Inside the latest chapter of the Biden-CBC kinship
Members of the Congressional Black Caucus once again rallied around the president when he needed them the most. They say it’s because he’s done the same for them and their constituents.
First Things First
Congressional Democrats spent their first full day back on Capitol Hill since late last month in closed-door discussions searching for a consensus on whether President Joe Biden should remain their party’s standard bearer after his poor debate performance against former President Donald Trump nearly two weeks ago.
House Democrats met down the street from the US Capitol at their campaign arm’s headquarters—the usual location for political deliberations—while their Senate counterparts assembled during their regularly scheduled weekly policy lunches in hopes of arriving at some common ground.
Most members on both sides of the dome were unusually mum following the meetings. According to several accounts from members and sources familiar with the action inside the room characterized the mood as somber as lawmakers failed to reconcile the broader split between those who want Biden to stay and those who want him gone.
The Congressional Black Caucus has been firmly in the former camp since almost immediately after the debate. Senior members of the influential Democratic bloc, including Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), supported Biden at the ESSENCE Festival in New Orleans over the weekend. And the president received an outpour from CBC members on Monday ahead of the first House and Senate votes of the week.
Biden joined the CBC on a call last night to thank members for having his back and reiterated his commitment to have the Black community’s. He outlined his priorities for a second term, including addressing the affordable housing crisis, investing in elder care, restoring the expanded Child Tax Credit and pouring additional federal funds into Historically Black Colleges and Universities.
Members told me that their support for the president goes beyond the policies though. Many see a man whose life experience and faith enable him to feel empathy for Black Americans, someone who can admit when he’s wrong while also keeping it real.
During several conversations, CBC members told me they feel a genuine connection with the president and are proud to use their individual and collective voices to rally around him when he needs them the most.
“We’re 60 members—the largest in our history,” CBC Chair Steven Horsford (D-Nev.) told me this evening. “We represent 120 million Americans, a third of the population. We’re more than a quarter of the House of Representatives. When the CBC members speak, we do speak with a loud voice because we are the conscious of the Congress.”
Michael Hardaway, publisher of Hardaway Wire, a political intelligence cable for CEOs, told me that Biden does what he says he’s going to do and does so with integrity, an attribute that resonates with the Black community, especially men, a demographic the Trump campaign is looking to attract away from the Democratic Party in November.
“The President is incredibly loyal, which is something we as Black folks value and respect,” Hardaway added. “He’s also a kid from Scranton who’s familiar with the Black experience in America and has played an important role in protecting and elevating the policies Black folks care about.“
House Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.) said that while he speaks with members from all factions of the caucus, including the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, or which he’s a member as the highest-ranking Latino in the House or Senate, he is thankful for the way the CBC leads on issues that matter to it.
“The strength and resiliency of the Congressional Black Caucus, how they advocate for their communities, how they advocate for Americans is something that I appreciate,” he added. “These are individuals who have built tenure in this done advocating for working families advocating for the rights and the struggles of people who have been marginalized in their communities.”
All three Black Democratic senators—Cory Booker (N.J.), Raphael Warnock (Ga.) and Laphonza Butler (Calif.)—were on the call, a demonstration of solidarity with Biden and their House colleagues.
Butler told me President Biden has the ability to connect with voters from the personal pain caused by the death of his first wife and daughter in a car accident in the 1970s, the passing of his son Beau in 2015 and his son Hunter‘s battle with addiction.
“Being able to sort of share those painful moments publicly, I think it gets him some greater endearment from the Black community,” she said. “I think that there have been experiences where he has sort of made commitments and definitely followed through— whether it’s the nomination of the vice president, the nomination of the first black woman, to the US Supreme Court in Associate Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson. I think it’s commitment to funding HBCUs, right? I think it’s that kind of loyalty that I think is important, important characteristic for Black families.”
Butler added that her decision to still back Biden is partly out of respect for the 14 million Democratic voters who have already cast their ballots in the primary.
“But let's be honest, last Thursday’s debate was horrible. And the president has been working diligently to reassure people that he’s up to the job,” she said. “I also think that he has been doing the work to listen to what folks are offering. And so unless and until there’s a different candidate, where I stand is behind the votes of Democrats.”
A White House official told me that Black priorities aren’t treated as second-class issues in the administration and that President Biden uses his long history in politics to show respect as someone who lived through the Civil Rights Movement.
In the wake of Biden’s debate, he’s railed against what he perceives as the elite political class who’s turned their back on him after a terrible 90-minute performance.
“I think every Black member on the Hill has a story of when somebody gave up on them,” the official said. “It’s not just some transactional thing [with the president]. It took decades to forge.”
But CBC members did acknowledge that the president needs to do more to energize Black voters—especially those dissatisfied with another Biden-Trump rematch—about his plans for the next four years.
“You absolutely have to build on the record,” Horsford said. “And that is partly why I have said it’s important that the president add to his message a very clear vision for what he will do with Democrats in the majority here in the House with [Minority] Leader [Hakeem] Jeffries [(D-N.Y.)] as speaker and holding the Senate so that we can actually move legislation.” (Democrats’ prospects down the ballot took a hit today as Cook Political Report shifted five states and a congressional district in Trump’s direction.)
President Biden is expected to meet virtually soon with the Congressional Hispanic Caucus in a similar fashion to his CBC call.
Chair Nanette Barragán (D-Calif.), who, with Vice Chair Adriano Espaillat (D-N.Y.), issued a statement on Monday affirming their support for Biden remaining at the top of the ticket, told me the meeting would be a forum for CHC members to ask Biden questions and thank him for his recent executive action to protect certain undocumented spouses of US citizens from deportation.
I asked Barragán if she were confident she would continue to see those types of moves from Biden if he won reelection this fall.
“I would not be supporting the president and the Biden-Harris ticket if I didn’t think that they were the best option for the Latino community,” she said. “A lot of work to do. I’ve been reminding people about what the president has done for the Latino community and the contrast force with the Trump [Project 2025] of mass deportations, trying to undo the protections for spouses of US citizens, trying to roll back everything from the [Affordable Care Act], things that are really important to look into communities, including even the effort to address student loan debt, which is huge amongst the Latino community. So I think when we talk to voters, when we talk to constituents, and we remind them about that, it’s been a pretty positive response in making sure we have an ally and a friend in the White House.”
In the Know
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President Biden approved a major disaster declaration and spoke with Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo about the impacts of Hurricane Beryl on the Houston area. Two million customers across Texas still lack power after Beryl ripped through the state on Monday. The outages come as temperatures rose into the 90s with heat indexes into the 100s. Power companies and state leaders say it will likely take days to restore service. 20 fatalities have been confirmed and initial damage estimates are more than $6 billion. Read the latest at The Texas Tribune.
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The House passed two bills to prevent the Biden administration from regulating refrigerators and dishwashers for conversation standards. House Democratic leadership recommended its members to vote against the measures arguing they ignore agreements reached by home appliance manufacturers and energy efficiency advocates. Leadership also called the bills redundant since the House passed legislation in May—the Hands Off Our Home Appliances Act—already covers all appliances and similarly restricts the Energy Department’s standards-setting process. (Seven House Democrats voted for the broader appliances bill.) White House announced its strong opposition to the bills undermined the administration’s work to advance energy efficiency standards for appliances by adding unnecessary provisions that create uncertainty and hurdles for the Energy Department.
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The Biden campaign announced a national organizing and engagement program to mobilize Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander voters, communities, and leaders nationwide. Vice President Harris is currently in Las Vegas, headlining a kickoff event for AANHPIs for Biden-Harris with TV host Padma Lakshmi and released a video emphasizing the importance of AANHPI voices being heard at the ballot box and being represented in government. Harris will also give a keynote speech at the Asian and Pacific Islander American Vote (APIAVote) presidential town hall in Philadelphia on Saturday. The campaign has launched similar programs for Black, Latino and LGBTQ+ voters and supporters from different industries and various diverse communities.
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The Democratic National Committee launched a billboard campaign warning of the dangers of former President Trump's Project 2025 agenda ahead of a Trump rally in Doral, Florida, this evening. The DNC says the agenda, which Trump recently tried to distance himself from, threatens reproductive freedom, democracy, and the Constitution. “Freedom and democracy are on the ballot and Florida voters will reject Trump’s agenda to rip away their rights and reelect President Biden in November,” DNC spokesperson Abhi Rahman said in a statement. Learn more about Project 2025.
Make me smarter. Did I miss something in this post? Is there something else I should know? Drop me a line at michael@onceuponahill.com or send me a message below to get in touch.
Wednesday happenings
All times Eastern
The House is in.
The House Appropriations Committee will hold a markup at 9 a.m. on the 2025 funding bills for the Labor, Health and Human Services and Education Departments, the Transportation and Housing and Urban Development Departments and the Agriculture Department and FDA.
The House Agriculture Committee will hold a hearing at 2 p.m. on the Environmental Protection Agency’s impact on American agriculture.
The House Education and Workforce Committee will mark up several bills at 10:15 a.m., including a measure that would require the Education Department to release the FAFSA by October 1 following the new form was riddled with delays and errors.
The Senate is in.
The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee will hold a hearing at 10 a.m. on the state and federal response to the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse.
President Biden will attend a meeting of union leaders at the AFL-CIO in Washington, DC and then welcome NATO leaders to the NATO Summit where he will participate in a welcome handshake and family photo. The president will also participate in a working session at the summit before hosting an official arrival ceremony and dinner with NATO allies and partners.
Vice President Harris will give the keynote speech at Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.’s national convention in Dallas before returning to Washington, DC.
First Lady Dr. Jill Biden will host a brunch reception and speak at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History at 12:15 p.m.
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