The Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC) is welcoming Republicans from the House into a new two-party group, a stir that reflects the historical diversity of the newly elected GOP class.
Rep. Judy Chu, D-California, is chairing the group of Asian-American House members, which currently consists exclusively of Democrats. But the November election of Republicans Michelle Steel and Young Kim in California prompted Chu to find a new way to work across the aisle.
“We are going to start a dual API caucus (Asian Pacific Islander),” Chu said on Friday.
FILE: Rep. Judy Chu, D-California, speaks at a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington. Chu testified on September 9, 2011 during a trial on military suicides on House Armed Services and in a dramatic moment the death of her cousin, Marine Lance Cpl. Harry Lew, 21, who put a gun to his head and killed himself while in a fox hole in Afghanistan after fellow marines allegedly threatened him one night.
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Steel and Kim, along with Democrat Marilyn Strickland of Washington, are the first female Korean American women to serve in Congress.
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Chu said she gave the new Republicans a choice to join the current CAPAC with Democrats or to form a new dual caucus where they can work on issues of common interest, including the increase in violence and discord against Asian Americans during the coronavirus pandemic.
“It seems like the dual API caucus might be more in line with our goal, because there are certain specific things we want to work on and it can lead to more productive conclusions and more productive relationships where we can support each other on these issues and get something done. done, ‘Chu said.
Steel and Kim both won in swing districts in California and are part of the most diverse GOP freshman in history. These include women, veterans, black Americans, Hispanics and first-generation immigrants.
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The new additions to Congress have traditionally forced Democratic caucuses to scrutinize their membership, including the Congress Black Caucus and Congress Spanish Caucus. Chu had earlier said Republicans would be allowed to join the Congress-Asian Pacific American caucus, but her announcement Friday indicates they have taken a different path with a new two-party group.
BUENA PARK, CA – DECEMBER 18: Young Kim, left, and Michelle Steel were elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in November 2020. Kim represents the 39th Congress District and Steel the 48th Congress District in California. They were taken in Buena Park, CA, on Friday, December 18, 2020. (Photo by Paul Bersebach / MediaNews Group / Orange County Register via Getty Images)
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Chu’s comments come during a CAPAC news conference on the rise in violence against Asian Americans during the pandemic. The House Democrats have placed different levels of blame on former President Trump for inciting anti-Asian sentiment by using terms such as ‘Kung flu’ and the ‘China virus’.
“He has given people permission to be openly racist and open and this manifests in violence,” Strickland said Friday about Trump’s words and actions.
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Stop AAPI Hate, a group that has been monitoring the increase in incidents against Asian Americans, released a report this month documenting 2,808 first-hand reports of anti-Asian hatred between March 19, 2020 and December 31, 2020. At least 126 of those accounts involved seniors.
Representatives of CAPAC were accompanied by House President Nancy Pelosi, D-California, and members of the Black Caucus and Spanish Caucasus Congress to expose the incidents of hatred and call on the new Department of Justice of the Biden Administration do to meet with the Asian American community to combat hate crimes.
“For more than a year, our community has been fighting two viruses, not only the COVID-19 pandemic, but also the anti-Asian hatred and discrimination,” Rep. Grace Meng, DN.Y., said who wrote a resolution calling on the House in September to denounce anti-Asian sentiment.
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“We demand that this xenophobia end immediately,” Meng added.
Steel, R-California, this week circulated its own resolution condemning hate crimes against the Asian American Pacific (AAPI) community. In a letter to her colleagues calling for support for her effort, she cites the recent fatal attack on an 84-year-old immigrant from Thailand, Vicha Ratanapakdee, in San Francisco.
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“Stories like these are horrible and pointless,” Steel wrote to her colleagues this week. “Unfortunately, this is one of the many cases where the Asian Americans and the Pacific Islanders have been targeted. Congress needs to meet and speak.”
So far, no Democrats have signed her resolution, Steel’s office said.