Washington, Dec. 1 (BNA): Hakeem Jefferies was unanimously elected today, Wednesday, to become the top leader of the Democratic Party in the US House of Representatives, starting next January.
The vote by Jefferies’ fellow Democrats also saw the emergence of a younger generation of leaders in the 435-member House, the end of the Nancy Pelosi era and the dominance of other Democrats in their 80s.
Reuters reports that Jeffries, 52, of the New Yorker, will serve as the House Democrats’ leader in the 118th Congress, which will be held Jan. 3.
Senate Democratic Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said he wasn’t surprised Jeffries, his fellow Brooklynite, was chosen.
Coming from Brooklyn, Schumer said Wednesday, means “you learn how to work with all kinds of different people. You learn how to stand your ground. And you learn not to take things personally,” adding that Jeffries “embodies all of those traits.”
The two leaders live two separate blocks away in adjoining neighbourhoods.
Jeffries officially announced his candidacy on November 18, after a decade in the House, and pledged to preside over a convention that would restore power to committee members, give junior legislators more say in drafting legislation, and reward them with high-ranking positions.
“Our commitment has always been to reach out to the partnership whenever and wherever possible, to get things done for ordinary Americans,” Jeffries said when asked how he would work with Republicans.
Also elected as part of Jefferies’ team was Rep. Katherine Clark, 59, of Massachusetts, who won the Democratic runner-up, a position known as the “whip.” Pete Aguilar of California, 43, and a member of the Latino Caucus in Congress, was elected to Jeffries’ incumbent position as chair of the Democratic Caucus.
EAE