NEWS: Greg Casar Elected as Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair

WASHINGTON – Today, Congressman Greg Casar (D-Texas) was elected as the Chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC), the highest-ranking leadership position for progressives in the U.S. House. CPC Chair Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) has reached her term limit. Term limits were championed by Jayapal and added to the caucus bylaws during her term. The new leadership will begin their terms on Jan. 3, 2025. 

“The Members of the Progressive Caucus know how to fight billionaires, grifters, and Republican frauds in Congress. Our caucus will make sure the Democratic Party stands up to corporate interests for working people,” said Chair-Elect Greg Casar (D-Texas). “I’m honored to build on the legacy of Chair Jayapal. I’ve fought back against extremist, egocentric autocrats in Texas for my entire adult life. The Democratic Party must directly take on Trump, and it’ll be CPC Members boldly leading the way and putting working people first.” 

VIDEO of the press conference here.

Casar, a former labor organizer, believes that the future of the Democratic Party is dependent on winning back the votes of workers across the country — across race, geography, and ideology — while not letting injustice and oppression go unchecked. Democrats must be able to both hold a political majority and defend all people’s rights.

Casar ran unopposed for the position and will lead the CPC alongside Reps. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) as Deputy Chair and Jesús “Chuy” García (D-Ill.) as Whip. Casar previously served as the CPC Whip for the 118th Congress. 

The Congressional Progressive Caucus is composed of nearly 100 members of Congress standing up for progressive ideals in Washington and throughout the country. Since 1991, the CPC has advocated for progressive policies that prioritize working Americans over corporate interests, fight economic and social inequality, and advance civil liberties. 

Former Progressive Caucus Chairs include: 

• 1991-1999: Rep. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) 
• 1999-2003: Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio)
• 2003-2005: Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.)
• 2005-2009: Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) - Co-chair
• 2005-2011: Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-Calif.) - Co-chair
• 2009-2019: Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.) - Co-chair
• 2011-2017: Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) - Co-chair
• 2017-2021: Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.) - Co-chair
• 2019-2025: Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) - Co-chair, then Chair 

“It is my great honor to pass the torch to the next class of elected leadership of the Progressive Caucus: my dear friends and trusted colleagues Reps. Greg Casar, Ilhan Omar, and Chuy García,” said Chair Pramila Jayapal. “I was proud to establish term limits when I became Chair in 2018, and have full confidence in the abilities of our new class to lead this Caucus in the fight against the worst of the incoming Trump administration while rebuilding our party with a focus on economic justice for working people. I will be cheering these three new leaders and our new vice chairs at every turn as Chair Emerita come next year, and my heart is very full knowing we will have them at the helm of the CPC.”

Jayapal was elected to serve as CPC Chair in 2018 during her second term in the House representing Washington’s 7th District. She is the first South Asian American woman elected to the House, and the first to lead the CPC. Upon becoming Chair, she implemented new bylaws restructuring the Caucus and a bloc voting strategy that allowed progressives to act as a more cohesive fighting force for working people. 

During her tenure, she also created and scaled fundamental new infrastructure to support progressives in elected office through the Congressional Progressive Caucus Center (CPCC) and the Congressional Progressive Caucus Political Action Committee (CPC PAC).

###

Congressman Greg Casar represents Texas’s 35th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives, which runs down I-35 from East Austin to Hays County to the West Side of San Antonio.  A labor organizer and son of Mexican immigrants, Casar serves as the Whip of the Congressional Progressive Caucus for the 118th Congress. He also serves on the Committee on Oversight and Accountability and the Committee on Agriculture.