Leadership

Table Of Content

• Who Is Hakeem Jeffries?
• Political positions
• Black History
• Members of Congress put pressure on Biden to grant protections for Haitians fleeing to the U.S.
• Biden and Mexican president pledge to 'significantly reduce irregular border crossings'
• Mike Johnson and the troubled history of recent Republican speakers

In 1913, when Republicans were in the minority for the first time in 18 years, Republican Conference chair Jacob Gallinger of New Hampshire also began to exercise responsibilities of a floor leader. In 2019 Jeffries became chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, a post that made him the fifth highest-ranking Democrat in the chamber. In that role he presided over races for other party leadership posts and helped set legislative priorities for the House Democrats.

Who Is Hakeem Jeffries?

He quoted Biggie Smalls, the rapper from his neighborhood known as "the Notorious B.I.G.," as he finished his closing statement about the president's abuse of power saying, "and if you don't know, now you know." The House Democratic Caucus has elected Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., to lead their caucus. The minority party develops alternatives and agendas of its own and attempts to construct winning coalitions on their behalf.

Political positions

Pelosi praised the leadership team following the caucus election Wednesday, saying the new leaders will "reinvigorate our Caucus with their new energy, ideas and perspective." Hailing the Democratic caucus as a “beautiful mosaic of the country”, Aguilar acknowledged the significance of being a Latino in a leadership role. Under Rule XIII, clause 6, the Rules Committee may not (except in certain specified circumstances) issue a "rule" that prevents the minority leader or a designee from offering a motion to recommit with instructions. With the Republicans holding a majority of seats and the Democrats holding a minority, the current leaders are Majority Leader Steve Scalise of Louisiana and Majority Whip Tom Emmer of Minnesota, Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York, and Minority Whip Katherine Clark of Massachusetts.

Black History

The divergence ensures that, with TV cameras not permitted in court, two rival narratives are forming around the first criminal trial of an ex-US president. In one telling, Trump is a philander who falsified business records to illegally influence the 2016 presidential election. In the other, he is the victim of a justice department conspiracy designed to rob the Republican nominee of victory in 2024. He elaborated on the tactic of “catch and kill”, which is when a publication negotiates exclusive rights to stories to prevent their publication, and whether or not Trump was attempting to carry out such a scheme ahead of his 2016 election victory.

Republicans in Congress face internal backlash over dueling floor disasters - CNN

Republicans in Congress face internal backlash over dueling floor disasters.

Posted: Wed, 07 Feb 2024 08:00:00 GMT [source]

Since Snell's description, other responsibilities have been added to the job. Before examining the institutional and party assignments of the minority leader, it is worth highlighting the historical origin of this position. Most of them served in that long stretch when their party held the majority for four decades.

In a show of unity after losing the House but delivering a stronger-than-expected performance in the midterm elections, Democrats unanimously approved Jeffries and two other top leadership positions by acclamation. Jeffries, 52, will assume the role of minority leader when the new Congress is sworn in early next year, inheriting the position held for nearly two decades by Pelosi, a towering figure in Democratic politics who was the first female speaker. The position of Assistant Democratic Leader was established by Nancy Pelosi on January 3, 2011, and filled by Jim Clyburn to avoid a battle for whip between then-Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and then-Majority Whip Jim Clyburn. The title has undergone several name changes, with the title being known as the titular "Assistant Speaker of the House of Representatives" during Pelosi's second speakership; it is said to replace the Assistant to the Leader post first established in 1999; and previously held by Chris Van Hollen. Minority leaders may engage in numerous activities to publicize their party's priorities and to criticize the opposition's.

Biden and Mexican president pledge to 'significantly reduce irregular border crossings'

The Brooklyn native delivered a stirring floor speech on behalf of House Democrats before handing the gavel to McCarthy symbolizing the peaceful transfer of power. "I have studied history long enough to know that evolutions are much better than revolutions," Clyburn said. "And I think that anybody watching their caucus, our caucus over the years, could see the evolving leadership."

Another scholar contends that the minority leader position emerged even before 1883. "It is hard to believe that House partisans would place a man in the speakership when in the majority, and nominate him for this office when in the minority, and not look to him for legislative guidance."[28] This was not the case, according to some observers, with respect to ex-Speaker Keifer. Starting with Republican Nicholas Longworth in 1925 and continuing until 1995, all majority leaders have directly ascended to the Speakership after the incumbent surrenders the position. The assistant majority leader and assistant minority leader of the House, commonly called whips, are the second-ranking members of each party's leadership.

Mike Johnson and the troubled history of recent Republican speakers

The House of Representatives is back in business today and its Republican majority is trying to make the most of their time in control of Congress’s lower chamber, with plans to take up a host of bills reflecting conservative priorities on immigration and the environment. Among these is a resolution denouncing Joe Biden for the wave of undocumented people that have crossed the southern border during his presidency, and bills to allow oil production on protected land in Alaska and to remove the classification of gray wolves as an endangered species. While some Democrats may lend support from across the aisle, many of these proposals are simply messaging bills meant to impress GOP voters back home ahead of the November elections, and will probably be rejected by the Democratic-led Senate.

Mr. Jeffries is the first Black politician to lead either party in Congress. And, at 53, he represents a generational change for House Democrats after two decades under Representative Nancy Pelosi of California. In his November letter, Jeffries called winning back the House majority “our top non-governmental priority”. The statement called the report’s accusations “demonstrably false, dangerous and designed to isolate Israel in one of the toughest neighborhoods in the world”.

House Minority Leader Weekly Briefing December 14, 2023 - C-SPAN

House Minority Leader Weekly Briefing December 14, 2023.

Posted: Thu, 14 Dec 2023 08:00:00 GMT [source]

In remarks after his election, he said he hoped to work with Republicans, but would not remain silent if they continued to embrace extremism. He was considered next in line for the speakership in 2015, but his bid imploded. McCarthy was eventually elected minority leader in 2018, after Democrats won the House. After a historically weak performance by the minority party in a midterm election, House Republicans have struggled to unite.

The minority party offers strong opposition to majority party initiatives but does not counter with policy alternatives of their own. "I thanked him for his personal role in the adoption of the law on assistance to Ukraine by the Congress. He noted the bipartisan support of our country in Congress and the leadership of President Biden," Zelensky said. The well-respected No. 2 Republican, Eric Cantor of Virginia, had lost his primary in 2014.

It is highly improbable that any Republicans would defect and vote for Mr. Jeffries, handing the speaker’s gavel to the leader of the opposing party. That would be viewed as political treason by Republican lawmakers and voters alike. House Democrats rallied behind Representative Hakeem Jeffries of New York as their pick for speaker of the House on Tuesday, uniting — again — around a liberal lawyer and disciplined political tactician as the face of their opposition to the Republican majority.

While Democrats did not have the numbers to elect Jeffries, he is almost certain to make history as the first African American speaker of the House. That is if or when Democrats win back the House majority, certainly a goal in the 2024 election. Rep. Jim Clyburn, D-S.C., who is 82 and has served in party leadership, said Tuesday night the shift taking place with the current slate of leaders stepping aside to make way for a new generation has been in the works for several years. In his senior year, Jeffries was elected the political representative for the Black Student Union. That year, the organization invited Hakeem’s uncle Dr. Leonard Jeffries, a political scientist, professor, and chair of the Black Studies department at City College of New York, to speak at SUNY Binghamton.

In a statement released in February, for example, Jeffries pushed back against a report by rights group Amnesty International, which accused Israel of carrying out the crime of apartheid against Palestinians. In an interview with The Atlantic, for example, Jeffries said he would never “bend the knee to hard-left democratic socialism”. He was also a vocal supporter of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton as she ran in the 2016 Democratic primary against Senator Bernie Sanders, a self-described democratic socialist.