Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y. has been chosen by the House Democratic Caucus to serve as its leader.
Jeffries will be the first Black person to head a major political party in Congress as the House minority leader.
He is one of a new group of leaders chosen on Wednesday to represent House Democrats in the ensuing Congress, along with Rep. Katherine Clark of Massachusetts, who will serve as Jeffries’ deputy, and Rep. Pete Aguilar of California, who will serve as the third-ranking leader.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is 30 years older than 52-year-old Jeffries, who was the only candidate. After Republicans won a narrow majority in the 2022 midterm elections, Pelosi declared earlier this month that she would still serve in Congress but would not seek reelection to her position as leader of the Democratic caucus, which she has held for almost 20 years.
Following the caucus election on Wednesday, Pelosi praised the leadership team, saying the new members will “reinvigorate our Caucus with their new enthusiasm, ideas, and perspective.”
The night before the caucus vote, Jeffries told reporters he hadn’t had time to think about the historical marker.
Focusing on “the outside narratives or the magnitude of the moment” would take away from his work planning how to shift the caucus from the majority to its new minority posture in January, he said.
Jeffries added it’s important for Congress to “look like the American people.” He added, “when we get an opportunity as diverse leaders to serve in positions of consequence, the most meaningful thing we can do in the space is do an incredibly good job — that hopefully will encourage others to think about public service and alleviate concerns that folks who are skeptical may have about the ability of every type of American to operate successfully at the highest levels.”
