{"id":28148,"date":"2026-08-05T05:12:24","date_gmt":"2026-08-05T00:12:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=28148"},"modified":"2026-08-05T05:12:24","modified_gmt":"2026-08-05T00:12:24","slug":"congressional-black-caucus-plays-hardball-with-jeffries-skeptic-dsa-democrats","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=28148","title":{"rendered":"Congressional Black Caucus plays hardball with Jeffries-skeptic DSA Democrats"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<br \/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/images.axios.com\/hKDaw7T22aiye44h67ScobDrTYc=\/1366x768\/smart\/2024\/11\/07\/191903-1731007143988.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Some members of the Congressional Black Caucus want a condition for incoming Democrats seeking to join their ranks: You have to support House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) for speaker.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Why it matters: <\/strong>Things could get dicey fast, as several Black Democrats who are all but guaranteed to be elected in November have <a href=\"https:\/\/www.axios.com\/2026\/07\/08\/democrats-jeffries-primaries-speaker-vote-dsa\" target=\"_blank\">declined to commit<\/a> to voting for Jeffries.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<ul>\n<li>But <a href=\"https:\/\/www.axios.com\/2026\/06\/24\/espaillat-darializa-chevalier-ny-13-results\" target=\"_blank\">Darializa Avila Chevalier<\/a> wants in: The Afro-Latino nominee in New York&#8217;s 13th District <a href=\"https:\/\/www.semafor.com\/article\/08\/03\/2026\/avila-chevalier-plans-to-join-congressional-black-caucus\" target=\"_blank\">told Semafor<\/a> she will seek to join both the CBC and the Hispanic Caucus if elected.<\/li>\n<li>Pennsylvania state Rep. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.axios.com\/local\/philadelphia\/2026\/05\/20\/pennsylvania-primary-election-results-chris-rabb-district-3\" target=\"_blank\">Chris Rabb<\/a>, the nominee for a Philadelphia-based House seat, told Axios he is &#8220;definitely planning to join&#8221; the CBC.<\/li>\n<li>&#8220;I absolutely plan on joining the Black Caucus,&#8221; said <a href=\"https:\/\/www.axios.com\/2026\/07\/01\/melat-kiros-colorado-degette-democrats-reaction\" target=\"_blank\">Melat Kiros<\/a> of Colorado \u2014 another Black Democrat running in a safely blue district.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>All three DSA-aligned candidates <\/strong>have declined to commit to voting for Jeffries as speaker.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Kiros previously told Axios she &#8220;will not vote for any Democrat for a leadership position if they take corporate PAC money,&#8221; which would apply to Jeffries.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>What we&#8217;re hearing: <\/strong>Several members of the Black Caucus, speaking on the condition of anonymity to offer frank remarks about likely incoming colleagues, said criticism of Democratic leadership could be an issue.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>One senior CBC member, when asked if Avila Chevalier would be allowed to join, told Axios: &#8220;Not if she doesn&#8217;t support Hakeem along with other issues.&#8221; <\/li>\n<li>Asked if that would apply to all incoming members, the lawmaker replied, &#8220;Yes.&#8221;<\/li>\n<li>Avila Chevalier &#8220;absolutely will not be welcomed if she doesn&#8217;t support Hakeem,&#8221; said a second CBC member. &#8220;Under no circumstances would anyone be welcomed with a warm embrace if they are going to undermine the brotha! Just no path.&#8221;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Between the lines: <\/strong>Loyalty to Democratic leadership isn&#8217;t a formal criterion for CBC membership, a source familiar with the matter told Axios, but it may be a de facto one.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>&#8220;Support for Hakeem is not a written rule, at least not yet,&#8221; the source said, but &#8220;it would be a challenge to accept someone in the CBC who doesn&#8217;t support him for speaker.&#8221;<\/li>\n<li>The source added: &#8220;The CBC has far-left people, Squad members, DSA members. &#8230; But they are committed to Black people and the Black agenda. Hakeem Jeffries as speaker of the House is about progress for Black people and the Black agenda.&#8221;<\/li>\n<li>&#8220;You can&#8217;t come to the CBC and blow up the point of the CBC. It does not make sense.&#8221;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Yes, but: <\/strong>The second House Democrat who spoke on the condition of anonymity stressed that while these members may not be welcomed with open arms, it doesn&#8217;t mean they will be turned away entirely.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>&#8220;We have had Republicans,&#8221; the lawmaker noted. The CBC allowed former GOP Rep. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/news\/the-fix\/wp\/2015\/01\/06\/mia-love-joins-the-cbc-the-group-she-vowed-to-dismantle\/\" target=\"_blank\">Mia Love<\/a> to join, though it has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/politics\/congress\/black-republican-lawmaker-says-he-s-being-snubbed-congressional-black-n1270376\" target=\"_blank\">denied other Republicans<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>The group has also rebuffed some Democrats, including Rep. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.axios.com\/2022\/02\/15\/adriano-espaillat-black-caucus\" target=\"_blank\">Adriano Espaillat<\/a> (D-N.Y.), the Afro-Latino chair of the Hispanic Caucus, whom Avila Chevalier unseated in June.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>A Democratic leadership source<\/strong> strongly pushed back against the notion that any incoming Black Democrats would be denied entry to the CBC based on their vote for speaker.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>&#8220;I don&#8217;t believe the CBC decides its membership based on one&#8217;s pledge to support leadership,&#8221; the source said, adding that Avila Chevalier &#8220;will get the same review process as everyone else.&#8221;<\/li>\n<li>&#8220;I don&#8217;t think it&#8217;s a thing at the end of the day,&#8221; the source said.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>The bottom line: <\/strong>&#8220;As with every new Congress, matters related to membership for the 120th Congress will be addressed following the 2026 election cycle through the Congressional Black Caucus&#8217;s established processes,&#8221; a CBC spokesperson told Axios.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>&#8220;Right now, our focus is on voting rights while remaining committed to advancing policies that expand opportunity, protect fundamental rights, and improve the lives of the communities we serve.&#8221;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Some members of the Congressional Black Caucus want a condition for incoming Democrats seeking to join their ranks: You have to support House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) for speaker. Why it matters: Things could get dicey fast, as several Black Democrats who are all but guaranteed to be elected in November have declined to&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":28149,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/images.axios.com\/hKDaw7T22aiye44h67ScobDrTYc=\/1366x768\/smart\/2024\/11\/07\/191903-1731007143988.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-28148","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-political-news"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28148","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=28148"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28148\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/28149"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=28148"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=28148"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=28148"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}