The Congressional Progressive Caucus elected a new slate of leaders on Wednesday, with the vocal body preparing to fight back against the Trump administration and Republican-led Congress next year.
Rep. Greg Casar (D-TX) will take the caucus chairman gavel from outgoing chairwoman Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) after serving under her as caucus whip. Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) will continue to serve as CPC deputy chairwoman and Rep. Jesus “Chuy” Garcia (D-IL) will succeed Casar as whip.
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The change in progressive leadership comes as Republicans are poised to have a trifecta in federal government. Following the 2024 election and President-elect Donald Trump’s sweeping victory over Vice President Kamala Harris, younger members are seeking to move the party forward by bringing in fresh blood to caucuses and committees.
Eyes will be on progressives moving into the 119th Congress as they are traditionally some of the most vocal House Democrats on policy issues such as taxes, climate change, and social justice.
“We’ll do what progressives have always done, and lead the fights against the worst of the Trump administration,” Jayapal said during a press conference announcing the new leadership.
Casar is the first CPC chair from a Republican-controlled state, stating he’s used to fighting against “extremist” and “egocentric autocrats.”
“It will be our job to be defense against extreme policies from Trump and his billionaire friends. But it will also be up to the CPC to build a vision of a Democratic Party,” Casar said.
The caucus added nine new members to its ranks after the 2024 elections, including Rep.-elect Sarah McBride (D-DE), the first transgender member of Congress.
With House Republicans projected to have an almost non-existent majority, Casar said the goal is not only to prevent Trump’s tax plans but to hold the “the entire Democratic caucus together.”
Progressives have argued that the time period following the 2024 cycle should be one of reflection and “humility,” as Democrats continue to point fingers at what went wrong in their campaigns that allowed Republicans to flip the Senate and take control of the White House.
“Many of the voters that I’ve spoken to in places like Texas that swapped their votes from Biden to Trump, or were considering doing so, is because they want to hear from a more authentic Democratic Party that isn’t beholden to any other interest other than working people’s interests,” Casar said, reflecting on the 2024 results. “I think that that has less to do with any particular candidate and more to do with the definition of who we are as Democrats.”
Casar took a shot at establishment Democrats during his speech, arguing that if “the Democratic Party was a little bit more like Chairwoman Jayapal and a little less like Joe Manchin, I think we would have won this election.”
Other caucuses held elections to welcome a new wave of leaders over the last few weeks.
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The Congressional Black Caucus, another strong body on Capitol Hill, announced Wednesday that Rep. Yvette Clarke (D-NY) will serve as chairwoman, along with Reps. Troy Carter (D-LA) and Lucy McBath (D-GA) as vice chairpeople, Rep. Marilyn Strickland (D-WA) as secretary, and Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-CA) as whip.
The New Democrat Coalition elected Rep. Brad Schneider (D-IL), who represents what used to be Illinois’s toughest battleground district, as its new chair over Rep. Sharice Davids (D-KS), the only Democrat in the Kansas delegation who flipped a GOP stronghold in 2018.
