Executive Director of House Dems’ Campaign Arm Resigns amid Backlash over Lack of Diversity
The executive director of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) resigned Monday after Democratic lawmakers and DCCC staffers lashed out publicly at the organization’s leadership over their failure to prioritize racial diversity.
Allison Jaslow announced her resignation during an emergency meeting that was held on Monday morning in response to calls from staffers and lawmakers for an “immediate restructuring” of the group’s senior leadership, Politico reported.
Democratic representatives Vicente Gonzalez and Filemon Vela of Texas specifically called for Jaslow’s resignation in a statement provided to Politico on Sunday.
“The DCCC is now in complete chaos,” Gonzalez and Vela said in their statement. “The single most immediate action that Cheri Bustos can take to restore confidence in the organization and to promote diversity is to appoint a qualified person of color, of which there are many, as executive director at once. We find the silence of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus on this issue to be deafening.”
Politico highlighted a longstanding rift within the DCCC last week, publishing a report that quoted staffers and lawmakers complaining about a lack of racial diversity within the group’s leadership, and among the vendors hired by the group.
DCCC chairwoman Cheri Bustos was forced to return to Washington on Monday to address lawmakers’ and staffers’ concerns after an emergency meeting on Friday, which Bustos did not attend, and a conference call on Saturday, proved insufficient.
Jaslow reportedly wept while assuming blame for the lack of diversity during the Friday meeting while Bustos responded to the complaints by emphasizing her marriage to a Mexican man and her son’s engagement to an African-American woman during the Saturday call. She also agreed to hold mandatory diversity training for Committee staff.
