After steering the Congressional Progressive Caucus for six years and focusing on building a robust structure to advocate effectively for critical policy issues in Congress, Rep. Pramila Jayapal, who is stepping down due to term limits, aims to set up the incoming leaders for success.
In a conversation with Common Dreams on Wednesday, Jayapal (D-Wash.) reflected on her leadership of a caucus that includes nearly 100 legislators. The group’s agenda spans across several issues including comprehensive immigration reform, high-quality jobs, fair trade, universal healthcare, debt-free education, climate initiatives, and equitable foreign policies.
She assumed the role of first vice chair of the CPC in June 2017, shortly after beginning her first term in Congress. Jayapal humorously credited her leadership involvement to Keith Ellison, the former Minnesota congressman and current attorney general of his state, saying, “I blamed it all on Keith Ellison.”
“He was very supportive,” she noted about Ellison. “He understood why I ran for office because he had listened to my campaign speeches about strengthening the progressive movement within Congress and finding effective ways to work both inside the system and from the outside.”
Originally from India, Jayapal moved to the United States for college as a teenager. She founded the immigrant advocacy organization Hate Free Zone, which is now known as OneAmerica, following the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. Her political career began in the Seattle area, leading to her election to Congress in 2016 while she was serving her first term in the Washington State Senate.
Jayapal has openly shared her personal experiences in politics, discussing her background as an immigrant woman of color, her decision to have an abortion, and being a mother to her transgender daughter. She has expressed gratitude for the guidance from Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), the first woman of color to co-chair the CPC, whom Jayapal described on Instagram as “one of the most courageous and effective progressive leaders I have had the privilege to know.”
With the support of figures like Ellison and Lee—who will retire from Congress after this session—Jayapal took on her role in the CPC with the goal of transforming it into a powerful advocate for working people. She succeeded Mark Pocan (D-Wis.) as co-chair in 2018, and after the caucus’s rule changes in 2020, she took on the role of sole chair.
Jayapal pointed out the initial lack of infrastructure needed to wield influence as a unified bloc in Congress. Her background as an organizer helped her develop the necessary strategies and relationships to build a stronger caucus framework, focusing on both internal power dynamics and collaboration with external movements.
She emphasized the importance of staff recruitment and CPC rule modifications to enhance meeting participation and overall unity. Implementing term limits for the CPC chair was part of her strategy to foster leadership development within the caucus.
Rep. Greg Casar (D-Texas) will soon take over as the new chair, with Jayapal moving to the role of chair emeritus. She told Common Dreams, “I’m just really proud to have developed an infrastructure that I can hand over to the next chair, which simply wasn’t there before and will, of course, continue to improve with new leadership.”
The incoming leadership, which includes Reps. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) as deputy chair and Jesús “Chuy” García (D-Ill.) as whip, will face a Republican-dominated Congress and the second administration of President-elect Donald Trump.
Casar expressed his readiness to build on Jayapal’s legacy, saying, “I’ve been fighting against extremist, self-centered autocrats in Texas my entire adult life. The Democratic Party must confront Trump head-on, and it will be CPC members who boldly lead the charge, prioritizing the needs of working people.”
The night Jayapal was first elected to Congress coincided with Trump’s initial presidential win in November 2016. Before the results were finalized, she spoke about her victory as a beacon of hope and prepared her supporters for potential challenges ahead, as reported by The Seattle Times.
During Biden’s presidency, which concludes next month, Jayapal’s leadership helped push the president towards several executive actions aimed at improving access to contraception, taking climate action, enforcing corporate accountability, raising wages, reducing essential costs, and providing relief for immigrants from crisis-stricken countries.
The caucus also played a crucial role in advancing significant elements of the Democrats’ Build Back Better agenda. In the summer of 2021, Jayapal made it clear to Congress and the president that House progressives would withhold their votes from what became the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law unless legislation addressing the climate crisis and social issues was also passed.
President Biden signed the infrastructure bill in November 2021, followed by the Inflation Reduction Act in August 2022. The delay was primarily due to opposition from then-Democratic Senators Joe Manchin (I-W.Va.) and Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.), both of whom left the party afterward and are exiting Congress at the end of this session.
Despite wishing the second bill had passed sooner to address issues like childcare and housing, Jayapal expressed pride in the achievements of the caucus, telling Common Dreams, “There would be no Inflation Reduction Act without Build Back Better, and there would’ve been no Build Back Better without the CPC.”
The legislative packages, she continued, “were about redefining the government’s role in fighting for working and low-income people,” delivering tangible benefits like job creation, climate solutions, reduced drug costs, and a fairer tax system.
Jayapal has personally championed various legislative efforts, including the College for All Act, Dignity for Detained Immigrants Act, Housing Is a Human Right Act, Medicare for All Act, Transgender Bill of Rights, and Ultra-Millionaire Tax Act, collaborating with Senate progressives like Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), the CPC’s founding chair.
As the CPC welcomes new leadership next year, Jayapal plans to continue her involvement by offering guidance and support as chair emeritus and co-chairing the CPC Political Action Committee alongside Casar and Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.). Under the current leadership of Jayapal, Pocan, and Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), the PAC has significantly increased its budget, growing from a $300,000 budget in the 2016 election cycle to raising $12 million over the past three election cycles, according to the group.
Jayapal shared with Common Dreams her pride in the CPC PAC’s endorsement record, noting that over the past decade, a majority of their supported candidates in primary elections have succeeded in their general election races, often overcoming substantial financial opposition. She highlighted the electoral victories of Reps. Summer Lee (D-Pa.) and Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.) as examples.
Despite these successes, the recent election cycle was challenging for Democrats, who did not secure control of the White House or Congress. Jayapal and other CPC leaders have responded by urging the Democratic Party to distance itself from super PACs and focus on elevating the concerns of working-class voters.
In a recent memo, Jayapal, Casar, Frost, and fellow CPC member Rep. Chris Deluzio (D-Pa.) called on the next Democratic National Committee chair to foster an authentic brand that clearly differentiates Democrats from Republicans by focusing on improving life for the majority of Americans, challenging powerful corporations and wealthy individuals, exposing Trump’s corporate favoritism, and highlighting the contrast with Republican policies.
Jayapal emphasized the importance of this contrast in the face of Republicans’ plans to implement another round of tax cuts for the wealthy under their federal trifecta, stating, “When we oppose these tax cuts, we should link it to the fact that the Democratic Party is not tied to corporate PACs and dark money. We are fighting for the people.”
She concluded, “This is the distinction we need to draw between Trump and his billionaires… and Democrats who are advocating for the vast majority of Americans who face daily struggles.”
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