Congresswoman Mayra Flores will not be able to be part of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC). Not for lack of interest, but because CHC itself rejected it. The reason? Belonging to the Republican Party.
Flores denounced in Townhall what happened. The CHC is the most influential Hispanic group of legislators on Capitol Hill. The organization, which the Texas congresswoman attempted to join in early October, denied her entry a few days later, justifying its decision on its own bylaws that prohibit entry into the CHC for any Republican member.
CHC added more reasons for denying Mayra Flores' entry. This time they used political arguments: "Rep. Flores’ Extreme MAGA values and their attacks on Latinos and our nation’s democracy on January 6 do not align with CHC values," said Sebastian Roa, CHC's communications director to Texas Tribune.
Flores was not convinced by this reasoning. She believed that working with CHC would benefit all Latinos. But as she points out on her own Twitter feed, she couldn't have been more wrong:
As the first Mexican-born American Congresswoman, I thought the Hispanic Caucus would be open to working together. This denial once again proves a bias towards conservative Latinas that don't fit their narrative or ideology. https://t.co/oqYjrGDJaU pic.twitter.com/ugqkKMk5sb
- Mayra Flores (@MayraFlores2022) October 26, 2022
The CHC, a Democratic lobby
Mayra Flores represents the state of Texas, specifically the 34th district, located on the border with Mexico and with a large Hispanic population. This is a traditionally Democratic fiefdom that the congresswoman - Mexican by birth - conquered this year for the Republican Party.
The CHC, as stated on its website, "addresses national and international issues and crafts policies that impact the Hispanic community" and its role is "to serve as a forum for the Hispanic Members of Congress to coalesce around a collective legislative agenda." However, the Caucus itself appears to be in breach of its own rules by denying Mayra Flores entry.
