Pa. lawmaker takes a top role at the DNC, pledges to court voters, fight GOP

Published On: June 26, 2025

Following a procedural blunder, Pennsylvania state representative Malcolm Kenyatta was re-elected as the vice chair of the Democratic National Committee and is now prepared to take on Republicans, inspire people, and overthrow the Democratic establishment.

Kenyatta told PennLive, “I’m looking at an opportunity to shift the focus back to how we can convince the American people that we’re going to improve their lives and to double down on the kinds of major reforms we need to see in this party.”

He mentioned the DNC’s commitment to provide state parties with $1 million per month, saying, “We have real work to continue to build out the (party) infrastructure, which we’ve been doing.”

After a female candidate in the February elections challenged the preliminary results on procedural grounds, Kenyatta was recently elected vice chair of the DNC for the second time since February.

Alongside Kenyatta, gun control activist David Hogg was chosen vice chair as well, but he decided not to run for reelection in order to concentrate on a different organization that plans to run primary challenges against more traditional and conservative Democrats.

According to a DNC spokeswoman, the vice chairs of the party are also members of the executive committee and are responsible for fundraising, interacting with coalition organizations and voters, and disseminating the party’s message on social media and conventional media.

When asked about U.S. Sen. John Fetterman, a Democrat who has angered many in his party due to his support for Israel and willingness to cooperate with Republicans and President Donald Trump, Kenyatta was unusually silent about his work performance and refused to address concerns about Fetterman’s mental health.

Kenyatta, who challenged Fetterman in the 2022 Senate Democratic primary, stated, “He and I would vote very differently on a number of different issues.”

Regarding the Trump administration, Democratic National Committee vice chair Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta of Pennsylvania stated: Authoritarianism has arrived. It is no longer growing. It has arrived. June 24, 2025. |[email protected] Sean Simmers

However, there was no such restraint when Trump sent Marines and members of the National Guard to Los Angeles.

This is the age of authoritarianism. It is no longer growing. Kenyatta added, “It’s here,” adding that Trump had previously encouraged rallygoers to attack protesters and had pardoned riots on January 6.

Where are the Don t Tread on Me people? he asked. because to his treading.

Kenyatta, a Philadelphia resident, said he has traveled over 23,000 miles since that February DNC election, meeting with Democrats across the country in places like Jackson, Miss., where he was pleasantly surprised to see 1,500 people turn out for an anti-Trump No Kings rally earlier this month.

You must be there before you can tell them what you wish to do. Regarding his travel to the South, Kenyatta stated, “You have to show it.” You must communicate your intentions to others when you finally arrive.

When meeting with people, Kenyatta stresses his Make life better theme to tell voters how Democrats will improve their lives and expose the threats that he says Republican policies under Trump will hurt them.

To make life better means providing hope to a younger generation that is concerned about purchasing homes, starting families, and retiring comfortably. Democrats are working to increase wages, expand union rights, and maintain social safety nets like Medicaid and Social Security, which Republicans are aiming to cut.

When he goes to meetings like in Mississippi, Kenyatta said he has a simple distinction to make from Republicans.

I m a Democrat because I know that when we have a strong Democratic Party, we get some of the generationally transformative things done, he said.

Voters are not interested in never-ending autopsies of the 2024 election and Democratic failures, said Kenyatta.

In this moment, Democrats have to have an affirmative, forward-looking message, said Kenyatta. I honestly don t think (looking back) is where voters are.

Instead, voters want Democrats to be more aggressive and also more strategic in terms of how we approach Donald Trump, he said.

Kenyatta rattled off a litany of GOP missteps, such as targeting Medicaid and Obamacare, ICE raids and Trump sending troops to Los Angeles not to quell violence but to try to create violence as a pretext for him to use more militarized force against the American people.

Police detain a man during a protest in Paramount, Calif., Saturday, June 7, 2025, after federal immigration authorities conducted operations.AP Photo/Eric Thayer

The internal Democratic debate is between those who want the party to play dead against the GOP or fight against this extremist agenda, said Kenyatta.

I think that we should fight like hell in this moment. I m on Team Fight Like Hell, he said.

Every day you re seeing Democrats step to meet this moment, but what you re also seeing is a president that is out of [expletive] control and it s not just the job of Democrats to rein him in, said Kenyatta. Republicans have to have some courage in this moment.

He mentioned comments from Alaska GOP Sen. Lisa Murkowski, whotold Politico in Aprilthat she and other senators are afraid of retaliation if they publicly disagree with Trump.

Republicans in this moment, their fear is allowing them to sit silent while they see behavior unfold that they would never be quiet about if it were a Democrat doing it, said Kenyatta. But we have to get out of this Democratic versus Republican. We don t want a president who behaves this way. We don t deserve a president who behaves this way.