The Congressional Hispanic Caucus named Capitol Hill veteran Jacky Usyk as its newest executive director for the 118th Congress. 

Usyk’s appointment arrives as the group and its leadership go through a restructuring period that first started with the arrival of California Democratic Representative Nanette Barrágan, who replaced fellow Californian, Rep. Raul Ruiz, as Chair of the Hispanic Caucus. 

“Her knowledge of Senate and House rules and her experience in leadership on both sides of the Hill will serve the Caucus well,” the group said in its announcement of Usyk. 

Usyk is a seasoned veteran on Capitol Hill who was a legislative aide and legislative correspondent for Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), before working in Rep. Tony Cárdenas’ (D-CA) office as a legislative assistant, senior policy advisor, legislative director, and Deputy Chief of Staff, where she spent more than six years. 

She was most recently the senior advisor for Democratic Sen. Patty Murray, who is the current President pro tempore of the Senate. 

During her time with Murray, Usyk organized Democrats on the Senate floor as they passed legislation, with the American Rescue Plan and the Inflation Reduction Act being a few big achievements. 

In the last decade, Usyk has demonstrated the leadership required for this unique role, and her history of working with several Representatives should only help her in her new role — one in which she has to navigate through a pool of different personalities, egos, and agendas. 

“With deep knowledge of parliamentary procedure and issues impacting Hispanic communities, along with her extensive relationships with Democratic members, Jacky Usyk will be an asset to the CHC and our agenda for the 118th Congress,” said Barragán.

“I look forward to working with Jacky to further the goals of the caucus and take the CHC on the road.  With a Democratic Administration and Senate, I believe we have a tremendous opportunity to continue to get things done for our communities,” she added. 

Usyk is one of nine new individuals to be added to the organization as the group enters a new era with a restructured leadership team, as well as a new cast of members, who are increasingly growing in power. 

With the exception of a few, most of the members are currently in the House of Representatives, as well as four current members being in the Senate with voting power in that chamber. These include Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, Sen. Ben Ray Luján, Sen. Bob Menendez and Sen. Alex Padilla. 

“As our Congressional Hispanic Caucus heads into the 118th Congress with a historic 42 members, I can’t think of anyone [to] better lead us alongside Chair Barragán than Jacky Usyk,” said Cárdenas (D-Calif.), who employed Usyk in his office for nearly six years.

“She joins the CHC with a long track record of unique leadership experience in both the House and Senate. She’s multicultural and multilingual, and brings the passion needed to help our Caucus continue delivering for Latino families across our country,” he added.

The Hispanic Caucus is growing larger after a successful 2022 midterm election. 

Voto Latino, a grassroots organization empowering the young Latinx generation to vote, recently held a new member’s event for the caucus’ largest class of freshmen that includes: 

Rep. Greg Casar, Rep. Robert Garcia, Rep. Delia Ramirez, Rep. Yadira Caraveo, Rep. Maxwell Frost, Rep. Gabe Vasquez, Rep. Rob Menendez Jr., and Rep. Andrea Salinas.