The Hispanic Caucus Doesn’t Want Mayra Flores

Mayra Flores, the Mexican-born Republican congresswoman who won an upset victory in Texas’s heavily Latino 34th congressional district this summer, has been rejected from membership in the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. The “most influential Hispanic group of lawmakers on Capitol Hill,” the Texas Tribune reported, “is entirely made up of Democrats — including five from Texas”:

While Flores explicitly said her interest in the caucus was “to work across the aisle and foster bipartisanship,” the Texas Tribune echoes the Democratic caucus leadership’s allegation that “Flores hasn’t shown signs of being a moderate,” writing: “She is endorsed by former President Donald Trump, maintains a hard line on reproductive rights and has called for more funding for border security.” (Quelle horreur!). If this is the standard, of course, it disqualifies most mainstream Republicans. Which is obviously the point — as the Tribune notes, “Flores isn’t the first Republican to try to join the Congressional Hispanic Caucus since the 2003 schism. Former representative Carlos Curbelo (R., Fla.) also made a bid to join in 2017, offering a presentation to members before they voted to reject his membership.” But Curbelo, it should be noted, was one of the most moderate Republicans in Congress. As McClatchy wrote in 2016:

About the Author

Nate Hochman

Nate Hochman was a staff writer at National Review.

Featured Tags

Manage following

Republicans

Hispanic

Mayra Flores, the Mexican-born Republican congresswoman who won an upset victory in Texas’s heavily Latino 34th congressional district this summer, has been rejected from membership in the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. The “most influential Hispanic group of lawmakers on Capitol Hill,” the Texas Tribune reported, “is entirely made up of Democrats — including five from Texas”:

While Flores explicitly said her interest in the caucus was “to work across the aisle and foster bipartisanship,” the Texas Tribune echoes the Democratic caucus leadership’s allegation that “Flores hasn’t shown signs of being a moderate,” writing: “She is endorsed by former President Donald Trump, maintains a hard line on reproductive rights and has called for more funding for border security.” (Quelle horreur!). If this is the standard, of course, it disqualifies most mainstream Republicans. Which is obviously the point — as the Tribune notes, “Flores isn’t the first Republican to try to join the Congressional Hispanic Caucus since the 2003 schism. Former representative Carlos Curbelo (R., Fla.) also made a bid to join in 2017, offering a presentation to members before they voted to reject his membership.” But Curbelo, it should be noted, was one of the most moderate Republicans in Congress. As McClatchy wrote in 2016: