Hakeem Jeffries Reelected as House Democrat Leader

Newly Reelected House Minority Leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), joined by other House Democrats, speaks during a weekly meeting on Capitol Hill on Nov. 19, 2024. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times

WASHINGTON—House Democrats reelected Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) as their leader on Nov. 19, just weeks after falling short of reclaiming the lower congressional chamber.

Jeffries, who also serves as House minority leader, said during a Nov. 15 press conference that House Democrats will work with the incoming Trump administration and “vigorously defend the common good,” such as tackling “economic challenges facing everyday Americans.”

“We will defend Social Security. We will defend Medicare. We will defend Medicaid. We will defend the Affordable Care Act,” he said. “We will defend the progress that we’ve made on the climate crisis. We will defend voting rights. We will push back against the aggressive, extreme partisan gerrymandering.”

Jeffries has represented New York’s Eighth Congressional District since 2013. Before becoming the leader of his conference, he served as the House Democratic Caucus chairman and co-chair of the House Democratic Policy and Communications Committee. Before entering Congress, he was a member of the New York Assembly from 2007 to 2012.

He succeeded Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) as House Democratic leader on Jan. 3, 2023, becoming the first black person to hold the position.

Jeffries has criticized some of President-elect Donald Trump’s Cabinet nominees, including Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who was tapped to lead the Department of Health and Human Services.

“Will he and others give us the best opportunity to make a difference in the lives of the American people or are there other people who are better qualified to do the jobs that need to be done on behalf of the American people?” Jeffries said during a Nov. 15 press conference.

In announcing Kennedy as his nominee to lead the department, Trump said he would take on the status quo in the health sector such as “the industrial food complex and drug companies who have engaged in deception, misinformation, and disinformation” and protecting people “from harmful chemicals, pollutants, pesticides, pharmaceutical products, and food additives that have contributed to the overwhelming health crisis in this country.”

Jeffries said he respects Trump’s selection of former Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-N.Y.) to lead the Environmental Protection Agency, saying that Zeldin has “familiarity” with environmental issues.

House Democrats also reelected Rep. Katherine Clark (D-Mass.) as House Democratic whip and Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.) as House Democratic Conference chairman. Like Jeffries, those two ran unopposed.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) was nominated last week by House Republicans to keep the gavel. He must win a full House vote, which will take place on Jan. 3, 2025.