Democrats Elect Hakeem Jeffries to Succeed Nancy Pelosi as House Party Leader

Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Democratic lawmakers have elected Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) to take Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-CA) place as leader of the Democratic Caucus in the House of Representatives.

Jeffries was thought to be among the most likely Democrats to take Pelosi’s place ever since she announced earlier this month that she would step down from her leadership role. The vote means Jeffries will be the Democrats’ first new House leader in approximately two decades, and he’ll be the first African American to head up a major political party in Congress.

“It’s a solemn responsibility that we are all inheriting,” Jeffries said to the Capitol Hill press corps, as reported by the Associated Press. “And the best thing that we can do as a result of the seriousness and solemnity of the moment is lean in hard and do the best damn job that we can for the people.”

Jeffries was approved by acclamation as Democrats appear to be making a broader generational change to their Congressional leadership. He is expected to be flanked by Rep. Katherine Clark (D-MS) as the Democratic whip, and Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-CA) is position to be caucus chairman. Axios notes that Steny Hoyer (D-MD), the current House Majority Leader Hoyer, is stepping down from leadership with Pelosi, while Jim Clyburn (SC) will go from majority whip to the number four slot of assistant leader.

Democrats will be in the minority when the new Congress goes into session, though the lack of any challengers to Jeffries signals that the party may be more united at the moment than the upcoming slim Republican majority. GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy is currently dealing with dissent within his caucus as Republican hardliners are standing in the way of the 218 votes he needs to become the next Speaker of the House.

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