Democrat Hakeem Jeffries poised to make history as the first Black speaker of the House

WASHINGTON (AP) — Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries is on the cusp of making history as the nation’s first Black speaker of the House, a generational shift in U.S. politics after Democrats trounced Republicans to win majority control of the chamber in the midterm elections.

Jeffries faces a vote of his colleagues when the new Congress convenes Jan. 3. If nominated and elected, as expected, it would be the first time a Black lawmaker has grasped the powerful House speaker’s gavel, a job second in line to the president and the only leadership position in Congress mandated by the U.S. Constitution.

His rise to the speakership at the nation’s domed Capitol, which enslaved African Americans helped build, would be a milestone more than 150 years in the making, tracing an arc of history that began with the first Black American was elected to the U.S. House in the turbulent era of Reconstruction after the Civil War. Jeffries would wield the gavel at a time when many of the landmark gains of the 20th century Civil Rights era are being challenged anew, often by the Trump administration.

Jeffries was met with cheers of “Speaker! Speaker!” at the Democrats’ watch party in Washington.

“This is not a partisan moment. This is a patriotic one,” Jeffries said.

He said House Democrats understand that this is a change election, and “the American people are crying out for transformational change.”

“We hear you,” he said. “We’re going to work hard to deliver on the dramatic change that you deserve.”

The Brooklyn-born 56-year-old Jeffries, who is known to sprinkle old-school hip hop lyrics in his freestyle remarks, would take over the office from Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican, at a time when Democrats are eager to confront President Donald Trump’s final two years in office.

The president has publicly and privately taunted Jeffries, a New York University-educated lawyer, who has served in Congress since 2013, and is the highest-ranking Black elected official in America. Trump once mocked Jeffries by posting on social media a fake photo of the Democratic leader wearing a sombrero outside the White House.

The whole House votes on its speaker as one of the first orders of business when Congress convenes in January. The parties typically choose their leaders during internal caucus elections in November.

Jeffries is charting a new course for Democrats after Pelosi

The path ahead has been clear for Jeffries and his leadership team, with Rep. Katherine Clark of Massachusetts and Rep. Pete Aguilar of California, who have often moved as a trio representing a new era of House leadership. Clark is expected to become the majority leader and Aguilar the majority whip.

Jeffries would be the first Democratic speaker since Nancy Pelosi and he has led the party for the past four years, with her support, once she decided to step aside after the Democrats’ election losses in 2022.

But Jeffries and the team of Democratic leaders will be quickly tested in the majority, with all the power and responsibility that comes with running the often unruly House.

They are bracing to confront not only Trump, but also the fresh group of Democrats elected to office, including a handful backed by the Democratic Socialists of America pushing the party leftward, though the largest caucus in the House is expected to remain the more moderate New Democrat Coalition.

Jeffries has promised a robust 100-day agenda to lower the costs of living and launch oversight and investigations to hold the Trump administration accountable. Impeachment is an option.

Promising to show voters that Democrats can govern, Jeffries and the leadership team hope to hold their new majority together and avoid the kinds of chaotic disruptions and dysfunction that often left Johnson unable to control the GOP’s razor-slim majority in the House.

Colleagues have praised Jeffries’ collaborative style, a listener who represents a shift from Pelosi’s powerful tenure as the nation’s first female speaker of the House.

But at the same time, his calm-is-a-choice deliberative nature has drawn criticism that Jeffries can be too slow to act in the frenzied political environment when voters are seeking swift reaction to mounting crises and concerns.

Soaring healthcare costs, gas and grocery prices, the war in Iran, Trump’s relationship with Putin over Ukraine and concerns about corruption are all top issues ahead.

His path to power runs from Brooklyn to Washington

The son of an Air Force veteran and a social worker, Jeffries told The Associated Press on the campaign trail that growing up during the crack epidemic in New York shaped his sense of purpose.

His experience led to “a desire to want to improve the quality of life for hardworking people, who could have fled difficult circumstances but remained in the community, worked hard to turn things around,” he said.

A married father of two, Jeffries grew up steeped in Brooklyn’s Cornerstone Baptist Church, and represents parts of the Brooklyn-area district once held by trailblazing Rep. Shirley Chisholm.

He earned a bachelor’s degree from the State University of New York at Binghamton, a master’s degree in public policy at Georgetown and graduated magna cum laude from NYU School of Law. He worked as a corporate lawyer and served in the New York state assembly before being elected to Congress.

An insurgent himself, Jeffries was 29 when he first ran for office, failing twice in his initial campaigns for state government. In 2012 he challenged a 30-year incumbent member of Congress, who stepped aside as Jeffries swooped in to win the seat.

A member of the Congressional Black Caucus, Jeffries follows in the footsteps of those who came before, including Joseph Rainey, the first Black American elected to the House in 1870. While Rainey never became speaker, he was the first Black lawmaker to preside with the gavel over the House chamber.

Lisa Mascaro, The Associated Press