LIVE: House Progressive Caucus Introduces New Members at House Triangle

Oh yeah, when we did this for the second day of orientation, we did one in the AFL and we did one out here. I had my lanyard on, and for a whole year, a bunch of depressed stock photos I used, it was a windy day, instead of a lanyard flying off my leg. Yeah, you know what I'm talking about, right? It was a bad photo. You looked so great, nobody ever paid attention. You did! No, she sent me pictures. She was like, I told you. It's like It's like a bad name tag. Thank you. Exactly, I'm just a convention guest. She just sent me a picture when you guys came in. That was not there, I think. With the lanyard. Thank you. Come on in, guys. With the lanyard. I know the little window of pretty that we're going to get. Let's do it again. How are you? I'm feeling good. That's good. What a great vibe in the weather. I am so glad. I think there's a show in Washington State, not in Boston that we've seen. There's like a six-person thing. Let me get one. Yeah, thanks. You stay right behind me. It's good. It works out better. And it's dim. It's cold folks right here, man. Fun. I'm loving it. I'm loving it. I'm loving it. I'm loving it. I'm loving it. I'm loving it. I'm loving it. I'm loving it. I'm loving it. I love how they're being helpful. I'm loving it. I'm loving it. What up? What up? What up, you aggressive people? Hello. Hello, Will. Come on, man. You really don't say what I'm saying. Jonathan McKinney? Chris Ram, man. It's great to meet you, man. I found you online. I'm a big fan of yours. Oh, my God. How you doing? Oh, my God. Oh my god, do you know what's funny? Is that I was taking notes. I was like, did you get this? I got this. I was like, what up? That was so helpful! All of this information! I was making ---- up and I was so in love with it! Thank you. There's going to be a picture of Melissa here. No, no, they love all the money. Yeah, okay, okay. Okay, thank you. I said learn to fight fire. There's no fear! What? 4 in 11. All right, everybody ready? I think we've got to scooch a little bit this way to balance that out a little bit. Why didn't you tell me? Come on in, everybody. It's a good problem to have. Can everybody hear me okay out there? We've got a big press conference here, so I'm just going to give a minute so that we're not here until sundown. Good afternoon. I'm Greg Casar. I'm proud to represent the heart of Texas, and I've never been prouder than today to be chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. Yes, ma'am. We are here to introduce to you our new Progressive Members of Congress elect, and this is the largest class of Progressive Members ever to join the House of Representatives. Here in the 120th Congress, not only will the CPC welcome at least 25 new members, this will be the largest Congressional Progressive Caucus in our history. These members won some of the toughest races in the 2026 election. They are as diverse as this nation. Some represent our biggest cities, others small towns and farm communities. Some are replacing progressive icons. Others, a record-breaking number, flipped red districts to blue. Some come to us from their local DSA chapters. Some were jointly endorsed by our friends at the Blue Dogs. They bring a wide variety of backgrounds to Congress. Mathematicians and organizers, smokejumpers and firefighters, state legislators and city council members, county supervisors, neighborhood council members, members of the cabinet, school board members, teachers, community college professors, reverends, doctors, public defenders, and union members. The Progressive Caucus represents America. They come from different places. They've led different lives. But we are united. In one unbreakable commitment to shake up Washington, D.C., root out corruption, stand up for working people who have been screwed over by Congress for far too long. These new members are a model of how we're going to get out of this mess as a country by uniting everyone who agrees that working people are getting screwed over by the elites and the ultra rich. And we are going to fight back together starting today. Each and every one of these new members is going to make Congress so much better. Because of this new class, we enter together stronger than ever. People run for Congress as an individual sport, but the Progressive Caucus unites us together as a team. Both our new CPC members and Democrats across the ideological spectrum campaigned on a core set of promises, ending the war, taking on corruption, bringing down prices. Lucky for us, stopping the war in the Middle East, getting big money out of politics and taking on corporations and billionaires is exactly what the Progressive Caucus has done for our entire history. We will be the caucus that helps lead the Democratic Party in actually delivering on the promises we campaigned on. Everyone campaigned on affordability, and the CPC will be the engine that helps us actually end this war, reverse the health care cuts, end the reckless blanket tariffs, and raise the minimum wage, expand Social Security, make child care affordable for every family. Everyone campaigned on ending the Iran war, but we will be the caucus that makes sure that we stop funding it. Everyone campaigned on rooting out corruption, but the CPC will be the ones that finally get off of the House floor for the first time in history, a ban on stock trading by all politicians and a bill to ban super PACs. The American people handed us a big majority to get big things done. I'll say that again, with a big majority, we can finally get big things done. In the past, Democrats with a narrow majority have failed to pass social security expansion or taxing billionaires because special interests have been able to peel off just one or two members. With this incredible class of CPC members, no longer. The big majority will get big things done. I'm so excited for you guys to get to know them. And right before we introduce those brand new members. I want to call up our chair, Pramila Jayapal. Thank you so much. Thank you so much. Good afternoon, and thank you so much, Chairman Kassar, for your incredible leadership. It is such a great day. We have massive grins on our face because we know that this group of Progressive Caucus members, the largest in history, as Chairman Kassar has said, is going to deliver for working people. That is our goal, and that is what we are going to do. The American people have spoken. And it is also the case, I've said this for a long time, that being a progressive just means you're the first to the best and most just idea. And then everybody else runs to catch up and we build the movement to make it real. That is what has happened again. These issues of corruption, taking on corruption, taking on affordability, making sure we end endless wars. These are the things that the Progressive Caucus has championed for such a long time. That is finally coming true, not just here in the Progressive Caucus, but across the entire Democratic Caucus. Our incredible new class of members, and I got to spend time with them in their districts, I got to see them in action, I got to see their bold, unyielding stances on things that they know we have to change to deliver for real people. This is an amazing class of committed progressives. This is also an amazing class of the most number of people pushing for Medicare for all. In the richest country in the world, we are going to make sure that we have universal health care from birth to death and that nobody continues to generate billions of dollars in medical debt. I am so thrilled that all of our policies that Chairman Kassar mentioned, and I will just add to that, getting And reigning in ice and getting ice off of our streets is another massive priority for this Progressive Caucus and you will see us moving forward with that in the early days of the next session. So thank you all so much for running and running incredible races and delivering already with the vision that we have laid out here at the Progressive Caucus. Thanks so much, and I'll turn it back to our chairman. Oh, I'll turn it over to the incredible. To the incredible Delia Ramirez from Illinois. There's a lot of reminiscing happening. I was telling Congressman Jayapal and Chairman Kassar that I'm looking at pictures. You know how our socials will remind you four years ago where you were. Well, four years ago, Greg and I were freshmen and Pramila was leading the charge in the Congressional Progressive Caucus saying exactly what she said right now. That the Progressive Caucus is the caucus that is leading the way, centering working people. And I just wanna say that I cannot wait. I cannot wait to serve with this Congressional Progressive Caucus, a caucus where we will block the bombs, a caucus where we will raise the wages to living wages, a caucus where together we will dismantle DHS and abolish ICE, and a caucus where we will legislate and investigate together to make sure that the American people will never have to live the terror they live. So I want to thank all of you for stepping up for such a time as this. And let's get to work because the Progressive Caucus will lead the way. I'm jumping right in. I'm Congresswoman Analilia Mejia and I'm freshman plus. Plus... I've had the privilege of serving the people of New Jersey's 11th for a few months. I just want to take a moment to welcome my new colleagues. It is incredible to be surrounded by people who have put in so much energy to serving their communities way before you even made it to Congress. We have organizers, community leaders, union leaders, people who have dedicated. Their entire adult lives to service. And now we are moving on a different part of the chessboard. And we're doing it at a moment in which the American people need it most. We have an administration that is rife with corruption. And we have a Congress that has been defined by cowardice, giving up the reins to a despotic president. And today, and soon in January, we say no more. So I am so proud to stand here with the Progressive Caucus and this incredible class, and I hand it back to our fearless leader. Thanks, everybody. Because we have a record number of members, we're going to try to show our first set of organizational strength here and try to keep it 60 seconds each member. And first up, over in just such an important part of the country, our brother here from Bakersfield, Congressman-elect Villegas. Thank you, Chairman Kassar. To all the CPC, I'm Randy Villegas. I am the congressman-elect from California's 22nd District in California's Central Valley. I am a son of the Central Valley, a son of immigrants, a professor, an auto repair shop owner, and it is such an honor to stand here alongside so many people who have put their communities above corporations and who put the interests of people above the interests of those in power, right? And what we have proven in my election is that you can win. With a progressive populist platform, not just in safe blue seats, but in swing districts anywhere across this country. What we talked about in our campaign was not just fighting to restore the funding for Medicaid, where I have the most Medicaid recipients in the entire district in my country, but it is fighting for health care as a human right, because no one should have to fight cancer and their congressmen at the same time. It is time to stop corporations from buying elections. It is time to stop billionaires and trillionaires from trying to buy elections and politicians. It is time to stop the genocide in Gaza, and it is time to fight like our constituents' lives depend on it. And so I look forward to working with the Congressional Progressive Caucus and all the amazing members here to fight to deliver that change. Thank you. And next, Congresswoman-elect Kiros. Thank you so much to the CPC and to all the incumbent members that have been so welcoming in mentoring us and helping us get ready for this fight. So many of us new members were elected with a massive mandate, a mandate to actually fight for the issues that the American people are demanding that we fight for. And that world that we're fighting for is one where you don't go bankrupt because you got sick, where it doesn't take a mountain of debt for you to send your kids to college, where one job is enough to earn. Dignity, and to be able to raise a family, and to be able to retire comfortably. What we are fighting for is basic dignity for every single person. And it's not that we don't know how to get it done. We know that Medicare for all is the answer to the healthcare crisis. We know that public housing is the answer to the housing crisis. We know that tuition-free public college is the answer to the education crisis. We have what we need to get things done. And now we have the people to be able to fight for it together as a caucus, and I'm so honored to be in this fight with everybody. Thank you so much. Now, Congressman-elect Biss. Well, thank you so much, Chair Kassar. It's a joy to be here with this fierce group of new members who are going to transform this Congress and this country. My name is Daniel Biss, Congressman-elect from the 9th District of Illinois, filling the extraordinary shoes of Jan Schakowsky. And listen, on Tuesday, this country sent a clear message from coast to coast. And that message is they've had enough of what's gone on. They've had enough of Donald Trump. They've had enough of MAGA. And critically, They are ready to transform who holds power and what they do with it. And whether that is in the question of people being abducted off the streets of the community where I was mayor by masked, armed thugs, whether that's about the giant tech companies that are not only eating away at our democracy, but harming our kids' health, whether that's about the financial companies that have rigged our economy and are screwing over ordinary people. Power has been in the wrong hands for too long, and this group of people standing here today are prepared to change who holds power, and with that, who has a fair shot at a decent life. I cannot get to work. Let's go. Congressman-elect Wiener. Thank you. I'm Scott Wiener, of the honor of representing now and then in January the great city of San Francisco. And it's an honor to be here with these great colleagues. I think the work is clear, especially after Tuesday, that instead of bombing and conquering other countries, we need to build millions of homes. Instead of terrorizing immigrants and trans people, we need to move towards universal health care. Instead of allowing this rampant corruption to eat away at our democracy, we need affordable child care and world-class public transportation and to regulate AI. There is so much work to do, and I am so excited to get to work with these amazing representatives. Thank you, everyone. Congresswoman-elect Garcia. I'm Dr. Patti Garcia, proud granddaughter of a bracero, daughter of immigrants from Chicago's Southwest side, home of the nation's first sanctuary movement, the nation's labor movement. And with that, I bring that excitement, those values of working class communities, of immigrant communities that deserve respect. And so the people of the 4th Congressional District have sent me here to make sure we abolish ICE, we block the bombs, and end corruption. And also to that. Bring justice to people like Silverio Villegas-Gonzalez, who was killed in the 4th Congressional District. I come here to bring respect to our immigrant community, our working community. I come from the district where they killed Silverio Villegas-Gonzalez, and it's time to have justice for him and all the people that the migrant has killed. Congressman-elect Coe. Ladies and gentlemen, my name is Dan Coe, and I have two German-Irish-Italian-Lebanese-Korean-American kids. And I want them to grow up in a country that I know so many of you do, too, a country that's proud of its diversity, proud of immigration and proud of what's got us here. But the problem is we have a system right now rigged for the elite and the wealthy. And so it's time for us not just to unrig that system, but to rig the system for working people. That means having the wealthy pay their fair share. That means raising the corporate tax rate on billionaires and the billionaire corporations that posted a $14 billion profit Exxon last quarter. It means taking that money and making sure that we cap people's rent, cap their utility bills, free child care, reinstituting the child tax credit, and finally passing Medicare for all once and for all. And as the chair said, we will be going after this corrupt administration, making sure that we bring them before Congress, making sure we bring before every single corrupt person who has bent the knee to this president, and make sure it never happens again in the United States of America. So I look forward to working with this amazing caucus. I am proud to be here, and I am so fired up. Let's go. Congressman-elect Little. Well, thank you, Mr. Chair, and thank you all for caring enough to hear what us new folks have to say. Thank you very much, Dave. I'm married to my wife, Coco. We have a daughter together. Her name is Poppy. I know they're watching at home now, so I just want to say hi. You know, I was taught that we are the freest country in the world, and so it was a very surreal experience when 3,000 ICE agents came to Minnesota and were discriminated against people. Weren't getting the worst of the worst, but we're just pulling people over based on the color of their skin, what they sounded like, or what they wore on their head. It was surreal. Sitting outside our elementary schools, sitting outside our hospitals, picking people up. But Donald Trump made a mistake by sending his agents to Minnesota. I know what people think of Minnesotans, that we're some sort of quiet field mice that are going to just lay down, let them do whatever they want. Not anymore. But he was wrong. When it comes to democracy and protecting our neighbors. We're about as mean as it comes. And so I'm here to get justice for Renee Good and Alex Preddy. Thank you. Congresswoman Valdez. Thank you all for being here. It's such an honor to be with so many congressional progressive caucus members in a truly historic class. My name is Claire Valdez. I am representing New York's 7th congressional district, Brooklyn and Queens. I'm a proud democratic socialist. I'm a proud union organizer. And for too long, this economy has been rigged against working people. But what you are looking at behind me is a mandate. It is a mandate from the American people to unrig our economy, to make our economy work for working people, and to transform this building truly into the house of the people, into the house of labor, into the house of the working class. And we have the mandate to pass the PRO Act, to tax the rich, to abolish ICE, and to end the genocide. And I'm so proud Proud to get to work with all of my colleagues to do exactly that. Thank you so much. Solidarity forever. Congressman Lander. Aww. I'm Brad Lander, the Congress member-elect for New York's 10th Congressional District, former housing organizer, former New York City comptroller. You left comptrollers off your list earlier. And the best third-place finisher in New York City mayoral history. Sorry. When I got elected to the city council in 2009, there was no progressive caucus, and so we formed one. And the first thing we did was to work hard to make sure that we could win paid sick days for all New Yorkers. And that took a discharge petition, I'm just saying. And the drafter of that discharge petition was a young lawyer named Adi Barkan. And I'm a little verklempt today because Adi wrote that discharge petition and helped us win paid sick days for every single New Yorker. And then Adi worked with Greg and me to form Local Progress, where we helped the Fight for 15 blaze across the country and raise people's wages. So we'll be thinking about him when we raise the minimum wage in that building. Thank you. Adi testified at Tamila's first Medicare for All hearing, so you know we'll be thinking about him when we pass Medicare for All in that building. And Adi died three years ago last week, but he was by my side when ICE agents came and arrested me for accompanying asylum seekers at 26 Federal Plaza. And he was in my ears when I made the decision to cross into Iran. And it was Adi The lady who introduced me ...to Abdul El-Sayed and said he was going to be the one that helped us get that fight across the line because Adi, who was also a Jewish and Israeli-American, knew that Jews and Muslims do not have to be divided from each other. What we all want is decent homes to raise our families and health care everybody can afford and jobs with dignity. And childcare for every one of our kids, and human rights and safety for everyone who looks like us and prays like us, and everyone who doesn't. And that sure as hell means ending the war and ending the genocide and building a world where everyone is safe. And when we pass all those bills, and when we restore affordability and accountability and inclusive multiracial democracy, the progressive caucus will be in the forefront. And boy, the spirit of Adi Barkan will be with us. Congressman-elect McGuire. Well, good evening, and thank you all for being here. I want to say thank you to the chair, to our immediate past chair, and to all the members. I represent one of the most rural stretches in the golden state of California, the first congressional district. We've hosted 57 town halls over the past year, and here's what we have found. No matter if you're a Republican in Susanville or a Democrat in Santa Rosa, there's more that unites us than divides us in this nation. And if you were to ask a Republican or Democrat, again in this extremely rural district, you all want to keep your health care, you want to keep your rural hospital open. We want Medicare for all to make sure that we have health care for every American, mental health care for every American. We want to make sure that you can afford a home in the community that you love. You want to make sure that the billionaires are paying their fair damn share. Am I right, ladies and gentlemen? You want a good job that's close to your home. You want to send your kid to a good school. And you want your leaders fighting for child care. You want your leaders fighting to make sure that your paycheck goes further, not this illegal war in Iran. I would be grateful to work with each and every one of these leaders, and I look forward to working with each and every one of you again. Thank you so much, Mr. Chair. Congresswoman-elect Padilla Stout. Good afternoon. It is a beautiful day. My name is Katie Mallia Stout, and I represent the great state of Texas, District 23, the largest border district in the United States, a seat that was won by Trump by over 15 points. One thought that was not flippable, and we ran on exactly what Chairman Kassar said. We talked to people about affordable health care. We talked to them about living wages. We talked to them about ending the corruption. I am not a politician. I am a mother of four. I still have young children at home. I am a former kindergarten teacher, a current attorney that represents children in foster care. I am also the daughter of a migrant farm worker. Who used to spend his summers from the age of seven until 18, hoeing sugar beets during the hot summers. Last Tuesday, those same hands that used to hoe those sugar beets, held the face of his daughter, the first congresswoman from San Antonio. And that is the American dream, and that is what we are here to protect for all people that are here to have access, to have accountability, and to have opportunity. And I stand proudly with this caucus to fight for the change that my people have sent me here to do. And if I am going to spend time away from my young children, I guarantee you I am going to make that worth it. Because if there's one thing a mother's love can do, it is flip a red seat blue. I look forward to working with everyone here to make the most of these next two years. Look forward to everyone. Thank you so much. This is fun. Congressman-elect Lawrence. I'm Lawrence, a member-elect from Michigan's 7th District. I'm here on behalf of my constituents to set our national priorities straight because we are spending trillions on wars and data centers while my neighbors can't afford the basics of life. So we're fighting for good housing and health care, clean air and water, good jobs and education. Not just a life we can afford now, but a future we can look forward to. And the ability to relax, knowing that we're going to be okay. That's economic security. And in order to do that, we're going to have to take the fight to the billionaires and corporations who have rigged our politics and taken over our government. And we have got to get money out of politics. I just came out of the most expensive house race in the country. I'm told the most expensive house race in history, where over $27 million was spent against me. So I promise you I've never been a bigger fan of getting money out of politics than right now. And we're going to fight to get it done. So I'm honored to be here with my colleagues in the Progressive Caucus. Let's get to work. Congressman-elect Hamoui. Thank you very much. I'm Dr. Adam Hamoui, and I was elected to represent the good people of New Jersey's 12th District. I'm a doctor, a veteran, a father, and I ran on a simple message that we need health care, not bombs. We need to abolish ICE, and we need to unrig this economy so that it finally works for working people and not just the billionaires at the top. And last week, Americans all over the country voted for transformative change. So let's get it done. Congresswoman-elect González-Torres. My name is Angela Gonzalez-Torres. I am coming to you from Los Angeles, from California's 34th congressional district. And I'm so happy to be here. Over 100,000 Angelinos sent me to Congress to address this complicity in genocide, to address the political corruption, especially as it relates to big AI and crypto, to address this culture in which men appear to abuse their positions of power and abuse women and younger staffers, and I take that very seriously. They sent a Chicana anthropologist, a daughter of a deportee, a community advocate, an advocate for justice here to help this incredible slate pass Medicare for all, abolish ICE, and to abolish super PACs, and we're just getting started. I'm very proud to be here. Thank you all. Congressman-elect McKinney. Well, y'all know I'm from Detroit, and we say what up, Doug. So my name is Donovan McKinney, honored to be the congressman-elect out of Michigan's mighty 13th congressional district. Now, this district includes the city of Detroit, but it also encompasses 20 cities surrounding the city, all within Wayne County. This district is not only the home of labor, it's the heart of the automotive movement. We put the world on wheels. And earlier this year, we had one of our factories. Uh, literally cut all their union jobs and a few weeks later replaced them all with robots. This is what's at stake right now in communities like mine and the communities all across this country. People are trying to figure out how they're going to be able to not only make ends meet but just simply scrape by. I got seniors on fixed income. All they make is $900 a month. That's all they get. And they have to choose every single day to rub pennies together, either to afford some food on their table or the life-saving prescription drugs or to just visit their doctor because out-of-pocket costs are skyrocketing. These are the issues that are top of mind for districts like mine. I'm going to represent in January the top five poorest congressional districts in the country. Detroit is the poorest and blackest major city in America. And also what's top of mind is not just the economics. It's about being able to participate in our own government. People that look like me. I have a majority-minority district that I will represent starting January. And if we, as the Congressional Progressive Caucus, and more importantly, as the newly Democratic majority in the House and Senate, we must pass the John Lewis Voting Rights and Advancement Act in the first 100 days of our newfound majority. Because we have to protect people's ability to participate, not only in their own government, but to ensure and enshrine protection so they can make their voices heard in elections to come. This is what matters more than anything to me. And I'm just so honored to serve alongside the largest progressive caucus in the history of the Congress. And damn it, we're going to fight, and damn it, we're going to win. Thank you so much for your time. Four more members to introduce to you. And next is Congresswoman-elect Avilash Valiyan Thank you all so much. I am just so deeply honored to be here uptown in the Bronx. You have my whole heart, and I'm so honored to be able to fight alongside with you all in the halls of power to make sure that we are delivering for the things that our communities deserve. All of us standing here, we all made waves this past week because we came here with a mandate, not just in the districts that we're representing. But across the country, because voters across this country, they want Medicare for all. They want funding for their housing. They want an end to the genocide and to the war in Gaza. They want the things that the Democratic base has been hungry for for decades. And the Progressive Caucus has been leading that fight. I'm here for the nitro resident in my district who has had to suffer the indignity of mold in their child's bedroom. I'm here for the immigrant communities in my district who do not deserve to live with the fear of ice in our communities. I'm here for the people who deserve to have universal child care, a child tax credit, funding for their babies and not for the bombs that are destroying babies and their communities abroad. We need to make sure that we have a politics of progressive politics, but more importantly, a politics of life, a politics of hope. Thank you Congresswoman, and Congresswoman-elect, Wahab. Hey folks, my name is Aisha Wahab. I represent the East Bay, the heart of the Bay Area in California. I really just want to thank Pramila and Greg and Maxwell and the entire Progressive Caucus for really supporting candidates that many count out. And I want to highlight this because you see the people here, the difference of background, education, socioeconomic status, every single ethnic group you could think of, and yet we represent all of America. The fact that people voted and took a chance on us and people ask why be a progressive? And I wanna be very clear, it's because progressives have a vision. A vision of what America can be and should be that is inclusive and loving and caring and hopeful. That was the American dream to so many people that chose to become Americans and are proud Americans. And so what we are seeing year after year, decade after decade, is the majority of Americans, whether Republican or Democrat, no one is saying, oh, I'm happy in the direction that That America is going. And yet this past Tuesday night, people are excited again, people are happy again, people are hopeful again. And so I say that because people often ask progressives, how are you gonna pay for things? Well, guess what? The money's in the system already, right? The fact that a trillion dollars was cut from healthcare to do what with it? The fact that over a billion dollars a day is spent on an illegal war that we didn't approve. Right. I want to highlight this over and over and over again. We want an America that truly cares about its people first and foremost. We have the largest amount of seniors 70 and 80 year olds in American history. We have a population of young people that are saddled with debt because they wanted to pursue education. We do not have a vision unless progressives are in the room. And so I'm very proud to be part of this progressive caucus. I want to say that a new day is coming this January, and we are going to rebuild the American dream and show everyone that the golden age of America is ahead of us, not behind us. So let's get to work. Thank you. And representing Philly, the last of our new members to be introduced here, but he also represents, maybe we'll talk on behalf of the several other folks we had at orientation that just weren't able to make it to the press conference. We have 25 and counting new members, and there could be even more as more people win. But Congressman-elect Rob, wrap us up. In the wake of the MAGA massacre, I am amidst aggressive fabulosity. Thank you. Yes, I may have said that once or twice before. I am moved because seven months ago, I was on the precipice of withdrawing, but my mother wouldn't let me do it. She was right, as she always is. But on a deeper note, I realized that I had to walk in my purpose and that I was not just doing this for myself or for my district or the city I love, but I was inspired by the whispers of my ancestors. You see, I descend from 16 great-great-grandparents who were born across six states where slavery was the state law, but they all died free. And they weren't waiting for Abraham Lincoln. They freed themselves. I descend from one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. But we weren't part of We the People when they signed that historic document. But here we are today, not just representing our respective constituencies, but all communities of righteous struggle. We do this collectively. We do this in movement, we do this in community, and we do it unapologetically because we are leading when we have such baseless people in power. This is the time in these dark hours where we become the light and we represent those people closest to the pain who should be closest to the power. I am so honored to join all of you in aggressive fabulosity to do the people's work. Let's do it to it. All right. I know a lot of y'all have written about how the anti-Trump wave sent Democrats to Congress this election. And certainly this group of progressive caucus members will hold Trump and his cronies accountable for all of their crimes and corruption and will hold And will hold accountable the corporations and billionaires who tried to buy themselves favors from the federal government. But I'm worried about that. Is that this election also marked the beginning of the end of the Trump era of politics. And when Trump doesn't matter anymore, and we're going to be sending him our bills, and I think he may sign some of them, and if he vetoes them, we'll run on them in 28 and get them signed in 20 minutes. But soon enough, he will not matter. And the question will be, who are the Democrats? What do Democrats stand for? And this class shows you we are and these members are the members that deliver for their communities that fight like hell to make sure we raise paychecks, lower prices, and deliver human rights, civil rights, and a government that works for you. And you can see that in every single one of these members. I have never felt better standing in front of this Capitol building Thank you all very, very much. I know. I know these members have to head to the house floor for their orientation, but if there's a question, of course you could grab people individually as they walk off for individual questions related to them, but if there's a question or two as it relates to the CPC and our joint priorities, happy to take a quick question or two before they run off. Every single member here is going to have their individual vote. And just as I am not necessarily chairman, I go and talk to every single member and use this time for listening. Every single member of leadership I know is going to have conversations with all sitting members and all members elect. Everybody's going to have their vote. But what we talked about at orientation today was not about any individual person, but about policy. And I think the most important conversation that we're going to have with all of our leadership and every individual member will have, and the caucus will have, is about how we set a direction for the majority that delivers on the promises that every member made on the campaign trail from the most moderate to the most progressive. So again, every person here will have their vote. But to me, what we really focused on today was not any individual person. Of course, I have, as you've reported, we've talked about. A strong working relationship with the leader, but we will discuss with the leader and with the whip and with one another how we set a progressive path forward so that all these people who came out and voted say, I cast my ballot and it made a difference. They fought for me and they delivered. And that's our goal. Well, President Trump's able to veto them. We elected a record number of progressives in red districts, including in double-digit Trump districts. And if you go and look at the members that ran in these deep red districts, they didn't talk about tinkering around the edges. We know that if you go talk to voters, Republican, independent, Democratic, or just people who say, I don't participate in politics at all, heard almost none of them say. This system is great. I want you guys to leave it as close as possible as how it is today. I've heard that from zero people. And so what we want to deliver. For those members of the Progressive Caucus that need to come back in Trump 10s and Trump 15s is higher wages and less corruption and not having armed men shooting citizens in the street using a budget bigger than that of the Marine Corps. We didn't think that budget should be going to our schools and to our kids and to lowering housing costs. That is the kind of agenda that we've been talking about this whole last Congress is there's actually so much that that we can get done. Medicare for All polls overwhelmingly well with the American people. Cracking down on the AI billionaires and their threats to our privacy and our safety polls overwhelmingly well with the American people. In Texas, a state we have not had a U.S. Senate winning since before I or James Tallarico were born. We won that election on cracking down on billionaires, on taking on Elon Musk, and investing in our kids instead of people being shot in the street. And that's what we're going to focus on. We have so many 80-20 issues. And whether people want to call themselves moderates or progressives matters less to me. Progressive ideas won that election, and we need to deliver on those promises. To your question about vetoes, let's be really clear. The one bright spot of a big policy we got done in the minority last congress was not some watered down compromise deal it was Elizabeth Warren and Maxine Waters plan to ban private equity from buying up more and more of our single family houses we heard what Donald Trump said and we called his bluff and sent that bill to his desk and got a progressive priority passed so we can Send bills to him on capping credit card interest rates. We can send bills to him on child care. We can send those bills to his desk, and he can sign some of them into law. Or if he vetoes them, then we will get them signed by the next Democratic president, in part based on his veto. The best way to not get something into law is to never pass it. Michael, I will give you the last question. No matter where you campaign, no matter what members called themselves, people all campaigned on ending this war, on cracking down on corruption, on cracking down on the corporate greed that is driving up prices. Those are all progressive ideas. My job as progressive caucus chairman is not to beat other caucuses. It's not even to be bigger. We didn't even try to be the biggest we've ever been. We just turns out we are. But the goal was not to have more than other caucuses. The goal is not to get more credit than other caucuses because the American people, they don't really care about that. What I know we can actually do is our progressive members are the first ones out there saying, let's end this war and actually put the votes up to end the war. And we're going to be the ones that help the rest of the Democratic caucus deliver on that promise. People campaign. on taxing billionaires but oftentimes those bills get stuck in committee or get kind of wrapped up in a slow old school DC process we've got these new members who are telling us their voters say they don't want that process anymore we're going to actually bring the bills to the floor to finally make sure that Elon Musk pays the same rate into social security as the custodians who clean our buildings and we're going to pull so many seniors out of poverty and pass bills that have never been And I don't particularly mind whether a moderate or a progressive wants to have their name at the top of the bill or claim credit, because what everybody here campaigned on was helping our parents, helping our grandparents, helping our kids. And that's what we have a mandate to do. Thank you all very much.