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jimmy gomez
Progressive Group Supports Angela Gonzales-Torres' Primary Challenge to AIPAC-Backed Jimmy Gomez
"This is about standing up to corruption, calling out a genocide when we see one, and building a Los Angeles that we can afford," said Angela Gonzales-Torres, the candidate endorsed by Justice Democrats.
Sep 04, 2025
The progressive political action committee Justice Democrats on Thursday threw its support behind Angela Gonzales-Torres, a primary challenger to incumbent Democratic Congressman Jimmy Gomez in California's deep blue 34th District.
"Angela is exactly what Los Angeles needs in Congress right now: a working-class champion with the moral courage to not only fight back against the Trump administration's cruelty with the urgency it demands but also take on the Democratic Party when the corporate establishment fails to fight for our communities," Justice Democrats executive director Alexandra Rojas said in a statement.
The support from Justice Democrats—known for helping to elect "Squad" members including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY)—comes as Republican President Donald Trump threatens to copy his militarized anti-immigrant attack on Los Angeles in other Democrat-led US cities.
"While Donald Trump is terrorizing our city, kidnapping our friends and neighbors, kicking us off our healthcare, why is our member of Congress funded by Trump's biggest donors and voting for his harmful agenda?" Gonzales-Torres asked in a Thursday video announcing the group's endorsement of her.
Gonzales-Torres launched her campaign in April. She's not the first primary challenger Gomez has faced. Since winning a 2017 special election, he has continuously bested his primary opponents, including David Kim in the past three cycles.
"In the 2024 race, Kim called for cutting off US military funding to Israel and drew fire from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC, and its super PAC, United Democracy Project," The Intercept reported Thursday. "Kim also supported the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement and called for an international court to prosecute illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank. Kim endorsed Gonzales-Torres, who previously volunteered for his campaign."
Gonzales-Torres told the Los Angeles Times that "I think that Angelenos want to see change. And what we are seeing is our current Congress member accepting $2.3 million from AIPAC, then failing to co-sponsor the only bill calling for a ceasefire."
"And what we are seeing is Jimmy Gomez taking, you know, $500,000 from crypto lobbies, then voting to further Trump's corrupt crypto agenda," Gonzales-Torres added. In the new video from Justice Democrats, she also highlighted Gomez's record of taking money from other corporate interests.
"We're doing things differently. I am not taking a dime from AIPAC or any corporate PAC money," Gonzales-Torres said. "This is about standing up to corruption, calling out a genocide when we see one, and building a Los Angeles that we can afford, not just the wealthy or well-connected."
She also recalled her experience growing up in Los Angeles, including the deportation of her father when she was just 15. With her dad back in Mexico, Gonzales-Torres' mother worked as a waitress to support their daughters, and they spent time living in shelters and their car, according to The American Prospect.
"Experiencing family separation, economic insecurity, housing instability, and all of the trauma that comes with it has only made me more committed to fighting for my community, and for all of the Angelenos for whom that is a daily struggle, like it was for my family," she told the Prospect. "Los Angeles deserves better, and I'm determined to get it for us."
While Justice Democrats is accustomed to facing off against AIPAC—which last year backed successful primary challenges to two Squad members, former Reps. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) and Cori Bush (D-Mo.)—the progressives group's endorsement in this race is notable because of some of the incumbent's positions.
Gomez is "far from a hard-line pro-Israel voice in Congress" and "hardly a moderate: The Eagle Rock resident has more in common with the Justice Democrats slate than many of the members they have previously tried to unseat," the Times reported, noting his support for the Green New Deal and Medicare for All, his speech at Sen. Bernie Sanders' (I-Vt.) Fighting Oligarchy event in Los Angeles, and Ocasio-Cortez's 2024 endorsement of him.
Justice Democrats spokesperson Usamah Andrabi pointed to the congressman's campaign cash.
"Jimmy Gomez got to Washington and closed the door on his community behind him to embrace the same corporate PACs and right-wing lobbies that are raising costs for Angelenos and demanding their tax dollars fund genocide," Andrabi told The Intercept. "In a city that has become ground zero for Donald Trump's war on immigrant families, Angelenos deserve a leader whose donors will never dictate how hard they fight back."
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'This Is What Fascism Looks Like': Beloved Labor Leader David Huerta Arrested
"This is about something much bigger," said the president of SEIU California, still in detention. "This is about how we as a community stand together and resist the injustice."
Jun 07, 2025
Unions and allies in California and across the United States on Saturday are demanding the immediate release of David Huerta, president of SEIU California and SEIU-United Service Workers West, after the highly regarded labor leader was injured and then arrested while witnessing a raid by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents on Friday.
"SEIU California members call for the immediate release of our President, David Huerta, who was injured and detained at the site of one of today's ICE raids in Los Angeles," said Tia Orr, executive director of SEIU California, in a statement.
"This isn't just an overreach—it's a nationwide pattern of suppression." —Rep. Jimmy Gomez (D-Calif.)
In a later update, the union stated that Huerta—a veteran labor leader whose union represents over 45,000 janitors, airport workers, security guards, and other property service workers—had been released from the hospital, where he received treatment for injuries sustained during his arrest, but that he remained in custody.
The union included remarks from Huerta, who said, "We all collectively have to object to this madness because this is not justice. This is injustice."
"This is about something much bigger" than his arrest, said Huerta. "This is about how we as a community stand together and resist the injustice."
According to a statement released by the Department of Homeland Security, approximately 44 individuals were "administratively arrested" in a series of raids at retail stores in the Los Angeles area. In contrast, one individual, identified as Huerta, was arrested "for obstruction" of federal officers.
"This is what fascism looks like," said California State Senator Scott Wiener, a Democrat. "Secret police raids. Injuring protesters. Arresting labor leaders."
U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli, the chief prosecutor in the Central District of California, claimed in a post on social media that "federal agents were executing a lawful judicial warrant at a LA worksite this morning when David Huerta deliberately obstructed their access by blocking their vehicle. He was arrested for interfering with federal officers and will face arraignment in federal court on Monday."
"Let me be clear: I don't care who you are—if you impede federal agents, you will be arrested and prosecuted," said Essayli. "No one has the right to assault, obstruct, or interfere with federal authorities carrying out their duties."
A video posted by Essayli alongside his statement appears to show the moment Huerta is pushed over by ICE agents amid a chaotic scene on a sidewalk where officers are clearing an area in front of a gate for an approaching van.
Federal agents were executing a lawful judicial warrant at a LA worksite this morning when David Huerta deliberately obstructed their access by blocking their vehicle. He was arrested for interfering with federal officers and will face arraignment in federal court on Monday. Let… pic.twitter.com/GIFD34LIcF
— U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli (@USAttyEssayli) June 7, 2025
Separate footage from a different angle shows Huerta going down backward due to a forceful push by the officers and landing with his neck and head on a hard concrete curb:
"Today, SEIU-USWW President, my friend, and constituent David Huerta was thrown to the ground, tased, injured, and arrested for exercising his First Amendment right to observe and document law enforcement activity," said Rep. Jimmy Gomez (D-Calif.), who represents areas of Los Angeles. "This isn't just an overreach—it's a nationwide pattern of suppression. We must stand together."
California's Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom also weighed in. "David Huerta is a respected leader, a patriot, and an advocate for working people," said Newsom. "No one should ever be harmed for witnessing government action."
Outrage over Huerta's arrest and ongoing detention, both from the labor union movement and immigrant rights groups, continued to spread on Friday and into Saturday.
"We refuse to stay silent while ICE terrorizes working-class communities," said the California Federation of Labor Unions (CFLU). "We are turning out and standing united in solidarity with SEIU-California, calling on the release of SEIU President David Huerta!"
In a statement, CFLU president Lorena Gonzalez called for "an end to the cruel, destructive, and indiscriminate ICE raids that are tearing apart our communities, disrupting our economies, and hurting all working people. Immigrant workers are essential to our society—feeding our nation, caring for our elders, cleaning our workplaces, and building our homes."
In a post on social media, SEIU California said: "Let’s be clear: ICE injured and detained the president of SEIU California for peacefully observing. ICE picked the wrong side. The wrong state. The wrong person. And the wrong union. David Huerta stood up. And 750,000 SEIU workers are standing with him."
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Calls for Waltz's Resignation Grow Amid Report of At Least 20 Sensitive Signal Group Chats
"There must be accountability for this administration's dangerous disregard for our national security," said one Democratic congressman and former military prosecutor.
Apr 02, 2025
U.S. National Security Adviser Mike Waltz and members of his staff have created at least 20 group chats on the encrypted messaging app Signal to coordinate official work on sensitive policy issues around the world, four people who were added to such groups told Politico.
Waltz was already under fire for a group chat about the U.S. bombing Yemen when the report broke. Politico's Dasha Burns wrote on Wednesday that "none of the four individuals said they were aware of whether any classified information was shared, but all said that posts in group chats did include sensitive details of national security work."
The anonymous sources told Politico that the group chats involved policy issues involving China, Ukraine, Gaza, the Middle East, Europe, and Africa. One of them said, "It was commonplace to stand up chats on any given national security topic," one of the four sources told the outlet.
The Politico article comes a day after The Washington Post reported that Waltz and other members of President Donald Trump's National Security Council conducted official government business via their personal Gmail accounts, which are far less secure than Signal chats.
The fresh revelations also come as "Signalgate"—in which Waltz, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and other top Trump administration officials added a journalist to a Signal group chat about plans to bomb Yemen—still smolders.
Calls for Waltz's resignation or firing, which were already numerous in the wake of Signalgate, mounted Wednesday.
Resign.
[image or embed]
— Senator Ed Markey ( @markey.senate.gov) April 2, 2025 at 2:26 PM
"Waltz must resign. Hegseth must resign," Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.), a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said on the social media site Bluesky. "There must be accountability for this administration's dangerous disregard for our national security."
Referring to the Signal group chats, Rep. Jimmy Gomez (D-Calif.) asked on the social media site X, "How many more are there?"
"Even Trump allies say this doesn't pass the smell test," he added. "National Security Adviser Waltz and Pete Hegseth need to be fired."
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Low-Wage Workers Endorse Slate of Candidates to Win Fairer Economy
One Fair Wage Action is endorsing 25 national and state candidates who are "committed to raising the minimum wage and ending the federal subminimum wage of just $2.13 an hour."
Oct 30, 2024
A U.S. advocacy group fighting for a living wage for its hundreds of thousands of service industry employee members on Wednesday announced its endorsement of a slate of "pro-worker candidates" in next week's elections.
One Fair Wage (OFW) Action—whose members include more than 300,000 U.S. restaurant workers, owners, and other service industry employees—said following its recent endorsement of U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris that "these candidates—from Arizona to Michigan to New York—are committed to raising the minimum wage and ending the federal subminimum wage of just $2.13 an hour, a poverty-level wage that leaves tipped and service workers struggling in one of the nation's fastest-growing, yet lowest-paid sectors."
"These candidates understand the need to challenge corporate interests that have long held back meaningful wage reform."
"As families across the nation struggle with rising costs, One Fair Wage Action's coalition of over 300,000 service workers, employers, and allies are mobilizing to amplify the call for living wages," the group continued. "In key battleground states like Michigan and Pennsylvania, the organization will focus on reaching voters who are demanding economic justice and solutions to the cost-of-living crisis."
OFW Action endorsed Democratic candidates including:
- Arizona: Ruben Gallego (U.S. Senate); Junelle Cavero and Oscar De Los Santos (U.S. House); and Mariana Sandoval (state Legislature);
- California: Rose Penelope Yee, Lateefah Simon, Laura Friedman, Rudy Salas, Jimmy Gomez, David Kim, and Stephen Houlahan (U.S. House);
- Illinois: Nikki Budzinski and Lauren Underwood (U.S. House);
- Massachusetts: Leigh Davis and Natalie Higgins (state Legislature);
- Michigan: Elissa Slotkin (U.S. Senate) and Carl Marlinga (U.S. House);
- Nevada: Steven Horsford (U.S. House);
- New York: Adriano Espaillat, John Avlon, Rob Lubin, Grace Meng, Andrea Morse, and John Mannion (U.S. House); and
- Wisconsin: Rebecca Cooke (U.S. House).
"These candidates understand the need to challenge corporate interests that have long held back meaningful wage reform," OFW Action president Saru Jayaraman said Wednesday "For years, powerful lobbying groups have fought to preserve the subminimum wage for tipped workers at just $2.13 an hour, forcing millions of tipped and service workers, who are overwhelmingly women and people of color, to suffer from the highest rates of economic instability and sexual harassment of any industry."
"These candidates are committed to putting a stop to this practice and ensuring that every worker is paid fairly and with dignity," she asserted. "By electing leaders who prioritize fair wages over corporate profits, we can finally create an economy that values the contributions of all workers—not just those at the top."
Last month, OFW applauded Harris for backing an end to the subminimum wage for tipped workers, arguing the policy stands in stark contrast with the platform of former President Donald Trump, the Republican nominee, whose scheme to end taxes on tipped employees has been panned by experts as potentially harmful to the workers it purports to help.
"For too long, well-funded interests have blocked progress on fair wages," Jayaraman added. "These candidates bring a commitment to meaningful change from within the system. They understand the urgent need to address the imbalance that keeps so many workers struggling to make ends meet. One Fair Wage Action is mobilizing to ensure that these voices are heard, so that workers themselves drive this change at the polls."
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Washington's $849 Million Capital Gains Windfall Shows 'Taxing the Rich Is a Really Good Idea'
"Hey, hey! What we knew would happen: Make the wealthiest pay their fair share and it finances investments in education, transportation, and more," said Rep. Pramila Jayapal.
May 26, 2023
Proponents of progressive taxation on Friday pointed to data showing Washington state stands poised to reap $849 million in revenue during the first year of its capital gains tax as proof that taxing the rich works—and could serve as a template for federal legislation.
The Seattle Times reports that when Washington state lawmakers passed this fiscal year's budget, they anticipated collecting $248 million in revenue from the 7% tax on the sale or exchange of stocks, bonds, and certain other assets above $250,000.
However, the legislators were pleasantly surprised when figures showed the state has collected over $600 million more than that.
While the amount collected could change after around 2,500 taxpayers who applied for extensions file their returns, progressives welcomed the windfall that will fund public schools, early childhood education, and building and repairing schools across the state.
"Hey, hey! What we knew would happen: Make the wealthiest pay their fair share and it finances investments in education, transportation, and more," tweeted Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.).
Jayapal touted federal legislation she introduced with Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) in 2021—the Ultra-Millionaire Tax Act—that would levy a 2% annual tax on the net worth of households and trusts above $50 million, plus a 1% annual surtax on billionaires.
An analysis by University of California, Berkeley economists Emmanuel Saez and Gabriel Zucman found that the legislation would bring in at least $3 trillion in revenue over 10 years without raising taxes on 99.95% of American households worth less than $50 million.
Last month, Warren, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), and Rep. Jimmy Gomez (D-Calif.) introduced the For the 99.5% Act, which would impose a 45% tax on estates worth between $3.5 million and $10 million, a 50% tax on estates worth between $10 million and $50 million, a 55% tax on estates worth between $50 million and $1 billion, and a 65% tax on estates valued at over $1 billion.
Meanwhile, congressional Republicans are trying to repeal the estate tax entirely—and pass other tax policies to serve the rich.
Back at the state level, California, New York, Illinois, Maryland, Connecticut, and Hawaii have also introduced wealth tax bills this year, while Washington's law was upheld by that state's Supreme Court in March.
"If the federal government won't act," California Assemblymember Alex Lee (D-24) said while introducing a wealth tax bill in January, "we the states will."
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Sanders Counters GOP Giveaways With Tax Hike on Estates of Ultra-Wealthy
"Over and over again, Republicans in Washington have professed their deep concern about the national debt and yet virtually all of them have signed onto legislation that would provide a $1.8 trillion tax giveaway to billionaires."
Apr 18, 2023
Sen. Bernie Sanders on Tuesday unveiled legislation that would hike taxes on estates worth more than $3.5 million as congressional Republicans work to repeal the estate levy entirely—a move that would hand nearly $2 trillion to the wealthiest people in the United States.
The For the 99.5 Percent Act, which Sanders (I-Vt.) unveiled alongside Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Rep. Jimmy Gomez (D-Calif.), would impose a 45% tax on estates worth between $3.5 million and $10 million, a 50% tax on estates worth between $10 million and $50 million, a 55% tax on estates worth between $50 million and $1 billion, and a 65% tax on estates valued at over $1 billion.
"This is not a radical idea," Sanders' office said in a press release. "In fact, from 1941-1976, the top estate tax rate was 77% on estates worth more than $50 million."
The new legislation would not impose any new taxes on 99.5% of Americans.
"Over and over again, Republicans in Washington have professed their deep concern about the national debt and yet virtually all of them have signed onto legislation that would provide a $1.8 trillion tax giveaway to billionaires by repealing the estate tax," Sanders said in a statement Tuesday, referring to the GOP's Death Tax Repeal Act of 2023, a bill led by Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.).
Thune's legislation currently has 40 Republican cosponsors, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), whose wife received an inheritance worth between $5 million and $25 million following her mother's death in 2007.
Dozens of House Republicans have also backed legislation that would repeal all federal income taxes and replace them with a regressive national sales tax.
"At a time of massive wealth and income inequality, we need to make sure that people who inherit over $3.5 million pay their fair share of taxes," said Sanders. "We do not need to provide a huge handout to multi-millionaires and billionaires. It is unacceptable that working families across the country today are struggling to file their taxes on time and put food on the table, while the wealthiest among us profit off of enormous tax loopholes and giant tax breaks."
According to a summary released by Sanders' office, the new legislation would also target loopholes and inadequate rules that have allowed billionaire families like the Waltons to pass down wealth tax-free.
The bill was introduced with the backing of more than 420 national, state, and local groups, including the AFL-CIO and Public Citizen.
"For years, billionaires and multi-millionaires have gotten away with paying little to nothing in taxes," Warren said Tuesday. "This legislation will help us fix our broken tax system by closing loopholes that the ultra-wealthy use to dodge paying their fair share. Congress should pass this bill so we can invest in working families and build a brighter future for all of our children."
Citing an estimate from the Joint Committee on Taxation, Sanders' office noted that a previous version of the For the 99.5 Percent Act would have raised $430 billion in federal revenue over its first decade.
The new bill, which faces long odds in both chambers of Congress, was unveiled on Tax Day, an occasion that—as one group put it in a statement earlier Tuesday—serves as "an annual reminder that the ultra-rich exist in an entirely separate world when it comes to taxes."
The For the 99.5 Percent Act is one of several pieces of legislation mentioned by the Patriotic Millionaires in its newly released tax reform agenda, which calls for wealth taxes, a 90% top tax rate on centimillionaires, and other changes to "fundamentally reimagine our tax code."
"For our future, our grandchildren's future, and our country's future," the group said Tuesday, "we must tax the rich."
Survey data released Tuesday by the progressive advocacy group Groundwork Action found that nearly 75% of U.S. voters, regardless of party affiliation, want Congress to prioritize cracking down on wealthy tax cheats and closing loopholes that benefit the rich.
The polling data also showed that 70% of U.S. voters want Congress to "make sure millionaires and billionaires pay more in taxes."
"Voters across the political spectrum are tired of hearing about billionaires and massive corporations paying less in taxes than nurses, teachers, or firefighters, so it's no surprise they're rejecting the Republican agenda of protecting tax breaks for the wealthy at all costs," said Lindsay Owens, executive director of Groundwork Collabortive Action.
"If Republicans want to talk about deficit reduction," Owens added, "Democrats have an easy response: Let's make the wealthiest Americans and biggest corporations pay their fair share before asking workers and families to pay a penny more."
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