and Democrats came up short in their bid to make history, and as a result, Republicans are poised to control the White House and Congress in 2025. Lost in this news, however, is the fact that a record number of Black legislators were elected to serve in the upcoming Congress, and these Black lawmakers plan to use their numbers and their voices to stand up against a staunchly conservative GOP agenda.
Record number of Black lawmakers in upcoming Congress
NBC News reported that a record 67 Black lawmakers will serve in the 119th Congress that begins its term in January, according to data provided by the Congressional Black Caucus. The 62 Democrats within this number will affiliate with the CBC, which is nonpartisan but does not currently include any Republicans. The group backed Vice President Kamala Harris throughout her presidential campaign and hoped to help support her agenda during the next presidency. Instead, the CBC finds itself facing a second Donald Trump presidency, a Republican-controlled Congress and a conservative Supreme Court. With this political landscape, the CBC now sees itself as an important opposition force.
Being ‘the conscience of Congress’ under GOP control
New York Rep. Gregory Meeks told NBC that the caucus has “always been the conscience of the Congress, and that’s no matter who’s in charge,” and that it’s role has included both cooperating with those in power and making sure “the voices of the voiceless are heard.” Meeks indicated that health care policy and drug prices will be high on the list of areas in which the CBC will push back against the stated agenda of the incoming administration; for instance, Trump has long sought to repeal the Affordable Care Act signed into law by President Barack Obama despite the reality that millions of Americans, including many Black Americans, would be left uninsured without the ACA. Meeks also objected to Trump’s nomination of professional wrestling business magnate Linda McMahon to head the Department of Education, an agency that Trump and his allies have stated they want to eliminate altogether.
Expanded roster of legislators and constituencies
In its mission to serve as a counterweight to the GOP agenda, the Congressional Black Caucus will have an expanded roster and constituency. According to the CBC website, the organization currently has 60 active members across the House and Senate, “representing more than 120 million Americans, 25.3 percent of the total U.S. population, and more than 20 million African-Americans, 41 percent of the total U.S. African-American population.” That representation will grow in the next Congress, as the number of members expands to 62 and the areas represented grow. For example, Janelle Bynum was recently confirmed as the winner of the race to represent Oregon’s 5th Congressional District, which will make her the first Black representative from the state. And for the first time, the caucus will include two Black women in the Senate after Lisa Blunt Rochester of Delaware and Angela Alsobrooks of Maryland both won their Senate races this year.
The new and returning Black legislators who make up the Congressional Black Caucus are thus a powerful block within Washington and represent a significant portion of the American population. But facing the political reality of conservative control of the federal government for the near future, the CBC will have its work cut out for it as it promotes and defends policies that benefit Black people and Americans of all communities across the country.
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