Congressional Black Caucus swears in its largest caucus ever

The Congressional Black Caucus of the 118th Congress was officially sworn in at a ceremony on Tuesday. The new class is the largest in CBC history.

Rep. Steven Horsford (D-Nev.) is replacing outgoing Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio) as chairman.

Horsford said the new CBC will have the opportunity to advance the vision of the first CBC from 50 years ago — one that had only 13 members, including Rep. Shirley Chisholm (D-N.Y.) as the only woman.

“The laws and policies of our nation did not always favor Black Americans, from the earliest slaves brought across the ocean to the Black soldiers who fought in the Revolutionary and Civil Wars. To those who braved the earliest fights through Jim Crow & Reconstruction, from the Tuskegee Airmen and Henrietta Lacks to the brave front-line workers in the COVID pandemic,” Horsford said. “In the work we do, we honor our history, like the many Black members that served before there was even a Congressional Black Caucus.”

In total, 58 members — nine of them new members — were sworn in, including Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.), the first Gen Z member and the only Afro-Cuban in Congress, as well as Rep. Summer Lee (D-Pa.), the first Black woman elected to the House from Pennsylvania.

[SOURCE: THE HILL]

Congressman Steven Horsford Elected Chairman of Congressional Black Caucus

The Congressional Black Caucus announced its new leadership for the 118th Congress on Thursday.

Rep. Steven Horsford (D-Nev.) was elected as its the new chairman.

Others elected to the Black Caucus Executive Committee were Rep. Yvette Clarke (D-N.Y.) is first vice chair; Rep. Troy Carter (D-La.) is second vice chair; Rep. Lucy McBath (D-Ga.) is secretary; and Rep. Marilyn Strickland (D-Wash.) is the caucus’s new whip.

Horsford responded via Twitter on his new leadership position:

I am honored to serve as Chair of @TheBlackCaucus for the 118th Congress. Our work as the “conscience of the Congress” will be as important as ever, as we advocate for economic prosperity, voting rights and protecting our democracy. pic.twitter.com/21rHY4A7ym

— Rep. Steven Horsford (@RepHorsford) December 1, 2022

Rep. Steven Horsford, Nevada's only black congressman endorses Biden

Rep. Steven Horsford, Nevada's only black congressman has endorsed Joe Biden for president.

“He is ready to do the job of president on Day one,” Horsford said of Biden in a statement. “And Joe knows Nevada. He campaigned with and served alongside (former President) Barack Obama during the eight years of his successful, scandal-free presidency.”

Horsford credited Biden with helping to “kill” the Yucca Mountain project, which would have dumped nuclear waste from across the country in Nevada.

He also praised the former vice president’s work with Obama on civil rights, labor and the economy, as well as Biden’s work on passing the Affordable Care Act.

Horsford is a member of the Congressional Black Caucus and was the first African American majority leader of the Nevada Senate from 2009 to 2013.