Good afternoon, everyone. It's an honor to stand before you today as the incoming House Democratic leader for the 118th Congress that will convene in January and to be joined by my two good friends, amazing colleagues, and partners, the incoming House Democratic Whip, Catherine Clark and the incoming caucus chair, Pete Aguilar.
Let me first begin by just expressing my heartfelt thoughts and prayers for the family of Don Mckeecham tragically passed away. The House Democratic caucus is a family, and Representative Mckeecham was an incredibly important part of that family, and he will be deeply, deeply missed.
I also want to convey my thanks to Speaker Nancy Pelosi, an extraordinary speaker for the ages who has delivered so much for so many over such a significant period. Our caucus is better. Our country is better.
The world is better because of Speaker Nancy Pelosi's incredible leadership. I also want to thank our current House majority Leader, Stenny Hoyer, and our current House Majority Whip, Jim Clyburn, for their incredible friendship, mentorship, and support for all of us along this journey.
From the very beginning of our arrival in the Congress, we stand on their collective, broad shoulders, building upon the incredible work that they've done. Excited about? The opportunities to advance the ball for everyday Americans as we move forward into our future.
I was born at Brooklyn Hospital and raised in Crown Heights by my two parents who were public employees, a case worker, and a social worker in a middle-class, working-class neighborhood during the crack cocaine epidemic in the 80s into the early 90s.
I'm thankful for them, thankful for their love, support, and prayers throughout the years, throughout my journey into adulthood, and my journey as a public servant. Growing up in that Crown Heights neighborhood, the first member of Congress I was ever aware of was the Honorable Shirley Chisholm.
And I eventually was able to be elected to represent many neighborhoods in Brooklyn that she formally represented. And so it's with particular reverence for her that it was communicated to me earlier today that this is Shirley Chisholm's birthday 98 years ago.
I stand on the shoulders of people like Shirley Chisholm and so many others as we work to advance the ball for everyday Americans and get stuff done because that's what Democrats do. That's what our record says every day.
House Democrats are committed to fighting hard for working families, middle-class folks, and those who aspire to be part of the middle class. Young people, seniors, immigrants, veterans, the poor, the sick, the afflicted, the least, the lost and the left behind.
House Democrats fight for the people. That's our story. That's our legacy. That's our values. That's our commitment as we move forward, get stuff done, and make life better for everyday Americans. We look forward to finding opportunities to partner with the other side of the aisle and work with them whenever possible.
But we will also push back against extremism whenever necessary. We love this country. We love our democracy. We love the Congress and the House of Representatives, the institution designed to be the closest to the people.
And we're going to fight hard. Every day, we have this honor to serve in Congress, to deliver. I now yield to my good friend, an amazing colleague, the incoming House Democratic Whip from the Commonwealth of the great state of Massachusetts, Kathryn Clark.
Thank you. Good afternoon. I am so honored to be here with our leader-elect, Jeffries, and caucus chair Pete Aguilar. It is truly humbling to be the next whip for the 118th Congress and to get to do it with such an incredible team.
And as Hakeem referenced, we as a team. And as a caucus, reflect the diversity and the strength of the American people. And that is where we can come together around shared values and reflect American families that they are the priority.
They are who we will bring to the leadership table with us, their stories, their challenges, their victories, and solutions for what they are facing. And I want to join Hakim in sending our condolences and our love to Don Mckeecham's family.
He will be sorely missed in our caucus, an absolute tireless advocate for environmental justice and justice everywhere in this country. And I'd also like to thank our incredible, iconic speaker, Nancy Pelosi, and leader Stenny Hoyer, for their service to this caucus, to the American people, and for their continued friendship and guidance.
And our message today to the American people is very simple. House Democrats are ready to work for you. And in the last two years, under the leadership of President Biden, we were able to beat back a pandemic, get vaccines in arms, get schools reopened, and bring back our small businesses.
Then we passed the Climate Action Bill which was the largest in the history of our country. We saved the childcare sector. We created 10 million jobs. We passed the first gun reform bill in three decades.
We lowered health care costs for seniors, and we defended women's rights and refused to let them become. Second-class citizens and together, that's how we were able to defy political gravity and have this historically close margin in the House.
And the Republican agenda appears to be to continue to divide us, to get power through division by turning neighbor on the neighbor. But that is not what this caucus is here to do. It is not what the American people want.
American people want solutions. It is not just Democratic families that are struggling to afford childcare and health care. It is not just Democratic families who are struggling to afford to house. It is not just Democratic women who want the freedom to make their own decisions about their bodies.
And it is not just Democratic families who want clean air to breathe and clean water to drink. So we are going to come together as a caucus. Our door is open for any member from across the aisle who wants to get to work for the American people.
And if they want to divide, if they want to obstruct, if they want to have political theater instead of finding those solutions the American people want, then we will be here to oppose. But today is a day of transition and hope and a renewal of the shared values of our caucus.
And I am so pleased for the first time to be able to turn the mic over to our caucus chair, Pete Aguilar. Thank you so much, madam Whip. Do I wait until next here to start that? I'm just going to do it.
I'm just going to do it now. Thank you so much to my good friends Catherine and Hakeem. And you guys know that when we say those terms, we don't always mean it, but it's true. These are good partners and good friends, and I look forward to working with them in the years to come.
Everything that Leader Jeffries and Whip Clark stand for is exactly what the Democratic Caucus has been advocating and will continue to protect. Individual freedoms, and health care, are going to be the things that we continue to support and that we continue to push back on the other side as they attempt to erode the agenda that we have accomplished over the last few years.
That's not lost on me. What my election means for my community, for the Latino community. Being a kid from San Bernardino, having an opportunity to help guide this caucus is a great responsibility and I don't take it lightly.
What we're fighting against is this MAGA extremism. And we heard loud and clear this election from the American public that they want us to work to get things done for them. They want us to reduce the costs that they have and they want us to stamp out extremism in every form.
And so that's going to be our mandate. Unfortunately, there are folks on the other side of the aisle who go to white nationalist conferences and come from the far right corners of the country and we're going to have to continue to push back against those ideas as well.
And every time that the other side pushes these theories, these dangerous ones, we're going to have to hold them accountable to the American public. As the republicans turn to. Extreme partisanship and the circus of trying to elect a leader.
What you've seen here is this transition. The energy in that room was amazing for a group that is going to be in a very thin minority. The energy of our caucus was handshakes high fives and hugs as we transitioned.
That's the legacy of Nancy Pelosi and Stenny Hoyer, and that's what's going to be important moving forward while Kevin McCarthy is auctioning off real estate and square footage for every vote he can.
We're united together, and we're in this together for the American public, and we never lose sight of who we are and where we come from, and that's what our mission and mandate are. Thank you.