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Political Playback: California Capitol News You Might Have Missed
News You Might Have Missed
Stefi Mar March 18, 2025
News You Might Have Missed
In what might be an unprecedented show of force, a powerful contingent of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) met with African American journalists inside the Democratic Whip’s Conference Room at the U.S. Capitol, laying out their battle plan against Donald Trump, Elon Musk and the far-right’s dystopian blueprint known as Project 2025. CBC Chair Yvette Clarke, First Vice Chair Troy Carter, Whip Sydney Kamlager-Dove, former Chair Steven Horsford, Reps. Jahana Hayes, Summer Lee, and the ever-outspoken Jasmine Crockett made it clear—while they lack the votes to halt Trump’s cruel and life-threatening policies, they are on the offensive with one goal in mind: retaking the House next year to neutralize his agenda.
In one of the quickest punishments of a member of the U.S. House of Representatives in the modern era, Congressman Al Green (D-TX) was censured by a 224-198 vote today in the House. His censure featured no hearing at the House Ethics Committee and his punishment was put on the floor for a vote by the Republican controlled House less than 72 hours after the infraction in question. Of the last three censures of members of the U.S. House, two have been members of the Congressional Black Caucus under GOP control. In 2023, Rep. Jamal Bowman was censured.
News You Might Have Missed
During an online conference on Feb. 26, California Attorney General Rob Bonta detailed how the Trump Administration had used its first five and half weeks to execute an agenda that runs counter in various ways to California state policies and priorities.
Just before President Donald Trump took the podium to deliver his address to a joint session of Congress, Democratic Texas Rep. Jasmine Crockett sent a message loud and clear: He is “not like us.” Crockett, dancing and lip-syncing to Kendrick Lamar’s culture-defining hit, later punctuated her defiance with a pointed jab. “Well… the State of the ‘DisUnion’ will begin shortly,” Crockett noted. “I’m gonna be in attendance.” It was just one of many signs of resistance from Democrats who braced for what they predicted would be an address filled with misinformation and political grandstanding. Undeterred, Crockett implored her millions of social media followers, “Do not watch.”
Assemblymember Rhodesia Ransom (D-Stockton) says she understood before she was elected to office last year that Californians pay among the highest electricity rates in the country. So, lowering that cost – and that of other utility bills — has become her top priority.
Former Maryland Governor and former Social Security Commissioner Martin O’Malley warned that the Trump-Musk administration’s sweeping cuts to the Social Security Administration’s workforce will lead to major disruptions in benefits for millions of Americans. The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has ordered a 50% reduction in Social Security’s workforce. The agency, already at its lowest staffing levels in 50 years, announced that it will soon implement large-scale layoffs. “These cuts will inflict a lot of pain on seniors and people with disabilities,” O’Malley said in a news conference on Friday. “Social Security is being driven to a total system collapse.”
News You Might Have Missed
As California continues to face a severe housing crisis, only 17 % of households can afford to purchase the median-priced single-family home, which is less than half the national average, according to a report by the California Association of Realtors.
As Donald Trump prepares to address Congress for the first time since reclaiming the White House, Democrats are shifting their approach. Gone are the walkouts and viral protests—this time, they aim to counter Trump’s rhetoric with a more strategic response. “In 2017, a lot of us felt like Donald Trump was an anomaly. In 2025, he won the election. Everybody knows who he is,” said Rep. Ami Bera (D-Calif.). “I think we have to be very strategic as Democrats.”
The California Legislative Black Caucus (CLBC) has unveiled its 2025 legislative priorities. Titled the the “Road to Repair 2025,” the bill package continues the CLBC’s effort to address the generational harm caused by slavery and systemic discrimination against Black Californians.
News You Might Have Missed
Last month, about 100 reparations advocates met at the State Capitol to build support for bills they backed that didn’t make it to the Assembly floor for votes during the last legislative session.
Assemblymember Isaac Bryan (D-Ladera Heights) wants to amend the state’s penal code to increase the salaries incarcerated firefighters earn while they are actively fighting fires.
News You Might Have Missed
Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) has introduced two bills in the State Senate that could lower prescription drug prices for California residents.
News You Might Have Missed
On Jan. 20, Sen. Lola Smallwood Cuevas (D-Inglewood), a member of the California Legislative Black Caucus (CLBC), hosted a “listening session” at Pasadena Church in Pasadena.
Donald Trump and his hate-filled administration have launched another racist attack, this time taking aim at Black pilots and diversity efforts in the aviation industry. In a stunning display of bigotry disguised as governance, Trump signed a Presidential Memorandum ordering the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to eliminate hiring policies designed to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). The memo outrageously claims that DEI programs jeopardize safety and efficiency—despite zero evidence to back such a claim.