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New Faces in Congress: Rep. Greg Casar, Keeping Austin Weird One Vote at a Time [1]
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Date: 2023-07-23
New Faces in Congress is a diary series meant to highlight our new and diverse members of Congress in the Democratic Party. These 36 House freshmen range from political neophytes to seasoned legislative veterans. The series will run every Sunday morning, bright and early.
Last week, the New Faces in Congress series continued with a profile on Rep. Jill Tokuda of Hawai'i's 2nd district. If you missed it, feel free to click on this link to read all about her!
This member of Congress joined the Squad upon arrival in Washington, DC, helping increase the total members of this group to nine. Before joining Congress, he was on the Austin City Council, where he vowed to resist Trump on day one of his 2016 election. His district was the most diverse and poorest in Austin, so he has experience in serving underserved communities.
Texas gained two districts in the 2020 Census, and Austin could no longer be cracked by the GOP in multiple directions without risking every seat in the general area. GOP mapmakers drew a deep blue vote sink to protect their other incumbents — one perfect for a leftist to join Congress. His primary against establishment opposition was a mere formality, as he crushed that opposition. That was tantamount to election here.
Today, the spotlight is on Rep. Greg Casar!
Want to help the freshmen members of Congress like Greg Casar? Please donate to the New Faces in Congress Fund on ActBlue!
Rep. Greg Casar (Texas-35)
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Biography
What does Rep. Greg Casar have to say about himself? Quite a lot, actually! Here is his biography from his campaign website.
Casar also highlights his background and priorities in his introductory ad for his first campaign. It is less than :90, but it really boils down to the essence of what Casar stands for.
Wikipedia has an extensive entry about his biography, and I would be ignoring fair use by posting it all. So I will settle for more information about his early history, especially in community activism and organizing.
Rep. Greg Casar, with his allies in Rep. Ilhan Omar and Rep. Pramila Jayapal.
Rep. Casar is likely to use his community organizing and time on the Austin City Council to continue to push for progressive legislation in the halls of Congress. He does have an advantage in fighting the GOP in that he comes from a state where they are dominant and always ready to neuter Austin-based legislation with statewide laws. He is used to working in the minority in a statewide setting.
Notable Media Headlines
As a member of the Squad, Rep. Greg Casar isn’t the ordinary freshman legislator content with a seat on the back bench. He has already made notable headlines. He seems to be asked frequently to give his thoughts on the talk news shows nationally, and he made headlines before even joining Congress.
In one of his first speeches, he orates about what could be possible in Congress, instead of fixating on Hunter Biden and Twitter.
He first appeared on my radar during the debt ceiling debacle, before a deal was reached. The Republicans has skipped town to head home, and the Democratic members of Congress took advantage of the absence of their colleagues to say some choice words about the standoff. Casar even crossed the aisle to make his point known.
x Casar: I'm standing here on the Republican side of the aisle not because I'm a Republican, I'm a Democrat, but I want the American people to see that there isn't any Republicans in the seats here behind me on the eve of our default. Where are the Republicans? pic.twitter.com/jKmQaEcJc1 — Acyn (@Acyn) May 25, 2023
He sat for many interviews during this time — one of which he announced that he was voting against the debt ceiling deal on NPR.
We're waiting to see if a deal to raise the debt limit will pass its first major test in Congress. The House Rules Committee is voting on whether to advance the deal, which was reached by President Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy over the weekend. The White House says this deal represents a compromise, but there are members on both sides of the aisle who are signaling their dissatisfaction with it. On the Republican side, members of the Freedom Caucus are urging their party to block the deal. And on the Democratic side, some progressives say while they stand with President Biden and want this bill to pass, they're still disappointed. That includes Congressman Greg Casar of Texas. He serves as whip of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, and we spoke to him earlier today before the House Rules Committee voted on this deal. Congressman Casar, welcome. GREG CASAR: Thanks so much for having me on. CHANG: Well, thanks for being with us. So assuming this proposal does advance, will you vote for this deal? CASAR: This is not a both sides issue. There's really just one of the two political parties in this country who are willing to send us into default and devastate the entire American economy. And that's the Republican Party. Progressives and moderate Democrats are united around the ideal that America should pay its bills. CHANG: Well, will you vote... CASAR: So progressives... CHANG: ...For this deal to make sure that the debt ceiling... CASAR: Oh, yeah. No, I'm very happy. CHANG: ...That the debt limit will be raised? CASAR: I'm definitely going there next. But important first to note that the Democrats have been united from Day 1 and will continue to make sure that there is not a default. So you're going to see some Democrats vote yes and some vote no.
He held an interview with CNN explaining more about his decision to vote no on the debt ceiling deal.
x Extremist Republicans and @SpeakerMcCarthy want to give tax breaks to billionaires by stealing food from the hungry.
And they're willing to threaten working families and the American economy to do it.
More from my conversation with @CNN's @Boris_Sanchez: pic.twitter.com/QhAyKbhyAD — Congressman Greg Casar (@RepCasar) May 30, 2023
He also often makes state headlines for resisting the state legislature and Gov. Greg Abbott, especially when their priorities target the communities he represents. For instance, he was vociferous against an anti-immigrant piece of legislation considered recently by the GOP in the state.
Rep. Greg Casar, D-Austin, helped lead progressives Wednesday in promoting federal legislation they say would bring more humanity to the country’s treatment of immigrants and push back on Republican efforts to have state and local authorities — or even everyday citizens — assume the role of immigration law enforcers. “The path we’ve been on for decades of building more private prisons, putting more kids in cages, spending tens and hundreds of millions of dollars on border militarization, hasn’t worked,” Casar told reporters Wednesday. Their proposal would end mandatory “no-bond” immigration detention, repeal laws allowing for criminal prosecution of unauthorized entry into the United States and limit the time in which federal authorities can initiate removal proceedings for civil violations. It would provide an opportunity for those already deported to return and it would repeal laws used to justify having local authorities enforce immigration rules. Casar said that would chip away at the foundation for Operation Lone Star, Gov. Greg Abbott’s multibillion dollar immigration-and-drugs dragnet at the southern border. “This law would make it very clear that federal immigration officials should be doing immigration and our local police forces, state police forces should be focused on keeping us safe from violence,” Casar said. “They shouldn’t be chasing immigrants all around the state.”
He also took Abbott to task for eliminating water breaks for workers during the worst heat wave to hit the state so far.
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Needless to say, Rep. Greg Casar often charts a path very different from his other Texas colleagues. As the only member of the Squad from the South, he often votes in ways that are completely different from the typical Democratic member of Congress from Texas, let alone his colleagues from across the aisle.
Bills and Legislative Priorities
Rep. Greg Casar sits on the Committee on Agriculture, as well as the House Oversight Committee. The latter committee is a definite plum assignment for a freshman in Congress, while the former is a committee that rarely makes headlines but is vital to the well-being of the nation.
Some headlines related to his agricultural committee came when Rep. Greg Casar introduced the bill to punish those exploiting child labor, as well as a listening tour to support the Farm Bill he will help craft later this year.
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As a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and a member of the Squad, Casar will support much legislation that is affirmational — and has no chance of passing unless our side builds robust majorities in both parts of Congress. The Green New Deal is a good example of such work.
As a member of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, there are many different facets of legislation that are meaningful to Casar. One of which is immgiration (not to say that Hispanic lawmakers are SOLELY concerned about that issue!). Casar helped introduce legislation seeking to end the punitive immigration policies we have now for a more humane approach.
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Rep. Greg Casar had an opportunity to opine about the Extreme Court at the end of June, and the two cases that mattered most to him were the affirmative action case and the student debt case. Here is what he had to say for both of them.
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Casar is quite prolific on social media, and posts items ranging from his events, his interviews, and even the legislation he is sponsoring. To get a complete picture, it is best to follow him on Twitter, much like 8.5k others have already done.
As mentioned above, Rep. Greg Casar was a NO on the Bipartisan Debt Ceiling Deal, much like the vast majority of the Squad. Casar will likely continue in Congress to try and move legislation in a more progressive direction — especially when Democratic lawmakers regain a majority in both chambers and hold the White House.
Rep. Greg Casar brings his community organizing and activist spirit to Congress, where he fights each day to pass more progressive priorities — a tall task when the GOP holds the House. His time on the Austin City Council in the regressive state of Texas gives him the exact experience needed to stand up to the Republicans, which is likely why he was given a seat on the Oversight Committee.
As a member of the Squad, Casar is much more likely than your typical new legislator to make national headlines. He has made waves, especially during the debt ceiling debacle, and he is starting to be noticed for his efforts. He seems to relish interviews and public speaking judging by the number of times he has been found in front of a camera.
Casar is likely to be in Congress for a long time, and with more time and experience he is likely to make much more of an impact upon legislation. He will continue to be a voice for underserved communities, much like other members of the Squad. Regardless of his path forward in the House, Rep. Greg Casar will continue to make Austin weird, as the slogan about the city goes!
Next Sunday, I will profile Sydney Kamlager-Dove of California’s 37th district. See you then!
Rep. Greg Casar (Texas-35)
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Please help our Democratic freshmen in the 118th Congress raise more funds with the New Faces in Congress Fund. Until election day in 2024, we plan to regularly add new names to our list of recipients. Please share a link to this site on your social media!
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