Castro disavows PAC money ahead of potential 2020 run
CORALVILLE, Iowa — Former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro leaned in to a progressive pitch to voters here Monday night, saying he would push for universal healthcare, a Green New Deal, and disavow PAC money if he entered the 2020 race for president.
The policy prescriptions are all part of his unofficial pitch for president. Castro has not officially announced his candidacy, but repeatedly teased his upcoming Saturday announcement where he says he'll share more about his future plans.
"Starting on Saturday," he said, he plans to "be talking about my vision for the future."
Castro, who served as HUD Secretary to President Barack Obama, would enter what's expected to be a crowded field of Democrats vying to take on President Donald Trump in November 2020. Speaking from the corner of a cozy living room packed with anxious Democratic voters, Castro ticked off a progressive check list on a variety of litmus test issues like healthcare.
"There is no reason...that in the richest nation on Earth anybody should go without healthcare," Castro said at the Iowa living room meet-and-greet. "I believe that we need universal healthcare. That we should do Medicare for all in this country."
Castro also echoed a promise made by another fellow Democrat exploring a 2020 run, Senator Elizabeth Warren: not to take money from political action committees — and challenging other would-be candidates to do the same.
That promise was met with some consternation from one man in the crowd, afraid that Castro would be — as the candidate re-phrased it — "bringing a knife to a gun fight."
"The people are more powerful than the PAC," Castro rebutted, eliciting cheers.
Asked about climate change, the former HUD Secretary said he wanted to bring the U.S. back into the Paris Climate Agreement and that it would be the first executive order he signed as president. And on talk of a Green New Deal pushed by progressive grassroots groups, Castro said "we should do that."
