Congressman Joe Neguse was elected to Colorado's 2nd Congressional District in 2018.He is the first and only Black Member of Congress from Colorado. During his tenure, Rep. Neguse has been the primary sponsor of THIRTY bills enacted into law. That is an astounding number and in 2021, the Center for Effective Lawmaking identified Congressman Joe Neguse as the most effective freshman lawmaker of the 116th Congress and the most effective Democratic Congressman as to Public Lands legislation in that Congress (the linked article includes an excellent interview). Already in the 119th Congress, Congressman Neguse has sponsored or cosponsored 63 bills.
Denise Oliver-Velez wrote a portrait of Congressman Joe Neguse, published on May 7, 2024 — Black Kos: Asst. Democratic Leader Rep. Joe Neguse makes mincemeat out of Rep. Tim Duncan (R-SC). It’s a must-read, so don’t miss out on reading it, and also be encouraged to follow Black Kos if you aren’t already.
Congressman Joe Neguse’s leadership in the House Democratic Caucus has also been phenomenal. In December 2022 he was elected by the caucus to be the Chair of the Democratic Policy and Communications Committee (DPCC). In 2021 Congressman Neguse served as one of the 9 Impeachment Managers in the mfg’s 2nd impeachment trial. In the 119th Congress, Rep. Neguse serves on the House Judiciary Committee and Natural Resources Committee (where he’s Ranking Member on the Subcommittee on Public Lands). He was appointed by House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries to be one of the 4 Democrats on the Rules Committee. On November 19, 2024 Rep. Neguse was reelected as Assistant Democratic Leader and on February 10, 2025 he was asked by Leader Hakeem Jeffries to chair the House Democrats’ Rapid Response Task Force and Litigation Working Group.
Friday (Feb 28) Congressman Neguse, in this later role, appeared on The Last Word with Jonathan Capehart substituting for Lawrence O’Donnell.
Congressman Neguse at 32:07 (audio only).
Here are a couple of media appearances by Congressman Neguse from February 25 when the Republicans were busy pushing through their House Budget Reconciliation.
On MSNBC:
On the Get More Smarter Podcast:
I highly recommend watching this podcast as Congressman Neguse explains about the Rapid Response task force and talks about ways House Democrats are fighting back and about what we can do (for example to use our voices to influence the WH and the R’s in Congress, stay informed and engaged, attend and demand town halls, prepare for special elections and for 2026). (The podcast was recorded sometime in the week before Feb. 25 but was posted Feb. 25). The task force is working an a web site to keep people informed about their actions.
This week’s news from the CBC
Thursday (Feb 27):
There were 11 committee meetings, 2 in the House and 9 in the Senate. There were 3 roll call votes, 2 in the Senate and 1 in the House. Note as to the House and Senate meetings, the Senate meetings usually have a video feed in the links I post as to the agenda, while I can’t always find a YouTube video where I can point out when CBC members are speaking. The House links sometimes post videos and often not, but are more readily available on YouTube.
Votes:
The Senate invoked cloture on the nomination of Linda McMahon to be Secretary of Education (51/47/2). Senators Alsobrooks, Blunt Rochester, Booker and Warnock all voted Nay.
The Senate passed H. J. Res. 35 (an anti-environmental resolution which looks like replaces S. J. Res. 11 that was passed last week but is now listed as indefinitely postponed.
The House passed H. J. Res. 20 (an anti-environmental resolution) (221 Yeas/198 Nays/2 Present/12 Not Voting). 11 Democrats voted Yea and 6 did not vote. No members of the CBC voted Yea: Rep. Ilhan Omar was the only CBC member who did not vote.
Hearings:
The House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Government Surveillance held a hearing entitled, "Protecting Victims of Human Trafficking and Federal Government Surveillance".
Ranking Member Lucy McBath 7:13 and 46:35.
The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions held a hearing to examine the nomination of Keith Sonderling to be Deputy Secretary of Labor.
Senator Lisa Blunt Rochester 54:00; Senator Angela Alsobrooks 1:02:55
The Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs held a hearing to examine 4 nominations.
Senator Raphael Warnock 1:31:24
The Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing to consider S. 331 and nominations of Todd Blanche to be Deputy Attorney General and Abigail Slater to be Assistant Attorney General. Senator Cory Booker argued for amendments to S. 331, that all have bipartisan support, all shot down.
Senator Cory Booker: 7:48 and 16:01 and 25:32 and 29:30 and 31:36 and 36:45 and 44:21 and 48:55 and 52:40 and 53:43.
Leader Hakeem Jeffries held his weekly press conference.
Friday (Feb 28):
Leader Hakeem Jeffries held a press conference with Congressman Adriano Espaillat, Chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus who will be delivering the Spanis language response to the mfg’s appearance before the joint session of Congress on Tuesday.
This morning, Congresswoman Maxine Waters, Ranking Member of the House financial Services Committee, in conjunction with Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries; Assistant Leader Joe Neguse; Congressman Jamie Raskin, Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee; and the House Democratic Litigation Working Group led a group of 203 House Democrats in filing an amicus brief defending the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) in the matter of National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU), et al. vs. CFPB Acting Director Russell Vought, et al. before the U. S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
Press release from U. S. House Committee on Financial Services — Democrats
Congressman Al Green held a press conference in Houston.
Saturday (Mar 1):
Monday (Mar 3):
There was one committee meeting in the US Congress, in the House, House Rules Committee. Congressman Joe Neguse did not attend so I’m not posting the video.
The Senate confirmed the nomination of Linda McMahon to be Secretary of Education (51/45/4). Senators Alsobrooks, Blunt Rochester, Booker and Warnock all voted Nay.
The Senate failed to invoke cloture on S. 9 Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act 2025 (51/45/4). Senators Alsobrooks, Blunt Rochester, Booker and Warnock all voted Nay.
Congresswoman Valerie Foushee hosted a “Know Your Rights” Webinar.
Tuesday (Mar 4):
There were 18 meetings, 3 in the Senate and 15 in the House.
The House Aviation Subcommittee held a hearing entitled, "America Builds: Air Traffic Control Infrastructure and Staffing".
Rep. Hank Johnson 1:25:26: Rep. Valerie Foushee 1:57:06; Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton 2:25:20
The House Subcommittee on Crime and Federal Government Surveillance held a hearing entitled, "The Right to Self Defense".
Ranking Member Lucy McBath 23:27 and 1:07:38.
Senate Democrats held a press conference on the Capitol steps:
Senator Lisa Blunt Rochester 13:34
Assistant Leader Joe Neguse spoke on the House floor.
About the SOTU, there were different reactions/tactics.
Congresswoman Gwen Moore did not attend, speaking with constituents about the harm the mfg’s Administration is doing.
Congresswoman Crockett did end up attending and walked out as did many others.
Congressman Al Green attended and was thrown out for exercising his right of free speech.
Congressman Sylvester Turner attended the Joint Session and did an interview with Kenny. Shockingly, it was announced that Rep. Sylvester Turner died in the night. He was fighting for his constituents to the very end. I will post more about Congressman Sylvester Turner in the comments. May he RIP.
Wednesday (Mar 5):
There were 27 meetings, 10 in the Senate and 17 in the House. Due to my travelling back to Copenhagen, I will only be able to post one of the videos in the body of the diary.
The Senate conformed Todd Blanche to be Deputy Attorney General (52/46/2). Senators Alsobrooks, Blunt Rochester, Booker and Warnock all voted Nay.
The Senate passed S. J. Res. 28 (weakens protections from the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection) (51/47/2). Senators Alsobrooks, Blunt Rochester, Booker and Warnock all voted Nay.
The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform held a hearing entitled, "A Hearing With Sanctuary City Mayors". The Mayors were Mayor Brandon Johnson of Chicago, Mayor Mike Johnston of Denver, Mayor Eric Adams of New York and Mayor Michelle Wu of Boston.
Rep. Ayanna Pressley 16:45 (introduces Mayor Michelle Wu of Boston) and 1:16.40; Rep. Shontel Brown 1:44:15; Rep. Maxwell Frost 2:06:22; Rep. Summer Lee 2:53:06; Rep. Wesley Bell 3:37:14; Rep. Ayanna Pressley 3:47:58; Rep. Jasmine Crockett 4:44:12 and 4:55:16; Rep. Lateefah Simon 4:55:34; Rep. Danny Davis 5:37:58;
Leader Hakeem Jeffries and House Democratic leaders held a press conference.
Leader Hakeem Jeffries also held a virtual event with DNC leader Ken Martin.
Starts at 8:35.
I will do my best to update the rest of Tuesday’s and Wednesday’s news in the comments.
Reminder: CBC Roundup is a weekly series, published on Thursdays at 9 AM ET. Members of the CBC are on the frontline of defending our democracy, so please share widely. For daily updates, please see my CBC comments in the Abbreviated Pundit Roundup.
