Black Caucus rallies behind Meeks for Foreign Affairs gavel

[brooklynite]

Source: The Hill

Members of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) are already rallying behind Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.) as a possible replacement for Rep. Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.), the Foreign Affairs chairman who appears to have lost his primary race this week.

Meeks is the third-ranking Democrat on the panel, behind Engel and Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.), suggesting Sherman would have an advantage within a Democratic Caucus that has long considered seniority to be a major — if not the primary — factor in deciding committee heads.

Yet amid the national unrest over racial injustice in law enforcement — which has found the country reckoning with its racist past and Congress rushing to combat police violence against African Americans — some CBC leaders say the math has changed, and seniority should not eclipse efforts to diversify the Democrats’ power structure.

“Seniority is waning as a major factor in consideration for chairmen,” said Rep. G.K. Butterfield (D-N.C.), a former CBC chairman. “It's a new political environment now. We need a diverse set of committee chairs because that makes a statement to the country that the House of Representatives is reflective of the country. And the fact that Mr. Meeks is African American, I think, is a major factor, and maybe should trump — let me not use that word — be of more weight than seniority.”

Read more: https://thehill.com/homenews/house/504571-black-caucus-rallies-behind-meeks-for-foreign-affairs-gavel

[scarletwoman]

1. "Seniority is waning as a major factor in consideration for chairmen..." Good. It's definitely time.

Change is gonna come, it won't be held back.