The Congressional Equality Caucus , formerly the Congressional LGBTQ+ Caucus , was formed by openly gay representatives Tammy Baldwin and Barney Frank on June 4, 2008, to advance LGBT+ rights .[1] [2] The caucus is chaired by the most senior member and is co-chaired by nine of the United States House of Representatives ' ten current openly LGBT members; during the 118th Congress, the caucus is chaired by Representative Mark Pocan and is co-chaired by Representatives Becca Balint , Angie Craig , Sharice Davids , Robert Garcia , Chris Pappas , Mark Pocan , Eric Sorensen , Mark Takano , and Ritchie Torres .[3]
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Congressional LGBT Equality Caucus Members at the Kick-off Press Conference from left to right: Niki Tsongas (D–MA), José E. Serrano (D–NY), Xavier Becerra (D–CA), Hilda Solis (D–CA), Jerry Nadler (D–NY), Barbara Lee (D–CA), Tammy Baldwin (D–WI), Lois Capps (D–CA), Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R–FL), Linda Sánchez (D–CA), Mike Honda (D–CA), Jim McGovern (D–MA), Barney Frank (D–MA), Chris Shays (R–CT)
With 195 members, the Congressional Equality Caucus became the largest caucus during the 118th United States Congress session.
The mission of the caucus is to work for LGBTQ rights , the repeal of laws discriminatory against LGBTQ persons, the elimination of hate-motivated violence , and improved health and well-being for all persons, regardless of sexual orientation , gender identity , or gender expression .[4] The caucus serves as a resource for Members of Congress , their staffs, and the public on LGBTQ issues.[4] Unlike the Congressional Black Caucus , famous for admitting only black members, the LGBTQ+ Equality Caucus admits any member who is willing to advance LGBTQ rights, regardless of their sexual identity or orientation; it has historically been co-chaired by every openly-LGBTQ member of the House.
Equality PAC
In February 2016, the caucus formed the Equality PAC to support candidates running for federal office who are LGBTQ or seek to advance LGBTQ rights. On March 14, 2016, the board of the Equality PAC voted to endorse Hillary Clinton in the 2016 Presidential election .[5]
Task forces
During the 114th United States Congress , the caucus formed the Transgender Equality Task Force (TETF) and the LGBTQ+ Aging Issues Task Force. The TETF is currently chaired by Pramila Jayapal and Sara Jacobs and is committed to pushing for legislative and administrative action to ensure that transgender people are treated equally and with dignity and respect. The LGBTQ+ Aging Issues Task Force is currently chaired by Suzanne Bonamici and works to push for legislative and administrative action to protect the dignity and security of elderly LGBTQ people.[6]
Congressional Equality Caucus in the 118th United States Congress Democratic members (195)
Democratic non-members (17)
The below table summarizes the number of caucus members by party over a number of legislative sessions; the drop in membership numbers in the 114th congress was predominantly due to this being the first year that caucus members were charged fees for their membership ($400 per member, $2,100 per vice chair, $7,500 per co-chair):[7]
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List of Caucus members in the 118th Congress:
Members
Alma Adams (D–North Carolina)
Pete Aguilar (D–California)
Colin Allred (D–Texas), retiring at end of 118th Congress.
Gabe Amo (D―Rhode Island)
Jake Auchincloss (D–Massachusetts)
Nanette Barragán (D–California)
Joyce Beatty (D–Ohio)
Ami Bera (D–California)
Don Beyer (D–Virginia)
Lisa Blunt Rochester (D–Delaware), retiring at end of 118th Congress.
Jamaal Bowman (D–New York)
Brendan Boyle (D–Pennsylvania)
Shontel Brown (D–Ohio)
Julia Brownley (D–California)
Nikki Budzinski (D–Illinois)
Cori Bush (D–Missouri), lost renomination in 2024.
Yadira Caraveo (D–Colorado), lost re-election in 2024.
Salud Carbajal (D–California)
Tony Cárdenas (D–California), retiring at end of 118th Congress.
André Carson (D–Indiana)
Troy Carter (D–Louisiana)
Matt Cartwright (D–Pennsylvania), lost re-election in 2024.
Greg Casar (D–Texas)
Ed Case (D–Hawaii)
Sean Casten (D–Illinois)
Kathy Castor (D–Florida)
Joaquin Castro (D–Texas)
Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D–Florida)
Yvette Clarke (D–New York)
Emanuel Cleaver (D–Missouri)
Steve Cohen (D–Tennessee)
Gerry Connolly (D–Virginia)
Lou Correa (D–California)
Jim Costa (D–California)
Joe Courtney (D–Connecticut)
Jasmine Crockett (D–Texas)
Jason Crow (D–Colorado)
Danny K. Davis (D–Illinois)
Madeleine Dean (D–Pennsylvania)
Diana DeGette (D–Colorado)
Rosa DeLauro (D–Connecticut)
Suzan DelBene (D–Washington)
Chris Deluzio (D–Pennsylvania)
Mark DeSaulnier (D–California)
Debbie Dingell (D–Michigan)
Veronica Escobar (D–Texas)
Anna Eshoo (D–California), retiring at end of 118th Congress.
Adriano Espaillat (D–New York)
Dwight Evans (D–Pennsylvania)
Bill Foster (D–Illinois)
Valerie Foushee (D–North Carolina)
Lois Frankel (D–Florida)
John Garamendi (D–California)
Chuy García (D–Illinois)
Sylvia Garcia (D–Texas)
Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D–Washington)
Jared Golden (D–Maine)
Dan Goldman (D–New York)
Jimmy Gomez (D–California)
Vincente Gonzalez (D–Texas)
Josh Gottheimer (D–New Jersey)
Al Green (D–Texas)
Raúl Grijalva (D–Arizona)
Jahana Hayes (D–Connecticut)
Brian Higgins (D–New York)
Jim Himes (D–Connecticut)
Steven Horsford (D–Nevada)
Chrissy Houlahan (D–Pennsylvania)
Val Hoyle (D–Oregon)
Jared Huffman (D–California)
Glenn Ivey (D–Maryland)
Jeff Jackson (D–North Carolina), retiring at end of 118th Congress.
Hank Johnson (D–Georgia)
Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D–California)
Bill Keating (D–Massachusetts)
Robin Kelly (D–Illinois)
Ro Khanna (D–California)
Derek Kilmer (D–Washington), retiring at end of 118th Congress.
Andy Kim (D–New Jersey), retiring at end of 118th Congress.
Ann McLane Kuster (D–New Hampshire), retiring at end of 118th Congress.
Greg Landsman (D–Ohio)
Rick Larsen (D–Washington)
John B. Larson (D–Connecticut)
Summer Lee (D–Pennsylvania)
Susie Lee (D–Nevada)
Teresa Leger Fernandez (D–New Mexico)
Mike Levin (D–California)
Zoe Lofgren (D–California)
Stephen F. Lynch (D–Massachusetts)
Seth Magaziner (D–Rhode Island)
Kathy Manning (D–North Carolina), retiring at end of 118th Congress.
Doris Matsui (D–California)
Lucy McBath (D–Georgia)
Jennifer McClellan (D–Virginia)
Morgan McGarvey (D–Kentucky)
James McGovern (D–Massachusetts)
Gregory Meeks (D–New York)
Rob Menendez (D–New Jersey)
Kweisi Mfume (D–Maryland)
Gwen Moore (D–Wisconsin)
Joseph Morelle (D–New York)
Jared Moskowitz (D–Florida)
Seth Moulton (D–Massachusetts)
Frank J. Mrvan (D–Indiana)
Kevin Mullin (D–California)
Grace Napolitano (D–California), retiring at end of 118th Congress.
Joe Neguse (D–Colorado)
Wiley Nickel (D–North Carolina), retiring at end of 118th Congress.
Donald Norcross (D–New Jersey)
Eleanor Holmes Norton (D–District of Columbia)
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D–New York)
Ilhan Omar (D–Minnesota)
Frank Pallone (D–New Jersey)
Jimmy Panetta (D–California)
Nancy Pelosi (D–California)
Brittany Pettersen (D–Colorado)
Dean Phillips (D–Minnesota), retiring at end of 118th Congress.
Katie Porter (D–California), retiring at end of 118th Congress.
Ayanna Pressley (D–Massachusetts)
Delia Ramirez (D–Illinois)
Deborah K. Ross (D–North Carolina)
Raul Ruiz (D–California)
Dutch Ruppersberger (D–Maryland), retiring at end of 118th Congress.
Pat Ryan (D–New York)
Andrea Salinas (D–Oregon)
John Sarbanes (D–Maryland), retiring at end of 118th Congress.
Jan Schakowsky (D–Illinois)
Brad Schneider (D–Illinois)
Hillary Scholten (D–Michigan)
Kim Schrier (D–Washington)
Bobby Scott (D–Virginia)
David Scott (D–Georgia)
Terri Sewell (D–Alabama)
Brad Sherman (D–California)
Mikie Sherrill (D–New Jersey)
Elissa Slotkin (D–Michigan), retiring at end of 118th Congress.
Adam Smith (D–Washington)
Abigail Spanberger (D–Virginia), retiring at end of 118th Congress.
Melanie Stansbury (D–New Mexico)
Greg Stanton (D–Arizona)
Haley Stevens (D–Michigan)
Marilyn Strickland (D–Washington)
Eric Swalwell (D–California)
Emilia Sykes (D–Ohio)
Shri Thanedar (D–Michigan)
Dina Titus (D–Nevada)
Rashida Tlaib (D–Michigan)
Jill Tokuda (D–Hawaii)
Paul Tonko (D–New York)
Norma Torres (D–California)
Lori Trahan (D–Massachusetts)
David Trone (D–Maryland), retiring at end of 118th Congress.
Lauren Underwood (D–Illinois)
Juan Vargas (D–California)
Gabe Vasquez (D–New Mexico)
Marc Veasey (D–Texas)
Nydia Velázquez (D–New York)
Maxine Waters (D–California)
Bonnie Watson Coleman (D–New Jersey)
Susan Wild (D–Pennsylvania), lost re-election in 2024.
Nikema Williams (D–Georgia)
Frederica Wilson (D–Florida)
"Mission" . LGBT Equality Caucus. June 12, 2014. Retrieved February 21, 2019 .
"Task Forces" . LGBT Equality Caucus . March 25, 2019. Retrieved April 17, 2019 .
LGBTQ+ Equality Caucus – official website
LGBT Equality Caucus – web archived 115th Congress
"Congressional caucus launched for LGBT rights" , The Advocate (Gay.com ), June 4, 2008.
DiGuglielmo, Joey. "Frank, Baldwin launch LGBT Equality Caucus" , The Washington Blade , June 4, 2008.
"Keith Ellison is Proud to be Named Vice-Chairman of Bipartisan Congressional LGBT Equality Caucus", Re-Elect Keith Ellison for U.S. Congress , retrieved July 20, 2008.