U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar was unanimously re-elected as deputy chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus on Thursday.
In this position, she will help guide the progressive wing of congressional Democrats during a critical period, as it is expected to play a central role in opposing the agenda of incoming Republican President Donald Trump.
“With Biden, we had an opportunity to push him to implement good policy,” the Minnesota lawmaker said in an interview Thursday. “With Trump, our opportunities are going to be to push him not to implement bad policy.”
With Donald Trump in the White House and Republicans in control of Congress, U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar acknowledged that the Congressional Progressive Caucus might encounter limits to its influence.
Nonetheless, she expressed confidence that the caucus would still have opportunities to exert leverage, highlighting the Republicans’ narrow majority in the House, which could at times require collaboration with Democrats. The caucus, which includes nearly 100 members primarily from the House, remains a prominent and influential bloc within the Democratic Party.
Omar noted that the caucus did not meet with Trump during his previous term when she served as its whip. While members have not yet decided whether they would engage with him this time, she signaled a willingness to consider the possibility, saying, “Why not?”
“I think we should all be open to doing whatever it takes to make sure that we are able to do the work that causes the least harm and meet and have conversations with anyone that’s willing to meet and have conversations with us,” Omar said of the prospect of meeting with Trump.
Rep. Greg Casar (D-Texas) will succeed Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) as chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, while Rep. Jesús “Chuy” García (D-Ill.) will take over Casar’s role as whip. Both were unanimously elected on Thursday.
Rep. Ilhan Omar explained that she decided to remain as deputy chair due to time constraints. She assumed the deputy chair position in 2022 after serving as caucus whip from 2019 to 2022.
“It takes a lot of time, and I wanted to make sure that the person who is in the chairship does have the ability to give the caucus the time that it needs, that I don’t have,” she said.
As 2025 approaches, Rep. Ilhan Omar stated that the Congressional Progressive Caucus will maintain its core priorities.
The caucus intends to oppose any attempts to reduce funding or authority for the Environmental Protection Agency, resist Trump’s proposed tax cuts, and advocate for the preservation of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) in the upcoming farm bill.
Omar added that she anticipates immigration will become the caucus’s next “big fight,” while foreign policy is also expected to be a central focus, particularly issues related to the Middle East and Ukraine.
“We’re going to have to gear up to defend democratic norms, to defend those that are most vulnerable, and to obviously defend the progressive values that we have,” she said.
