WASHINGTON (AP) — Despite the Democrats’ losses in the November elections, Representative Hakeem Jeffries secured his reelection as House Democratic leader on Tuesday.
Jeffries, representing New York, was selected through an internal party vote among House Democrats at the Capitol. The majority of the Democratic leadership team is anticipated to be reelected for the upcoming Congress.
Remaining the highest-ranking Black elected official in Congress and the first to hold the position of party leader, Jeffries is in line to become the House speaker nominee.
However, following the Republicans’ sweeping victory, including control of the White House, Senate, and House, he will not secure the speakership.
While he will be the Democrats’ nominee for Speaker, the gavel is expected to go to Speaker Mike Johnson, given the Republican majority in the new Congress.
Jeffries leads the House Democratic leadership team—a group of younger leaders who assumed their roles after Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi stepped down two years ago. Democratic Whip Katherine Clark of Massachusetts and Democratic Caucus Chairman Pete Aguilar of California were also expected to be reelected on Tuesday.
House Democrats gained a few seats in competitive districts, including Jeffries’ home state of New York and California. Yet, they also lost ground elsewhere and failed to unseat some Republican incumbents, resulting in minimal overall change in the House’s composition.
Republicans, under Johnson, hold a narrow majority, a number set to shrink in the new year as President Trump has nominated three GOP lawmakers—Elise Stefanik, Mike Waltz, and [name omitted]—for positions requiring Senate confirmation.