Rep. Hakeem Jeffries has officially moved into his recent Capitol Hill office, complete with a ‘Democratic Leader’ nameplate.
House Democrats unanimously chosen Jeffries to succeed Nancy Pelosi at the beginning of the brand new Congress, which gavels into session Tuesday. With Democrats out of power within the House after the 2022 midterms, Jeffries becomes minority leader.
“I feel an incredible sense of responsibility by way of wanting to ensure that I work as hard as I can, deliver results, stay focused, and make life higher for the people who I’m privileged to represent,” he told NY1 Monday during an interview in his recent office, which is just yards away from the House floor.
Jeffries is making history within the post, becoming the primary Black person to steer a celebration on Capitol Hill – in a constructing slave labor helped construct.
“It’s a part of the American journey,” Jeffries said. “Government of the people, by the people and for the people just isn’t just rhetoric. It’s reality.”
GOP Succession
While House Democrats’ leadership succession occurred with effectively no drama, the identical can’t be said of the Republican side.
The times leading as much as the beginning of the brand new Congress have been consumed over questions of whether California Republican Kevin McCarthy can secure the votes he must turn into the subsequent speaker.
McCarthy recently agreed to certain House rules changes as a part of an effort to win over some conservative Republicans. One among those changes would lower the edge to carry a vote of no confidence within the speaker.
Asked about those concessions from McCarthy, Jeffries said Americans must be concerned about what he called “extreme MAGA Republicans” taking control within the House.
“What is obvious is that the House Republican leadership is catering to the extremes with a view to get the votes vital to achieve success and emerge with the speakership in hand,” he said.
George Santos
Also consuming headlines ahead of the brand new Congress: Recent York Rep-elect. George Santos.
Santos, a Republican who won November’s contest to fill Recent York’s open third congressional seat, has come under fire after a Recent York Times investigation raised questions on his resume and funds.
Because the report, Santos has admitted to creating up points of the biography he shared during his campaign, from his family heritage to his educational background and work history.
Jeffries calls Santos a “complete and total fraud” who doesn’t “appear qualified to serve within the intuition of the House of Representatives.” Nonetheless, he said, Republicans must “own” the choice of whether to seat Santos.
Republican leaders have to this point been silent on the congressman-elect. North Country Rep. Elise Stefanik’s team didn’t reply to a request for comment.
Last week, NY1 was the primary to report that Bronx Democratic Rep. Ritchie Torres had written a letter to the House Ethics Committee, demanding they investigate Santos.
Asked whether he agreed with such a request, Jeffries said that “if George Santos is seated, seems to me to be appropriate – if the Ethics Committee receives a criticism – that it must be taken seriously.”