January 30, 2019

Castro Elected Vice Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee

WASHINGTON—Congressman Joaquin Castro (TX-20), Chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, and a member of the House Committees on Foreign Affairs, Intelligence, and Education and Labor, today was elected as Vice Chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee for the 116th Congress. The Vice Chairman position will be deputy to Chairman Eliot L. Engel (NY-16) and these positions are intended to harness emerging leaders in Congress. Chairman Castro wrote the following statement on his election:

“Today, we are witnessing some of the greatest refugee crises of our time in places like Syria, Burma, and Venezuela. We experience the direct effects of these crises at our Southern border to where we’re seeing hundreds of thousands flee violence and persecution in search of a better life. This is just one example of the increasing conflation we’re seeing between this President’s domestic and foreign policies, and Congress has a genuine opportunity to pursue a progressive foreign policy that promotes American leadership, builds out the Infrastructure of Diplomacy with allies and partners, and helps meet challenges and opportunities by providing an adequate amount of resources to our diplomats” said Chairman Castro. “I’m honored to be elected as Vice Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee today and assist Chairman Engel in pursuing a foreign policy that checks President Trump’s actions, empowers Congress, and represents who we are and who we want to be as a nation.”

Chairman Engel said: “The Foreign Affairs Committee has a full agenda and our Members are ready to get to work. I’m delighted that Committee Democrats have elected as our Vice Chair a lawmaker as knowledgeable, driven, and committed as Joaquin Castro. For years, he’s been a rising star on the Committee and his leadership is going to be essential as the Committee works to advance American security, interests, and values around the world.”

Background: Today, Chairman Castro was also appointed to the Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere, Civilian Security and Trade under Chairman Albio Sires (NJ-08), and the Subcommittee on Europe, Eurasia, Energy and the Environment under newly-elected Chairman William Keating (MA-09). Chairman Castro has served on the House Foreign Affairs Committee since coming to Congress in 2013. He also has a podcast devoted to foreign policy and national security challenges called the Diplomatic Cable which can be found on iTunes, Spotify, and Google Play. The latest episode features Chairman Eliot Engel on the House Foreign Affairs Committee’s priorities for the 116th Congress.

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