Jeffries launches Speaker bid as Democrats seize House majority

Hakeem Jeffries launched his bid for Speaker on Wednesday, a day after Democrats won control of the House, and asked House Democrats for their support in a letter to colleagues.

The post would put him second in line to the presidency and give his party a check on President Donald Trump's final two years in office. It’s also the only leadership position in Congress that the Constitution mandates. First, though, Jeffries must win a nomination vote among House Democrats and then 218 votes on the House floor.

The request went out in a letter to his Democratic colleagues. Democrats won the midterm elections held on Tuesday and are projected to take control of both chambers, the House and the Senate.

Projections put the party on 237 House seats against 139 for the Republicans, with 59 races still too close to call. Jeffries said he anticipated 255 or more Democrats in the House next year.

A majority that wide is expected to leave Jeffries with little trouble winning the gavel, but a small group of far-left socialists elected on Tuesday is expected to cause difficulties for him and other establishment Democrats.

The speakership would make Jeffries the first Black Speaker in the history of the House, a milestone more than 150 years in the making. The Capitol where the vote would take place was built with the help of enslaved African Americans.

He would follow Joseph Rainey, the first Black American elected to the chamber, in 1870. Rainey never became Speaker, but he was the first Black lawmaker to preside over the House with the gavel.

1. 1870Rainey elected

   Joseph Rainey becomes the first Black American elected to the House and later the first Black lawmaker to preside with the gavel.

2. 2022Jeffries takes over

   He succeeds Nancy Pelosi as House Democratic leader after the party loses its majority.

3. WednesdaySpeaker bid

   Jeffries writes to Democratic colleagues to request their support.

4. JanuaryFloor vote

   The new Congress convenes and the House elects its Speaker.

Two votes stand between Jeffries and the gavel

He needs a simple majority among House Democrats to win the party's nomination at the leadership election. He would then need 218 votes on the floor once the new Congress meets in January.

Jeffries represents New York's Eighth Congressional District and leads the Democrats in the House. He is in his seventh term, first elected to the 113th Congress in 2013.

He succeeded Nancy Pelosi as leader of House Democrats after the party lost its majority in the 2022 midterms, becoming the first Black man to head a party in Congress. Pelosi supported him throughout her four years in the role after choosing to step aside, and he’s expected to become the first Democratic Speaker since her.

Jeffries told reporters he intended to run for the top job at a press conference with House Minority Whip Katherine Clark of Massachusetts and House Democratic Caucus Chairman Pete Aguilar of California. Clark and Aguilar signalled that they would run for the second and third positions in the House.

Steeped in the Cornerstone Baptist Church, he grew up in Brooklyn and represents parts of the district once held by Shirley Chisholm. Before Congress, he was a New York state lawmaker and a litigator at a major law firm, and he sprinkles old-school hip-hop lyrics into his freestyle remarks.

In January 2020, Pelosi named him to the team of seven House members who managed Trump's impeachment case during his Senate trial. He was the first African-American man to hold that position.

Affordability, Medicaid and the war in Iran

Jeffries has said he wants the Democratic agenda to focus on making life more affordable, demanding accountability and upholding American values. His plans include tackling household costs and reversing Trump-era reductions in healthcare spending.

In the letter, he promised to look for bipartisan common ground whenever and wherever possible on affordability, while criticising how the right has handled the cost of living. He also pledged accountability for the administration, writing that the House would hold the executive branch in check.

He identified three early priorities: reversing Republican reductions to Medicaid, restoring enhanced Obamacare tax credits that ran out at the beginning of this year, and bringing Trump's war in Iran to an end. He also plans to challenge the White House's conduct of the war and check the president's trade agenda.

He also made a case for values, naming the country's immigrant heritage, the right to vote without hindrance, justice and liberty for everyone, and equal treatment under the law. He said he would take insight and perspectives from every part of the caucus.

Republicans contest their own leadership posts

Jeffries would take the office from Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican.

Tom Emmer, the current majority whip, faces a challenge from Texas lawmaker August Pfluger.

Letters sent to colleagues on Wednesday show that Tom Emmer, the current majority whip, faces a challenge from Texas lawmaker August Pfluger, who is stepping down as chairman of the Republican Study Committee.

The dates and the seat count are still open

The reporting splits on when House Democrats will actually hold their leadership elections. ABC News said they would be held behind closed doors on 18 November, while Fox News said they were slated for mid-December.

Whoever holds the gavel inherits disagreements inside the party over economic policy and Israel, as well as a decision on how to answer calls for investigations or impeachment.

House Democrats hold their leadership elections behind closed doors on 18 November, with the floor vote to follow when the new Congress convenes in January.