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In a Show of Unity, House Democrats Elect Hakeem Jeffries Minority Leader
https://archive.ph/zYAMXA new trio, including Representatives Katherine Clark of Massachusetts as No. 2 and Pete Aguilar of California as No. 3, will take the reins in January, replacing Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her team.
WASHINGTON — House Democrats on Wednesday elected new leaders to take the mantle from the three octogenarians who have led them for two decades, ushering in a long-awaited generational change that, for the first time in the history of either party or chamber in Congress, installed a trio of top leaders that includes no white men.
In a display of unity after midterm elections in which they lost the House but had a stronger than expected showing, Democrats skipped a vote and by acclimation elected Representative Hakeem Jeffries of New York to be minority leader, making him the first Black person to hold the top spot. Representative Katherine Clark of Massachusetts was elected as whip, the lead vote counter for House Democrats, and Representative Pete Aguilar of California as the chairman of the party caucus, in charge of messaging.
Mr. Jeffries, 52, Ms. Clark, 59, and Mr. Aguilar, 43, who for years have positioned themselves as an unofficial joint slate of candidates and have patiently waited their turn, ran unopposed after Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the California Democrat who has led the party for two decades, announced this month that she would step aside, paving the way for fresher faces at the top of her party.
Both Representatives Steny H. Hoyer of Maryland, the majority leader, and Adam B. Schiff, Democrat of California, had been considering challenging Mr. Jeffries for the post of minority leader. But Mr. Hoyer said he, too, would step aside. And many Democrats said Mr. Schiff lacked the votes to secure the post and last week had told Mr. Jeffries that he was instead exploring a run for Senate, wishing him well in the upcoming leadership election, according to a person familiar with the private conversation who disclosed it on the condition of anonymity.
In a display of unity after midterm elections in which they lost the House but had a stronger than expected showing, Democrats skipped a vote and by acclimation elected Representative Hakeem Jeffries of New York to be minority leader, making him the first Black person to hold the top spot. Representative Katherine Clark of Massachusetts was elected as whip, the lead vote counter for House Democrats, and Representative Pete Aguilar of California as the chairman of the party caucus, in charge of messaging.
Mr. Jeffries, 52, Ms. Clark, 59, and Mr. Aguilar, 43, who for years have positioned themselves as an unofficial joint slate of candidates and have patiently waited their turn, ran unopposed after Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the California Democrat who has led the party for two decades, announced this month that she would step aside, paving the way for fresher faces at the top of her party.
Both Representatives Steny H. Hoyer of Maryland, the majority leader, and Adam B. Schiff, Democrat of California, had been considering challenging Mr. Jeffries for the post of minority leader. But Mr. Hoyer said he, too, would step aside. And many Democrats said Mr. Schiff lacked the votes to secure the post and last week had told Mr. Jeffries that he was instead exploring a run for Senate, wishing him well in the upcoming leadership election, according to a person familiar with the private conversation who disclosed it on the condition of anonymity.
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