Who is Hakeem Jeffries, the Democrat poised to become House speaker?
Summary
Hakeem Jeffries, the Democratic House minority leader from New York, is poised to become the first Black speaker of the U.S. House after Democrats won the midterm elections. His leadership bid faces resistance from some progressives who question his cautious style and support for Israel, though he has spent years building relationships within his party.Key Facts
- Jeffries is 56 and represents New York in the House.
- He grew up in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, and is the son of two social workers.
- He worked as a corporate lawyer before entering politics.
- After two unsuccessful campaigns, he won a seat in the New York State Assembly in 2006 and was elected to Congress in 2012.
- Jeffries helped broker a bipartisan criminal justice reform law that President Donald Trump signed in 2018.
- He served as a House impeachment manager during Trump’s first impeachment trial.
- Democrats unanimously chose Jeffries in 2022 to succeed Nancy Pelosi as their House leader, making him the first Black politician to lead a party in either chamber of Congress.
- A Change.org petition urging lawmakers to choose another speaker had collected more than 980,000 signatures by Saturday morning after the election.
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