Clinton packs schedule for Capitol visit

Hillary Clinton will take a break from the presidential campaign trail July 14 to meet with lawmakers, including the Congressional Black Caucus, on Capitol Hill.

According to a Clinton official, the Democratic presidential front-runner will also meet with members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus.

The meetings with each of the caucuses come as Clinton seeks to rebuild the diverse coalition that propelled President Obama into the White House.

{mosads}Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) spokeswoman Candace Randle said lawmakers and the Democratic presidential front-runner will “discuss the CBC’s agenda and policy issues impacting the African-American community.”

Clinton’s closed-press meetings with lawmakers will be her first visit to Capitol Hill since formally announcing her presidential campaign in April. However, her campaign team has been in contact with members of each of the caucuses since the start of her candidacy.

The 46-member CBC is made up almost entirely of House Democrats, with the exceptions of Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Rep. Mia Love (R-Utah). Two nonvoting delegates, Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) and Stacey Plaskett (D-Virgin Islands), are also part of the caucus.

A total of 106 Democrats have already endorsed Clinton for president, including many members of the CBC.

CBC members who have declared support for Clinton include Booker and Reps. Karen Bass (Calif.), Joyce Beatty (Ohio), Eddie Bernice Johnson (Texas), Emanuel Cleaver (Mo.), Danny Davis (Ill.), Alcee Hastings (Fla.), Sheila Jackson Lee (Texas), Hank Johnson (Ga.), John Lewis (Ga.), Gregory Meeks (N.Y.), Charles Rangel (N.Y.), Cedric Richmond (La.), David Scott (Ga.), Terri Sewell (Ala.), Marc Veasey (Texas) and Frederica Wilson (Fla.).

Clinton has frequently waded into national discussions about race in recent months, including an April speech where she called for criminal justice reform and blasted racially charged police shootings.

“From Ferguson to Staten Island to Baltimore, the patterns have become unmistakable and undeniable,” Clinton said.

The former secretary of State said last month at a black church outside of St. Louis — not far from where the shooting in Ferguson, Mo., unfolded last summer — that the recent shooting in Charleston, S.C., shows the nation has more work to do in addressing race relations.

“I know it’s tempting to dismiss this tragedy as an isolated incident, to believe in today’s America that bigotry is largely behind us, that institutional racism no longer exists,” Clinton said. “But despite our best efforts and highest hopes, America’s long struggle with race is far from finished.”

Clinton has further sought to highlight her position on immigration reform compared to the GOP field. She told CNN in her first nationally televised interview on Tuesday that she was “very disappointed” with Donald Trump for his controversial comments about Mexicans, as well as with the rest of the Republican field for not thoroughly condemning them.

— This story was last updated at 7 p.m.