Democrats expect Rep. Hakeem Jeffries to take the esteemed role of Speaker of the House if Nancy Pelosi steps down in 2022.
What We Know:
- The information comes after a profile from The Atlantic reported Pelosi might step down after next year’s midterm elections. The House Speaker returned to her position earlier this year after an immense amount of support. However, she announced she would not hold that role past 2022.
- The Atlantic declares if the Democratic Party continues holding the House of Representative’s majority, they most likely will choose Jeffries to lead them. The 51-year-old currently is the Democratic caucus chair, and many consider him a conduit to Pelosi. Although Jeffries usually silently agrees with policies, he recently became more vocal on topics such as police reform and the Jan. 6 Insurrections.
- In addition, Jeffries intends on aligning Democrats. He declared his party has “failed repeatedly” because they get caught up in “litigating details and nuances” and are afraid to assert themselves. In fact, he wants the party to learn from the Republicans; the opposing party “speaks in headlines” and better “packages” their ideas. Alongside this, he would like to focus on fighting the systemic racism on which he built his career.
- Despite his potential, he may face opposition from other House leaders. For example, Reps. Cori Bush and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez reluctantly waited until the last minute to cast their votes for Pelosi and may do the same with Jeffries; the House progressives dislike Jeffries because he tends to disagree with their policies, especially the Green New Deal. Regardless of the backlash, he faces from The Squad, Jeffries intends to try working with them to move the Democrats forward.
If Democrats continue running the House in 2022, Jeffries will also make history with his new role, as he will be the first African-American Speaker of the House.
