Human Rights & Democracy
November 22, 2022: Election Recap with Jim Moran
Posted on November 22, 2022 at 12:00 AM
by Rosalyn Coates, Chair, Racial Equity Task Force
Informative, gracious, and humorous, former congressman Jim Moran addressed WNDC members and guests on November 15, 2022 to share his views on the results of the 2022 midterm elections. While he predicted that Kevin McCarthy will ultimately become House Speaker, Mr. Moran added that many in the Republican Caucus are not there to legislate. Recent pronouncements by McCarthy, Rep. James Comer, the incoming Oversight Committee chairman, and Rep. Jim Jordan, who is expected to chair the House Judiciary Committee, bear out Moran’s insights. The first actions Republicans plan to take upon assuming leadership of the House is to open investigations on Hunter Biden, Dr. Anthony Fauci, Attorney General Merrick Garland, and FBI Director Christopher Wray.
On the Democratic side, Mr. Moran expressed his view that Rep. Hakeem Jeffries will become the next House Minority Leader, signaling a significant transition in Democratic leadership. Even though the Democratic Party retained a slight majority in the Senate, the loss the majority in the House will make it difficult for President Biden to accomplish many of his priorities, such as fighting inflation, protecting social security and Medicare, addressing the climate crisis, and tackling gun violence through the legislative process.
When asked what would have been his legislative priorities had he been a member of the 118th Congress, Mr. Moran listed increased funding for education, raising the gas tax to pay for infrastructure, and immigration reform. In closing, Mr. Moran urged the Woman’s National Democratic Club to be proactive in helping to shape the priorities and future platforms of the Democratic Party.