7 hours Ago By Falyn Stempler
A rising young liberal activist is leading an effort to bring "fresh" young faces to Congress. David Hogg, 25, has angered many Democrats after announcing his plans to pour $20 million into backing primary challengers against Democratic incumbents in blue strongholds to unseat "ineffective" leaders , the New York Times reports. The bold move comes after the wipeout 2024 election loss for the party following a series of fumbles.
The party grew increasingly divided after the disaster July debate , ultimately forcing President Joe Biden , then 81, to step down three weeks later, leaving only 90 days for a new ticket to emerge. He quickly endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris , which effectively killed any prospect of a primary to the ire of many party members. Trump suddenly halts speech after medical emergency in Oval Office 'My dad killed my rapist on live TV - but I wouldn't trade my life for anything' The Parkland school shooting survivor has reflected on lessons to be learned from the critical election, in which a figure whom the Democratic Party believes is a danger to democracy, Donald Trump , was able to rise to power.
Hogg believes that a "culture of seniority politics" has taken priority over efficacy in the Democratic Party, which is why he is launching an effort to welcome younger people into Congress. His proposal outraged many establishment party figures and strategists, which Hogg told CBS News he "doesn't take personally." A chorus of party members spoke out against the proposal.
"What a disappointment from leadership. I can think of a million better things to do with twenty million dollars right now," swing-district Rep. Hillary Scholten (D-Mich.
) told Axios. "Fighting Democrats might get likes online, but it's not what restores majorities." Others who spoke on the condition of anonymity described it as "very counterproductive and counterintuitive," "a mistake," "inappropriate" and "totally dumbfounded," likening it to "a circular firing squad" while admitting "it would sure be nice to have some of that financial support.
" However, a select few have embraced it including Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Cali.) and Rep.
Jim McGovern (D-Mass.). "He makes some good points.
We do have some ranking members who should step aside," McGovern said. "Competition is not a bad thing." Hogg pointed to the 2024 election results, in which Trump won the popular vote and electoral college and the Democrats lost both chambers of Congress, in response to criticism that his movement is ill-informed.
"Look at the results of the last previous election. Those are the purported experts who brought us here," he told CBS News, referencing President Donald Trump 's win. "Just to say, it's not personal.
I don't take those attacks personally, in this regard, it is a strategic disagreement." DON'T MISS..
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), who is the first member of Generation Z to serve in Congress. However, Hogg calculates that there should be at least 40 representatives under the age of 30 serving in Congress if it were equitable. "We talk about diversity all the time in Congress.
One of the things we don't talk about as much in regard to that is age," he told CBS News. "I don't know if you've looked at Congress recently, we have one that is under the age of 30. That is not good for the future of the Democratic Party.
"President Biden was as successful as he was, I would argue because he started when he was 29, which I know is harder for some younger people to believe. But if you look at FDR, if you look at LBJ, they started all before they were 30 and they became that successful because they were that young. Right now, those leaders don't have that chance.
" However, he reassured that his primary concern is not age but effectiveness—pointing to leaders such as California Rep. Nancy Pelosi, 85, as an example of a good leader. She also notably caused a stir among the party establishment by leading internal efforts to convince Biden to step down from the 2024 election.
"It's not just a matter of age, it is a matter of effectiveness. ..
. We need members who are ready to meet this moment to fight against Donald Trump ." He pointed to figures such as Sen.
Chris Van Halen (D-MD) who attracted headlines after flying to El Salvador this week to meet with Maryland man Kilmar Abrego Garcia, 30, who was wrongfully flown to the Trump administration's mega-prison in the Central American country. He also praised New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, 55, after making history by speaking on the Senate floor for over 25 hours to filibuster President Trump, issuing dire warnings about the state of the country.
He also noted how Booker and other top party leaders such as Minority Leader Rep. Hakeem Jefferies (D-NY) had to primary others running for office to rise to power. Hogg argued that the most "effective" leaders right now are lawmakers attracting headlines for "actually fighting" and utilizing social media such as Rep.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) and Rep. Al Green (D-TX), all of whom are raising the most money for the party.
"This is a healthy process for our party, and I think we should embrace it when it doesn't risk us losing the House because it's not a zero-sum game." "What I would say to young people who are critical of the Democratic Party, I would say that I am by no means in this position because I think we are God's greatest gift by any means," he continued. "I am in this position because I know for families like mine what the Democratic Party can do.
" Taking aim at the Republican Party, he added: "What I believe in isn't the Democratic Party that we have today but the Democratic Party we could be. The great thing about our party is we are not a cult and you can still be critical of it and still be a Democrat at the same time. "Sometimes our messaging is a little more widespread than the Republican Party but guess what we don't have a strong man at the top that excommunicates people because we have diversity and a diversity of approaches and strategies and we need everybody to step up and be a part of the change that we want to see.
" After receiving backlash from leaders who expressed concern that his efforts would divert attention from battleground races, the Leaders We Deserve organizer donated an additional $100,000 to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, helping Democrats to marginally beat out Republicans in fundraising efforts so far this year, Axios reports. However, in doing so, he also doubled down on his plans to give the party a facelift. "This is not me playing nice.
It is demonstrating my commitment to winning back the house and making Hakeem Jeffries the Speaker," he wrote on X . "We absolutely cannot wait for people to retire at their own leisure or to let them sit there and do nothing while the country is burning.".
