The US Democrats' midterm election win has positioned Hakeem Jeffries to become the first black speaker of the US House of Representatives. As speaker, Jeffries would preside over a majority that will be sworn in in the first week of January. He would take the reins from Republicans who controlled the House for the past four years. Jeffries, representing a New York City congressional district, proclaimed "Today begins the great American comeback" in a victory speech.
Jeffries' role as speaker would come with the dual challenge of opposing President Donald Trump while bridging the gap between his party's moderates and its more vocal progressives. He attacked the Trump-led Republican agenda in Congress over the past two years, pledging to pass legislation reversing steep spending cuts to the Medicaid healthcare programme for the poor and people with disabilities. Jeffries also vowed to investigate the Trump administration's dealings with corporate executives.
As speaker, Jeffries would act as the boss of the often boisterous 435-member chamber, deciding what legislation advances to a vote or dies on the vine. The House speaker is second in line for the presidency, after Vice-President JD Vance. Later this month, the newly elected House Democrats will gather behind closed doors to anoint their candidate to run in the January election for speaker. Nobody is seen posing a serious threat to Jeffries, according to multiple Democratic aides.
However, Jeffries still has some work to do in nailing down the support of several far-left progressives, such as fellow New Yorker and representative-elect Darializa Avila Chevalier. Avila Chevalier gave a list of policies she said the next speaker must support, including voting rights reforms, public housing investments, and universal healthcare. Jeffries has been cool toward proposals for a "Medicare for All" healthcare programme, which many moderate Democrats fear will be too costly.
Jeffries, 56, is known as a consensus-builder within his caucus, in contrast to the top-down style of former speaker Nancy Pelosi. His mantra has been that Democrats will attack the "affordability crisis", which voters repeatedly cite as their top concern. A senior House Democratic aide said there is a series of bills he could lead off with that would be likely to unite Democrats, including an expanded child tax credit and a housing tax credit.
Jeffries' tougher challenge will be to reach across the aisle to pass critical legislation, including raising the debt limit for US borrowing and approving federal spending to avoid a government shutdown. He will also spearhead other Democratic priorities such as protecting social security, undoing $900bn in Republican cuts to Medicaid, and revamping immigration laws. Kate deGruyter, a spokesperson at Third Way, a moderate Democratic consultancy, said Jeffries should resist calls from progressives to impeach the president.
Newly elected progressives are "likely to come to Washington expecting to be able to change the universe starting on day one," said David Miller, professor of government at American University. Jeffries' challenge will be to temper those expectations given that Democrats don't control the White House. With votes still being counted across much of the country, the size of the Democratic majority in the House for the next two years was unclear.
Key points
- Hakeem Jeffries is poised to become the first black speaker of the US House of Representatives following the Democrats' midterm election win.
- Jeffries faces the challenge of balancing his party's moderates and progressives while opposing President Donald Trump.
- As speaker, Jeffries will have to navigate critical legislation, including raising the debt limit and approving federal spending.
