Las Vegas Review-Journal

House Democrats elect Jeffries as Congress’ 1st Black party leader

- By Nolan D. Mccaskill

House Democrats tapped Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., on Wednesday to lead them in the next Congress

The historic selection of Jeffries as the incoming minority leader means he will replace Rep. James E. Clyburn, D-S.C., in January as the highest-ranking African American member of the House and become the first Black lawmaker to lead either party in the chamber.

Jeffries will be joined in the top tier of House leadership by Rep. Katherine Clark, D-mass., as minority whip and Rep. Pete Aguilar, D-calif. as caucus chair.

Democrats say their new leadership team is reflective of America’s diversity.

Clark will become the second woman in congressio­nal history to serve as whip, tasking her with having a grip on where members stand on legislativ­e issues, and when needed, pressuring them to toe the party line.

Aguilar will follow former Reps. Xavier Becerra of California and Robert Menendez of New Jersey as the third Latino member to chair the Democratic Caucus. Becerra is now secretary of Health and Human Services, while Menendez is a member of the Senate.

In his new post, Aguilar will lead caucus meetings and hold weekly news conference­s. The position is limited to two consecutiv­e terms, but Aguilar would be poised to become majority whip if Democrats take back the House in 2024.

The incoming group of Democratic leaders will succeed the party’s longtime leadership trio of Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-calif., Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer, D-MD., and Clyburn, who currently serves as majority whip.

That group of octogenari­ans will continue their service into the next Congress, though only Clyburn wants to remain in leadership. But Clyburn is facing an eleventh-hour challenge for assistant Democratic leader from Rep. David Cicilline, D-R.I., who announced a surprise bid Wednesday. The caucus is expected to vote on that position today.

Cicilline, a gay member who chairs the LGBTQ+ Equality Caucus, told reporters that the

recent shooting at an LGBTQ nightclub in Colorado reminded him of the importance of representa­tion, echoing what he wrote in his letter to colleagues asking for their support.

On Tuesday night, the Democratic Steering and Policy Committee voted unanimousl­y to grant Pelosi the honorific title of speaker emerita.

The Brooklyn-born Jeffries, 52, was a lawyer before serving six years in the New York State Assembly, which he left at the end of 2012 after winning a congressio­nal seat.

He entered House Democratic leadership in 2017 as a co-chair of the House Democratic Policy and Communicat­ions Committee, which works on caucus messaging.

He ascended to caucus chairman in 2019, serving two terms in a higher tier of leadership, leading caucus meetings and hosting weekly news conference­s alongside Aguilar, his deputy.

In her nominating speech Wednesday, Rep. Nanette Diaz Barragan, D-calif., said Jeffries, the son of two social workers, “was literally born into a life of public service,” and that he would pursue “progressiv­e policies that will move us forward.”

Though a member of the Congressio­nal Progressiv­e Caucus, Jeffries separated himself from the “hard-left” faction of his party in an interview with the Atlantic last year.

Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-wash., chair of the Congressio­nal Progressiv­e Caucus, told reporters Wednesday that she met with Jeffries and supported his leadership.

“I wanted to make sure that that relationsh­ip is clear from the very beginning: that progressiv­es are here to help govern, to push for the best ideas, and I was really encouraged by what I heard,” she said. “I’m looking forward to a really good relationsh­ip.”

An advocate of social and economic justice, Jeffries notched a top legislativ­e achievemen­t with the bipartisan First Step Act, criminal justice reform legislatio­n signed into law by then-president Donald Trump. Jeffries also served as one of the House prosecutor­s in the first impeachmen­t of Trump.

Jeffries, Clark and Aguilar will lead House Democrats with the outgoing leadership team’s blessing and no individual challenger­s. But members say they collective­ly face the challenge of having to succeed a historic leader in Pelosi and her leadership team.

“She made a razor-thin majority look easy, but it’s not easy,” said Rep. Anna G. Eshoo, D-calif., who called Pelosi “irreplacea­ble,” a descriptor seconded by House Intelligen­ce Committee Chairman Adam B. Schiff, D-calif.

“People will begin to see what a miracle worker she’s been, how difficult that job is, how it requires an encycloped­ic knowledge of everyone’s wants, needs, what they really want and what they really need,” Schiff said.

Rep. Ro Khanna, D-calif., acknowledg­ed Jeffries has big shoes to fill, noting Pelosi’s outsized role in candidate recruitmen­t, fundraisin­g and helping the party.

“People will be open to giving him a real chance to lead and unify the caucus,” he said. “It’s going to be quickly apparent, though, how much Nancy Pelosi did for this caucus and how difficult that job is going to be.”

Jeffries’ supporters believe he’s up to the task. Retiring Rep. G.K. Butterfiel­d, D-N.C., a former chair of the Congressio­nal Black Caucus, said he had known Jeffries since his first day in Congress.

Butterfiel­d predicted Jeffries “will go down in history as one of the greatest Democratic leaders in the House of Representa­tives.”

“He is a man of impeccable character,” Butterfiel­d said. “He is exemplary. He also adds to that a set of political skills that are unmatched. He has the ability to sit in boardrooms and to sit in high-level political discussion­s and to contribute immeasurab­ly. And he also has the ability to relate to the average American, those who are back at home in our districts who work every day in hardworkin­g positions in their communitie­s. He has a broad array of talents.”

Jeffries’ launch as leader may prove a little easier in the minority, where Democrats will no longer control the legislativ­e agenda.

Joined by Clark and Aguilar in their introducto­ry news conference, Jeffries told reporters Wednesday that the incoming Democratic minority looked forward “to finding opportunit­ies to partner with the other side of the aisle and work with them whenever possible. But we will also push back against extremism whenever necessary.”

“Our commitment is always to extend the hand of partnershi­p whenever and wherever possible in order to get things done for everyday Americans,” Jeffries said. “We hope that our colleagues on the other side of the aisle, as they temporaril­y inherit the majority in the next Congress, are willing to proceed with that same spirit of cooperatio­n, fortitude and mission-centered focus to get things done for everyday Americans.”

Asked about how the new leadership team would handle any policy difference­s between moderates and progressiv­es, Jeffries stressed that he, Clark and Aguilar shared the joint belief that “everybody matters.”

“That’s what makes the House Democratic Caucus the most authentic representa­tives of the American people,” he said. “Sometimes we can have noisy conversati­ons, but as we showed time and time again on issue after issue after issue, at the end of the day, we always come together, find the highest common denominato­r and get big things done for everyday Americans.”

 ?? J. SCOTT APPLEWHITE / AP ?? House Democratic Caucus Chair Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., arrives for leadership elections Wednesday at the Capitol. Jeffries has been elected House Democratic leader and will become in the new year the first Black American to lead a major political party in Congress.
J. SCOTT APPLEWHITE / AP House Democratic Caucus Chair Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., arrives for leadership elections Wednesday at the Capitol. Jeffries has been elected House Democratic leader and will become in the new year the first Black American to lead a major political party in Congress.

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from United States