Love is in the air.
(Roll Call) — Seeking to overcome a rocky August recess, the country’s first black president and the Congressional Black Caucus have repaired relations recently as the administration has stepped up outreach to the group and the black community.
From August to October, Members expressed frustration with the administration, and President Barack Obama, a former caucus member, responded at a CBC dinner that detractors should “stop whining.”
But in the months since, the administration has been careful to “correct missteps,” CBC Chairman Emanuel Cleaver said. “Most CBC members are feeling better about it.
“The White House has, in my estimation as the chair, conscientiously worked to reduce the little dings and dents that happened to the relationship, and as a result, I think things have improved,” the Missouri Democrat said. “We still have little instances where maybe somebody is not notified a Cabinet secretary is coming to their district, but the White House has gone way out trying to change that.”
Punctuated by a high-profile meeting with Attorney General Eric Holder last week — the first such meeting this Congress — Members and staff said their goal is to head into election season unified in order to win Obama, and themselves, another term.
“Most of the people, if not all, in the CBC are really, really good politicians,” Assistant Minority Leader James Clyburn (D-S.C.) said, adding that they know when it’s time to support the president.
“I acknowledge that there’s been some restlessness among CBC members,” said caucus Second Vice Chairman G.K. Butterfield (D-N.C.). “But when you get beyond that . . . we are in lock step with each other and in lock step with the president.”