Allen West Will Join Black Caucus
The Hill reports:
Rep.-elect Allen West (Fla.), the black Republican vying for a spot on the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), said this week that he’ll soon be joining the group.
“There are two criteria to be a member of the Congressional Black Caucus — you must be black and you must be a member of Congress, and when I woke up this morning, I think I met both of those criteria,” West told The Hill on Tuesday. “So I will be joining.”
West, who was backed by the Tea Party in his successful bid to unseat Democratic Rep. Ron Klein (Fla.) in the midterms, is opposed to many of the measures championed by the CBC, including the new healthcare law and climate change legislation.
Last month, CBC Chairwoman Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) seemed to imply that West might not be allowed to join based on his policy positions.
“Our agenda is about lifting people out of poverty, providing middle-class tax cuts, supporting climate-change legislation,” she told The Economist. “Do [incoming black Republicans] embrace this agenda?”
Last week, the CBC walked back Lee’s statement, announcing that Republicans wishing to join the group “will be welcomed.”
