The Congressional Black Caucus will have a record 62 members for the next session of Congress, which the organization says will contribute to the highest number of Black federal lawmakers in history.
A total of 67 black people will serve in Congress. Five Republican members are not listed as members of the CBC.
While caucus members planned to uphold a policy agenda for Black and marginalized people under the Kamala Harris administration, Rep. Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y., said the CBC’s role will be to support President-elect Donald Trump and to hold his supporters in Congress accountable.
“We have always been the conscience of Congress, no matter who is in charge,” Meeks, a ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, told NBC News. “We always try to work with people where we can. But we also call on them. And now we have more of these leaders who can bring truth to power, to ensure the voices of the voiceless are heard.”
The Congressional Black Caucus, founded in 1971, is not affiliated with any political party, although all members are Democrats. Its mission was to represent Black and marginalized groups through voting rights, access to health care, expanded educational opportunities, jobs, criminal justice system reform, and foreign relations with predominantly Black countries around the world. According to its website, CBC members currently represent 120 million people in the U.S. and 41% of Black Americans.
Meeks said the CBC’s mission will be clear for the 119th session of Congress: to challenge the Trump administration on policies that particularly affect Black people, such as access to health care and prescription drug costs. And “loud,” he said.
“Instead of just having a quartet, you now have a whole choir,” Meeks said. “And we will be loud, we will be clear, and we will be constant and consistent, because this administration is a danger.”
Meeks criticized the choices and policies of Trump’s cabinet, especially Dr. Mehmet Oz, who was chosen to oversee Medicaid and Medicare, and Linda McMahon, Trump’s Secretary of Education. Meeks said he expects the group will maintain strong dissent where necessary, but will proactively focus on policies that will impact the average person.
Trump’s transition team did not respond to NBC News’ request for comment.
Meeks pointed to calls to repeal the Affordable Care Act, which the CBC would strongly oppose. “We are going to show exactly who is working on this effort because it will have a direct impact on our community,” he said.
Both the House of Representatives and the Senate will be under Republican control, limiting the potential impact of the CBC and Democrats in Congress 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 remarkable.
“Despite Republicans having the House and Senate next session,” she said, “you feel good about what this historic number of Black members of Congress 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 advertising and other election expenses.
Wallace said her work and that of the CBC are vital because “black Americans have believed in the ideals of what America can and will be, despite not always having a seat at the table or in the forefront of the minds of the Founding Fathers to stand.”
In addition to legislating and opposing the Trump administration, Meeks said he is already looking ahead to the 2026 midterm elections.
“Two years go by very quickly,” he said. “That’s why we’re going to campaign for the entire two years and move forward.”
“We will make it clear that in just two years we can reverse and stop a number of things, a number of tragedies, of the elected government,” he continued, “and that their policies will cause the plague. our communities, as well as poor white communities. It will affect the entire country.”
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
