United States – First black Speaker of the House of Representatives

The US Democratic Party has elected Hakeem Jeffries as the first black Speaker of the House of Representatives, completing a generational transition at the top. The 52-year-old was chosen by his party colleagues in the chamber of Congress on Wednesday after 82-year-old Nancy Pelosi announced her departure. “It’s done a lot for a lot of people over a long period of time,” Jeffries said after his election.

MP of New York Already a member of the Congressional Caucus, he announced after the congressional elections that he wanted to lead the Democratic Party in the House of Representatives in the future.

Jeffries was born in New York in 1970 and grew up in the borough of Brooklyn. The attorney was elected to the House of Representatives in 2012 and played a key role in the first impeachment trial against former President Donald Trump. In the future, two MPs, Catherine Clarke and Pete Aguilar, will also be included in Jeffrey’s close leadership team. “Together, this new generation of leaders reflects the vibrancy and diversity of our great nation,” said Pelosi, who is still Speaker of the House of Representatives and the first woman to hold that position.

Democrats have lost power

The call for a generational change among Democrats has been ringing loudly within the party lately. There were MPs from their own parties who repeatedly spoke out against Pelosi and called for change and revitalization. Critics saw her as a representative of the old guard and called for her to make way for someone younger after years in Congress and as her division head. After the congressional elections in early November, he will represent his constituency in the US state of California.

His successor, Jeffries, would have less power, however, as Democrats lost their majority in the House of Representatives in the election. As a result, Jeffries will lead his party as the minority in the House of Representatives — unlike Pelosi, not as “Speaker of the House,” i.e. not as Speaker of the House. The holder of the office of President is the third highest ranking state after the President of the United States and his Vice President. A Republican is expected to fill the position. “Our commitment is to extend the hand of partnership whenever and wherever possible,” Jeffries said of future cooperation with Republicans.

Republicans have nominated Kevin McCarthy as their nominee for Speaker of the House. Voting is in early January. However, it may not be as easy for McCarthy as it was for Jeffries, whose Democrats are relatively united behind him and who ran unopposed. McCarthy, a Republican, on the other hand, has to fear dissidents in his party in the election in a few weeks. With Republicans’ slim majority in the House of Representatives, even a handful of representatives could scuttle his plans. (ABA, DPA)