Congressional Black Caucus Archives

Congressional Black Caucus wants strategy changes at Biden campaign

July 11, 2024
Support for President Joe Biden within the Congressional Black Caucus may not be as strong as it first appeared immediately after the debate. The caucus chairman is now calling for strategy changes within the Biden campaign that he believes are necessary to win in November.

“We have always expressed repeatedly and directly, including to the president of the United States himself, the need to make change, structural change in the campaign, change around strategy, change around how we make investments and spending,” Rep. Steven Horsford, D-Nev., told reporters at the Capitol on Thursday, July 11. “To do what — to win in November.”

Horsford conveyed his support for Biden after the debate and added that he is fit to serve. Though Horsford and others are calling for changes, they won’t elaborate.

Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, D-Mo., told Straight Arrow News he also wants to see strategy changes but said he would rather not reveal specifics.

“I think we have people who have conveyed that to the White House,” Cleaver said.

“I’m not going to comment on that,” Rep. Joe Neguse, D-Colo., said. “I would just simply say that as someone who was on the House floor and in the House chamber on January 6 and as a former impeachment manager, I think that a second Donald Trump presidency would be deeply dangerous and destructive for our country.”

The New York Times reported the Biden campaign is conducting a survey of voters to test Vice President Kamala Harris’ strength as a candidate against Donald Trump.

“While some of Mr. Biden’s top aides have quietly argued that Ms. Harris could not win the election, donors and other outside supporters of the vice president believe she might be in a stronger position after the debate, and could be a more energetic communicator of the party’s message,” the Times report said.

Democratic leadership in Congress is not calling for Biden to drop out. However, members are putting on the pressure to finalize a path to victory quickly, with or without the president.

“I think we have time to make some decisions and start some movement,” Cleaver said. “But I don’t think we have a lot of time. I don’t think we just kind of lollygag for the next 10 days and hope everything turns out.”

The president will host a solo press conference Thursday night during the NATO summit. He also agreed to sit down with NBC News for a taped interview that will air on Monday, July 15.
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Prominent Democrats suggest ways to replace Biden as nominee

July 9, 2024
President Joe Biden appears safe as the Democratic presidential nominee — at least for now. The Congressional Black Caucus and Congressional Hispanic Caucus, two of the most powerful groups on Capitol Hill, announced they still support him.

However, there are a growing number of lawmakers who have stated publicly that Biden should drop out before the Democratic National Convention (DNC). If he does, he could release his delegates from their obligation to support him and the party would have an open convention.

However, some prominent Democrats want to make sure left-leaning voters have their say, not just party leaders. Here are a few suggestions:

Democratic presidential consultant James Carville said it’s only a matter of time before Biden drops out. He wrote in a New York Times op-ed, “The jig is up, and the sooner Mr. Biden and Democratic leaders accept this, the better.”

Carville proposed that former Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton host four town halls between now and the DNC in August. He suggested the former presidents choose eight candidates to participate, including Vice President Kamala Harris.

“Town halls will give Americans a fresh look at Ms. Harris and introduce them to our deep bench of smart, dynamic, tested leaders,” Carville wrote. “In addition, Democratic delegates will get to further grill and stress-test these leaders in public and private meetings before a formal vote of all the delegates at the Democratic convention.”

Comedian Jon Stewart suggested an open convention with a twist, and criticized those who said there isn’t enough time.

“119 days,” Stewart said on “The Daily Show,” Monday, July 8. “There are contestants on ‘The Bachelor‘ who will get married and divorced between now and the election. We have nothing but time.”

Stewart said candidates who want to challenge Biden should be able to make their case the first day of the convention in Chicago.

The winners of round one would go head-to-head against Biden on Tuesday, Aug. 20. The party can have a day to think about it on Wednesday, Aug. 21, and it will have its nominee on Thursday, Aug. 22, which is when Biden is currently scheduled to accept the nomination anyway.

“You could televise the whole thing,” Stewart said. “You could call it, I don’t know, ‘The Apprentice.’”

The reality is, if Biden doesn’t step down on his own, it’s highly unlikely he could be replaced.

The Democratic Party’s rules state, “All delegates to the National Convention pledged to a presidential candidate shall in all good conscience reflect the sentiments of those who elected them.”

Technically, some could say they couldn’t vote for Biden in good conscience. However, Biden has 3,894 pledged delegates and needs 1,968 at the convention to officially become the nominee, so nearly 2,000 would need to defect.
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Congress members call for police reform legislation following Tyre Nichols’ death

January 31, 2023

The body camera footage of Tyre Nichols’ death has restarted conversation regarding police reform. Nichols, a 29-year-old Black man, died three days after police pulled him over for reckless driving and beat him when he tried to flee the scene.

“First, it’s about making sure that the president knows that this is an important enough issue for him to talk about at the State of the Union,” Rep. Steven Horsford, D-Nev., said. “I’ve invited the Nichols family as the guests of the Congressional Black Caucus so they will be there on that day to hear from the president and members of Congress on both sides of the aisle how we will finally take action.”

Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., tweeted, “I’ll never stop working to create the coalition necessary to pass policing reform and to help end this.”

While some are calling for legislative change, House Oversight Chair Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, doesn’t think that’s the solution.

“Well, I don’t know that there’s any law that can stop that evil that we saw—that is just difficult to watch,” Jordan said. “What strikes me is just the lack of respect for human life.”

The most recent effort to advance police reform legislation in Congress came in 2021 after Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin was convicted of second and third-degree murder charges for the death of George Floyd. Sen. Booker worked across the aisle with Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., to negotiate the legislation, but they ultimately failed to come to an agreement. The sticking points reportedly included qualified immunity and disagreement from police unions.
6th Memphis officer relieved of duty over Tyre Nichols beating

January 30, 2023

A few days after the Memphis Police Department released graphic video of officers beating Tyre Nichols, the department announced Monday a sixth officer has been disciplined. Unlike the five officers who have been fired and charged with murder in Nichols’ death, Preston Hemphill was suspended shortly after the incident earlier this month.

Monday a spokesperson for the department said word of Hemphill’s suspension was not immediately released because he was not fired and the department typically releases information about officers who are relieved of duty after an investigation ends. The Memphis police spokesperson did not disclose the officer’s role in Nichols’ arrest and beating.

The Memphis Police Department is not the only law enforcement agency disciplining officials in the wake of Nichols’ death. Two Shelby County sheriff’s deputies have been relieved of duty without pay while their conduct is investigated, and two Memphis Fire Department workers were also removed from duty. Calls for more officers to be fired or charged have been loud and persistent from the Nichols family, their lawyers and community activists since the video was released.

“Questions were raised before the video was released, I raised those questions,” Rodney Wells, Nichols’ stepfather, told The Associated Press. “I just felt there was more than five officers out there. Now, five were charged with murder because they were the main participants, but there were five or six other officers out there that didn’t do anything to render any aid. So they are just as culpable as the officers who threw the blows.”

As investigations continue, it was announced Sunday that Wells and Nichols’ mother RowVaughn Wells will attend President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address next month. They were invited by Congressional Black Caucus Chairman Rep. Steven Horsford, D-Nev. The caucus also said it was in talks with the White House about a meeting to discuss police reform.

Reuters contributed to this report.

Congressional Black Caucus wants strategy changes at Biden campaign

Prominent Democrats suggest ways to replace Biden as nominee

Congress members call for police reform legislation following Tyre Nichols’ death

6th Memphis officer relieved of duty over Tyre Nichols beating

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