Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., announced he will run to be the new Democratic caucus chairman on Thursday, shaking up the ongoing leadership scramble as Democrats prepare to take control of the House.
A number of members have named Jeffries as a prospective leader and potential successor to House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. Jeffries will face Reps. Linda Sanchez, D-Calif., and Barbara Lee, D-Calif., for the seat.
“We have seized the majority; now we must keep it,” Jeffries said in a statement. “There is an unconventional president in the Oval Office who dominates the news cycle with his outrageous claims, name-calling and falsehoods. Undoubtedly, he will try to use the House Democratic Caucus as a foil to explain his shortcomings and inability to lead.”
“To stay in charge, we must act aggressively on a bold legislative agenda and consistently message to the American people what we are doing to improve their quality of life,” Jeffries added.
Democrats have long been itching for a shake-up in congressional leadership, but Pelosi’s plan to stay keeps the top three spots out of reach. That leaves ambitious members to run for the fifth-ranking position of caucus chair or fouth-ranking of assistant Democratic leader.
Rep. Joe Crowley, D-N.Y., previously held the caucus chair spot, but was unseated in the primary by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Ocasio-Cortez went on to win the election this week.
Jeffries, who represents parts of Queens and Brooklyn, easily won re-election to his seat on Tuesday, taking in 94 percent of the vote.
“The values I bring to the House Democratic Caucus chair position are anchored in my upbringing in a working-class, union household in a tough Brooklyn neighborhood,” Jeffries said in a letter to colleagues Thursday. “The district I serve is one of the most diverse in the country, where more than three dozen languages are spoken and forging consensus is critical to effective representation.”
“I am equipped to represent all of the philosophical wings of the wonderfully diverse House Democratic Caucus,” he added.
