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Congressional Black Caucus Swears In Largest Class in Its History

With 58 members, the CBC celebrates 50 years of its existence as the “conscious of Congress.”

The largest ever class of the Congressional Black Caucus was officially sworn in at a ceremony on Tuesday. Nevada Rep. Steven Horsford has become its new leader, replacing outgoing Chairwoman Rep. Joyce Beatty of Ohio.

The Hill reported the historic class of 58 representatives are celebrating the milestone- from the first CBC from 50 years ago when there were only 13 members, with Rep. Shirley Chisholm as the lone woman.

Beatty celebrated the work of the 117th Congress, which included criminalizing lynching, passing the CROWN Act to make discrimination against natural hair a crime, and making Juneteenth a federal holiday.

The rest of the caucus leadership is made up of New York Rep. Yvette Clarke, as the first vice chair; Louisiana Rep. Troy Carter as second vice chair; Georgia Rep. Lucy McBath as secretary; and Washington Rep. Marilyn Strickland as the caucus’s whip. All are Democrats.

Of the 58 members, nine are new to Congress.  The CBC has the distinction of welcoming the first Gen Z member of the House and also the only Afro-Cuban in Congress, Rep. Maxwell Frost of Florida and Rep. Summer Lee who is the first ever Black woman elected to the House from Pennsylvania.

RELATED: The Congressional Black Caucus Calls For Student Debt Cancellation

U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary and former Ohio congresswoman Marcia Fudge administered the oath. Telling the CBC members, “I do not know if we have ever needed you more than we do now,”  Fudge said, “For more than 50 years, the Congressional Black Caucus has been the conscience of the Congress, the moral center that ensures that the people in communities whose blood, sweat and tears built this country are never forgotten by this storied institution.”

While the historic CBC class is sworn into the caucus, the turmoil surrounding the election of a Speaker of the House has impacted the usual process of kicking off a new congressional session. None of the new members can be sworn in until a Speaker is elected to lead.

After six failed attempts to elect Republican Rep. Kevin McCarthy as speaker, the House stands adjourned until 8PM when the voting process starts again.

For the second day running, New York’s 8th District Rep. Hakeem Jeffries received 212 votes, to McCarthy's 201. Jeffries, the minority party's nominee, is closer to receiving the required 218 votes to assume the speakership than anyone in the leading party, although such an election to the speaker position is extremely rare and highly unlikely.

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