In the News

Who is the leading the resistance on Capitol Hill?

That is the question we wanted to answer before a second-term President Donald J. Trump delivered his first address before a joint session of Congress.

On the evening of March 4, the Congressional Black Caucus —representing 60 members of the U.S. House of Representatives—held a gathering with Forbes and other members of the press just steps away from House chambers.

As the CBC defines itself as a fundamental cornerstone of the resistance against the newly inaugurated Trump administration, its members are laser-focused on building a strong foundation for a movement searching for rhythm and new methods to combat Trump and the Republican Party, both of whom are dead set on usurping the guardrails of federal statutes and congressionally approved measures.

"We’re building a foundation for the movement to organize around it," Rep. Summer Lee (D-PA-12) said.

"We're building because Black girls and Black boys deserve a country that persists,” Lee continued. “They deserve to have a safe space, clean air, and clean water and communities safe from state violence and a country that persists and lasts for them."

This caucus meeting, coming just a couple hours after Trump launched a harmful trade war with America’s two neighbors, Canada and Mexico, served as a behind-the-scenes look at the CBC’s eventual response to a president whose actions stand to cripple American farmers, the stock market, the manufacturing industry and urban or rural votes alike. 

For Rep. Yvette Clarke, D.-NY, chairwoman of the CBC, Tuesday afternoon’s press event served as a clear-eyed curtain-raiser for the president’s address of the joint session of Congress.

"There are members [of our caucus]

with very diverse constituencies, and we intend to face Donald Trump wherever it is in the chambers of the House of Representatives or the streets of this nation," Clarke said. "We’re going to do everything we can in unity to push back and stop the most egregious things."

While caucus members’ opinions on how to take on Trump are as diverse as their constituents, they all agree that there is a lack of mainstream media coverage for the caucus and its role in the resistance, and policy advocacy, especially as it relates to Trump's trade war on America's working families.

"We will work tirelessly, and we will push back in every possible way, albeit the mainstream media won't always tell you that," said Caucus Vice Chair Troy Carter, a Democrat from Louisiana, a state that has seen a tremendous reduction in rice farming due to Elon Musk's abrupt closure of USAID.

A top concern for the caucus and many Americans living in their districts centers on the impact of the trade war with America’s northern and southern neighbors.

On the day of Trump's joint address, leaders in Mexico and Canada announced plans for "plaster tariffs" on American goods in the coming days. Big box retailers have already warned of price hikes on household goods and grocery items imported from the two nations–much to the detriment of working families, small businesses, and the many already suffering under heavy inflationary pressure.

Rep. Jasmine Cockett, D-Texas, a rising political star, said Trump’s trade war, coupled with attempts by his administration to forcibly shrink the federal government and cut popular government investments like healthcare research conducted by the National Institutes of Health, provides an opening for the opposition party to showcase the president’s harms to the American people.

"While Republicans run away from their districts, we should be in their district because…we are the ones that been making sure that they got food on the table to eat,” said Crockett, the congressional representative from Dallas “We have been the most supportive of farmers and ensuring they have subsidies.”

As she mentioned measures that Democratic lawmakers have passed to protect rural hospitals from the nationwide wave of hospital closures, Crockett expressed the importance of Democrats meeting the moment, being creative, and utilizing everyday "real talk" when communicating with voters.

"Everyone is trying to pretend that things are normal,” Crockett said. “They are not.”

During the president’s address to the nation, Crockett, along with Democratic Reps. Maxwell Frost (Florida), Melanie Stansbury (New Mexico), LaMonica McIver (New Jersey), and Lateefah Simon (California), walked out of the joint session wearing shirts with "RESIST" in bold white letters. They joined Texas Rep. Al Green, a fellow CBC member forcibly removed from the chamber for taking on the president at the top of his address.

While walking out of the chamber and educating the masses about the effects of the escalating trade war is part of the resistance, like many others carrying the Democratic banner, the CBC has a bevy of views on countering a newly-inaugurated Trump. While some caucus members believe their role is legislative and their hands are tied due to their role as the minority party, others, like Crockett, say that now is the time to harp on Trump’s shortcomings.

While walking out of the chamber and educating the masses about the effects of the escalating trade war is part of the resistance, like many others carrying the Democratic banner, the CBC has a bevy of views on countering a newly-inaugurated Trump. While some caucus members believe their role is legislative and their hands are tied due to their role as the minority party, others, like Crockett, say that now is the time to harp on Trump’s shortcomings.

Rep. Steven Horsford, D-Nevada, a member of the House’s Ways and Means Committee, the leading committee on trade, believes Trump’s shortcomings are costing American families.

"Donald Trump promised the American people that costs would go down,” Horsford said. “He said it would go down on day one. Not only has it not gone down, but his actions are causing prices to rise.”

As he alluded to the skyrocketing prices of eggs, ground beef, a gallon of gas, household electricity, and lumber, Horsford highlighted many of Trump’s policies as self-inflicted wounds on everyday working folks who didn't vote for that type of change.

"He’s showing us exactly who he is. He does not care about you. He cares about himself and the big corporations and the big tycoons," Horsford said.

By downplaying the impact of the trade war in his remarks before Congress, it might be possible that Trump has created an opening for Democrats to exploit as they work to find their footing in this new political reality.

In order for the party to follow through on this opening, they must first get the news cycle back in its possession, which might require adopting some of the showmanship Trump displayed in his joint address.

Hopefully, that part of the resistance will be televised.