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Rep. Horsford to lead Congressional Black Caucus transition

13 November 2020
Dan Ackermann

Rep. Steven Horsford (D-Nev.) will serve as a liaison between the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) and President-elect Joe Biden's transition team, pushing for their caucus' interests to be heard by the incoming administration, as the head of the CBC's first 100 days task force, two sources familiar tell Axios and his office confirmed.

Why it matters: His role helps give the CBC more collective power when presenting personnel and policy recommendations to Biden's team. It comes at particularly crucial time when the transition team is starting to make staffing decisions and several lawmakers are publicly and privately lobbying for representation in his Cabinet and throughout the administration.

  • Horsford is expected to gather with CBC members next week in some capacity to start compiling an official list of members they'd like to be considered for Cabinet and administration positions, as well as policies they've led over the last four years that they want to expand with a Biden/Harris administration, Horsford's team said.

Driving the news: Biden announced his first major staffing decision this week, naming longtime Democratic operative and trusted advisor Ron Klain his White House chief of staff.

  • Several CBC members have been privately lobbying for representation in roles outside of Housing and Urban Development, which traditionally has had a person of color leading the department.
  • Rep. Jim Clyburn told "Axios on HBO" he's been pushing Biden's transition team to consider Rep. Marcia Fudge to lead the Department of Agriculture, among others.
  • Rep. Karen Bass, who's the CBC chair and was on the short list for Biden's VP, is also being named by some on the Hill as a possible contender for Health and Human Services or HUD secretary.
  • Don't forget: Vice President-elect Kamala Harris is also a member of the CBC.

Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times

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Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.

Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.

The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.

  • The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.

What the transcripts say:

  • Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
  • The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
  • Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."

Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.