Jan. 3 (UPI) — Democratic Rep. Mark Takano of California, the first openly gay person of color elected to Congress, will be the chair of the Congressional Equality Caucus during the upcoming session, the group announced Friday.
Takano, a six-term lawmaker representing southern California’s 39th District including Riverside County, served as caucus co-chair in the previous session.
He is the lead sponsor of the Equality Act, the caucus’ flagship bill that would amend existing civil rights laws to explicitly prohibit discrimination against LGBTQI+ people in employment, housing, public accommodations, education, federally funded programs, credit and jury service.
His election comes as Republican majorities in both the House and Senate are set to push measures targeting transgender rights, including a bill banning transgender athletes from women’s and girls’ sports that GOP lawmakers have identified as one of their top priorities in the upcoming session.
“Over the next several years, we will see a constant barrage of attacks on the rights and dignity of the queer community — especially against our transgender siblings — by the Trump Administration and the Republican majorities in both the House and Senate,” Takano said in a statement.
We’re pleased to announce that @repmarktakano.bsky.social, lead sponsor of the #EqualityAct, will serve as Chair of the Congressional Equality Caucus for the 119th Congress.
Read our full statement, including a comment from outgoing Chair @pocan.house.gov, at the link in our bio.
[image or embed]— Congressional Equality Caucus (@equality.house.gov) January 3, 2025 at 8:00 AM
“As Chair of the Equality Caucus, I will lead our coalition of openly-LGBTQI+ members and our allies in the fight to both defend the queer community and push equality forward, including by reintroducing the Equality Act,” he said.
Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Wis., the outgoing caucus chair, called his successor a strong choice to lead the defense of gay and transgender rights going forward.
“In the 118th Congress, Republicans used their majority to attack the rights of the LGBTQI+ community instead of making any meaningful progress for the American people,” he said. “I know that our community will have a strong defender against Republicans’ incoming attacks with Representative Takano as our Chair.”
During the upcoming session, Takano also will serve as the ranking member of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs and on the Committee on Education and the Workforce.
The lawmaker has been hailed in the LGBTQI+ community for his work as a leader of the Equality PAC, the political action committee he co-chairs along with Rep. Ritchie Torres, D-N.Y. The PAC is dedicated to electing pro-LGBTQ+ candidates and under their leadership raised more $18 million for the 2024 election cycle.