washington — House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries Despite the party, he is prepared to lead the Democratic Party in the minority for two more years. control failure Member of the House of Representatives for the 2024 elections.
The Democratic Party holds leadership elections on Tuesday, and the New York Democrat is expected to be unopposed as he tries to keep his leadership intact despite suffering a major defeat in the 2024 election.
Democratic Caucus Chairman Pete Aguilar of California won re-election Tuesday morning, and House Minority Leader Katherine Clark of Massachusetts will continue her role in the 119th Congress starting in January. It is expected.
Still, some uncertainty was injected into one race as Rep. Jasmine Crockett of Texas launched an 11th-hour challenge against Rep. Debbie Dingell of Michigan for the chair of the Democratic Policy and Communications Committee. Dingell was still considered the favorite for Tuesday’s election.
Jeffries made history in 2023 by becoming the first Black member of Congress to lead his party in Congress, succeeding his predecessor. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi He is the top Democrat in the House of Representatives. He made history again as the first black speaker to give Democrats control of the House of Representatives.
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Ahead of Election Day, the Democratic Party needed a net gain of four seats to win a majority. In this month’s election, Democrats won more than a handful of seats held by Republicans but lost just as many. The party also suffered losses in the Senate and the White House. While House Democrats hold leadership elections on Tuesday, they are still reeling from the results and considering a path forward.
Republicans are expected to secure a slim majority in the next Congress. President-elect Donald Trump’s selection of several House members to serve in his administration will temporarily further tighten his majority until those seats are filled in special elections.
Jeffries told NPR last week that narrow margins and divisions among House Republicans have in many cases effectively given Democrats the majority.
“Democrats had close margins, so we were in the minority, but we effectively governed the majority. And that same dynamic will exist as we move forward,” Jeffries said, pointing to the majority voting to avoid a government shutdown. For the past two years, Democrats have won the majority of the votes.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, said last week that he had “begged and pleaded” with Trump to stop poaching House members for his administration.
The Republican Party held leadership elections last week. support Johnson for another term With speaker. Johnson has expressed confidence that he will win the speakership on a first vote in the House of Representatives in January.
