Hakeem Jeffries faces progressive pushback as Democrats prepare to take House control
WASHINGTON, DC: House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries looks set to become speaker when Democrats take control of the House in January. However, a group of incoming progressive lawmakers calling themselves "The Bloc" are holding back their support. They want guarantees about the party's legislative agenda and are not promising to back Jeffries without them.
Despite the resistance, Jeffries has no real challenger, and and most Democrats still consider his path to the speakership solid. However, the standoff highlights the internal divisions he will need to address as Democrats prepare to take charge. The disagreements have surfaced even before the new Congress is sworn in.
Progressive Democrats withhold support for Jeffries over legislative demands
Several incoming Democratic lawmakers have said they are undecided about supporting Jeffries, arguing that their votes should depend on the agenda he is willing to pursue.
"We're not withholding votes. What we're doing is saying we're undecided. We're not going to rubber-stamp anything," said Rep.-elect Adam Hamawy, D-N.J.
"I don't think it's about the individual. It's about the agenda and the agenda that actually reflects the priorities of the American people," said Rep.-elect Melat Kiros, D-Colo.
"It's about what kind of priorities, what kind of floor votes, what kind of plan do we have to actually fight for the bold change the American people sent us here to do."
Rep.-elect Claire Valdez of New York wants Democrats to focus on improving the lives of working people and helping more of them join unions.
The group has not offered Jeffries its support yet and wants clear legislative commitments before backing his bid. The pushback has drawn comparisons to earlier instances when progressives challenged Democratic leadership, although not everyone believes the current protest carries the same weight.
Rep. Joe Courtney of Connecticut recalled the bigger disputes that took place when Nancy Pelosi was speaker. He believes the current resistance is a weaker version of those earlier fights and credited Jeffries with keeping Democrats together over the past two years.
Rep. Jim Himes, also from Connecticut, pointed out that having a bigger Democratic majority should make things easier. However, he acknowledged that leading the party would never be easy.
Jeffries avoids confirming whether he has enough House speaker votes
Jeffries has not confirmed that he has secured enough votes to become speaker. When Fox News' Chad Pergram asked him about the concerns raised by progressive lawmakers, the New York Democrat said he planned to speak with every member about the party's accomplishments and its priorities for the next two years.
When pressed again about whether he had enough support to win the speakership, Jeffries laughed and said, "I guess we'll find out next Wednesday.”
There is currently no obvious challenger to Jeffries. However, Courtney cautioned Democrats against getting drawn into a prolonged leadership fight similar to the one Republicans faced in 2023, when Kevin McCarthy went through 15 rounds of voting before securing the speakership.
“You can’t beat somebody with nobody,” Courtney said. He warned that starting the new Congress with a drawn-out leadership battle would be the worst way to begin.
