Who is Hakeem Jeffries? 'Barack Obama of Brooklyn' tipped to replace Nancy Pelosi
Back in 2018, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi promised to relinquish her leadership role in four years, which she again nodded to in 2020. With the deadline of 2022 now fast approaching, it appears the Democrats are engaging in a tightly-contested race to appoint her successor. Unfortunately for the Dems, it also comes with the contest of the 2022 midterms, where many predict they will lose control of the House and Senate.
The battle to replace Pelosi is just one of the many examples of infighting in the Democratic party. Right at the top, it appears President Joe Biden is done with Vice President Kamala Harris. In the House, 'the squad' appears to be against any sort of compromise with their colleagues, and in the Senate, Joe Manchin and Krysten Sinema are refusing to play ball either. Overall, things don't look very good for Democrats leading into the midterms, with the infighting reflecting on their poll numbers pretty badly.
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That makes the race to replace Pelosi all the more important if the party is to put on a united front and retain power. Rep Pramila Jayapal has backed a more "decentralized leadership", away from the current system which comprised of Pelosi, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, and Majority Whip Jim Clyburn. Whether that will happen or not remains to be seen, but there appears to be one man who can fit the bill - Rep Hakeem Jeffries.
Who is Hakeem Jeffries?
Currently representing New York's 8th Congressional District, Jeffries has been in Congress since 2013. A native of Brooklyn, he is a lawyer by profession, having obtained his Juris Doctor from New York University School of Law. Jeffries clerked for Judge Harold Baer Jr of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, before moving to private practice. He then spent six years in the New York State Assembly, before making the jump to the US Capitol.
In his time in Congress, Jeffries has quickly grown to become the fifth highest-ranking Democrat in the House of Representatives - since he now serves as the Chairman of the House Democratic Caucus. He also previously served as the Whip for the Congressional Black Caucus, meaning he has plenty of experience with leadership in the House. He's also made a name for himself as the first African-American impeachment manager, at the 2020 trial of Donald Trump in the Senate.
Optics aside, Jeffries has also been at the forefront of some of the biggest reforms passed by Congress in recent years - he led the charge for the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act and was the Democratic sponsor for the bipartisan FIRST STEP Act in 2018. In fact, Jeffries has co-sponsored a number of bills that have received support across the aisle, as well as within the Democratic party indicating he might be the right man to bridge the deep divide that now exists in Congress.
Is Jeffries the right man?
According to The Washington Post, Democrats agree that Pelosi's successor should be "equally as historic", indicating that they are strongly looking at someone from a minority community to step up. Should Jeffries be given the gavel, it would make him the first Black speaker, reflecting a time when America has elected its first women Vice President. And it appears he already has some support. "'He's brilliant, he's smooth, but he is fearless. I mean, if we are fighting for something, I want Hakeem Jeffries on my side because he will go to the mat on an issue," one Congressmember told The Post.
Given that he already has significant leadership experience, and some friends across the aisle, Jeffries could help unite not just the warring Democratic party, but also the entire House. However, there's one person he doesn't famously get on with - Kevin McCarthy. As this POLITICO article outlines, the two who were once pretty close "don’t have much of a relationship now beyond their verbal jabs at press conferences."
That could be an issue if Democrats do somehow manage to retain control of the House, but at least Jeffries still has friends across the aisle. That could prove to be the vital key to helping things move in the House, especially if Democrats are serious about retaining the Presidency in 2024, whether or not Biden runs for reelection.