Biden to Attend Hispanic Awards Gala
President Joe Biden (Getty)
By Solange Reyner | Saturday, 10 September 2022 06:33 PM EDT
President Joe Biden will attend the Annual Awards Gala held by the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute in Washington, D.C., next week, reported The Hill.
The event, in its 45th year, is billed as the largest celebration of Latino excellence in the nation. Biden's attendance will be the first by a president since former President Barack Obama delivered an address in 2016.
"It's an example of the commitment of our nation's highest-ranking leaders to our community and desire to engage with us directly — to speak to us, to hear from us, to learn about our needs and desires," said Marco Davis, the CEO of CHCI.
CHCI in 2017 didn’t invite former President Donald Trump to the gala after he pardoned Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio and said he would end the Obama-era program Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA).
CHCI offers civic engagement and leadership programs, including paid congressional internships and fellowships in D.C.
It was founded in 1978 by three Hispanic members of Congress "committed to creating [a] nonprofit, nonpartisan leadership institute to ensure a diverse and inclusive work force that included talented Latino Americans."
Currently, 25 Hispanic members of Congress guide the institute's mission.
Biden previously participated in the event virtually as the Democratic presidential nominee in 2020 and as president for the 2021 gala.
"When we were virtual, it was definitely a very different experience. I will say that the president did send a video message that we were able to air when we were virtual last fall, so technically he participated … but him being [there] in person is a very different thing," said Davis.