(WASHINGTON) Fellow Democrat-elect Hakeem Jeffries nominated Wednesday to succeed Nancy Pelosi and lead his party in the US House of Representatives.
He became the first black man to hold such responsibilities in the United States Congress.
The 52-year-old elected official, who has held positions of responsibility on the Democratic staff since 2019, expressed his “great pride” in being appointed to the position, following a vote behind closed doors.
The election of Hakeem Jeffries marks an important generational change in the US Congress: The elected official in New York is 30 years younger than Nancy Pelosi, the Speaker of the House.
“This new generation of leaders reflects the dynamism and diversity of our great nation,” she praised.
Nancy Pelosi announced in mid-November that she would give up the position of leader of the Democrats in the future House of Representatives. She will continue to sit in the House of Representatives, as a representative elected from California.
As leader of the Democrats, Hakeem Jefferies will navigate the House of Representatives in January where his party will not have a majority. Republicans won control of that chamber in the November midterm elections.
Although their majority will be smaller than expected, the Republicans will have significant inspection power, which they promise to use on a range of investigations into President Biden’s handling of the pandemic or the withdrawal from Afghanistan.
However, Joe Biden’s camp has been keen to maintain control of the Senate. Now, after being denied a Congress that was wholly his own for two years, the Democratic president’s party will no longer be able to vote on major projects. But the other side doesn’t either.
