The Congressional Black Caucus will boast a record 62 members for the next session of Congress, contributing toward the highest number of Black federal lawmakers in history, according to the organization.
In all, 67 Black people will serve in Congress. Five Republican members are not listed as members of the CBC.
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While the caucus's members had planned to uphold a policy agenda for Black and marginalized people under a Kamala Harris administration, instead Rep. Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y., said the CBC's role will be to hold President-elect Donald Trump and his congressional supporters accountable.
“We’ve always been the conscience of the Congress, and that’s no matter who’s in charge,” Meeks, the ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, told NBC News. “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.”
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The Congressional Black Caucus, established in 1971, is not tied to a political party, though all members are Democrats. Its mission has been to represent Black and marginalized groups through voter enfranchisement, health care access, broader educational opportunities, jobs, reform of the criminal justice system and foreign relations with predominantly Black nations around the world. According to its website, members of the CBC currently represent 120 million people in the U.S. and 41% of Black Americans.
Meeks said the CBC’s mission will be clear for Congress’ 119th session: to challenge the Trump administration on policies that affect Black people especially, like health care access and prescription drug costs, among other issues. And “loudly,” he said.
“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.”
Politics
Meeks criticized Trump’s Cabinet selections and policies, particularly Dr. Mehmet Oz, who has been chosen to oversee Medicaid and Medicare, and Linda McMahon, Trump’s secretary of education pick. Meeks said he expects the group will maintain vocal dissent when necessary, but will proactively focus on policies that will affect average people.
The Trump transition team did not respond to NBC News’ request for comment.
Meeks pointed to calls to eliminate the Affordable Care Act, which the CBC would vehemently oppose. “We’re going to be showing exactly who is working on that effort, because it’s going to have a direct effect on our community,” he said.
Both the House and Senate will be in Republican control, limiting the potential impact the CBC and congressional Democrats more broadly. Niccara Campbell Wallace, executive director of the Rolling Sea Action Fund, said this makes the CBC’s growth from 60 members in the 118th Congress all the more noteworthy.
“Despite the Republicans having the House and the Senate” next session, she said, “you feel good about what these historic number of Black Congress members can do in terms of helping influence what comes down the pipe.”
Rolling Sea Action Fund is a hybrid PAC that raises money for Black congressional candidates as well as for ads and other election expenses.
Wallace said her work and the CBC’s are vital because “Black Americans have believed in the ideals of what America can and will be, despite us not always having a seat at the table or being in the forefront of the Founding Fathers’ minds.”
Beyond legislating and countering the Trump administration, Meeks said he is already looking ahead to the midterm elections of 2026.
“Two years go around very fast,” he said. “That’s why we’re going to be campaigning and moving forward for the entire two years.”
“We’ll be making it clear that in just two years, we can reverse and stop some of the things, some of the tragedies, of the administration-elect,” he continued, “and that their policies will be putting the plague on our communities, as well as poor white communities. It’s going to have an effect on the whole country.”
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