After a closed-door but unanimous vote, Jeffries will succeed Pelosi, the longtime president who announced this month that he would not run for the Democratic leadership of the US Congress.
After several major defeats in the midterm elections, in which Republicans seized control of the lower house of Congress, they displayed rare party unity. Thus, the Democrats went from one historic leader to another, choosing the 52-year-old New Yorker.
Jeffries’ election represents a significant generational change in the party’s leadership, as both Pelosi and the two previous leaders, Steny Hoyer and Jim Clyburn, are in their 80s.
According to The Washington Post, the Democrats’ “number two” in the House of Representatives will be Katherine Clark, 59, a Massachusetts state representative.
California Congressman Pete Aguilar, 43, hitherto vice chairman of the Democratic caucus and member of the parliamentary committee investigating the attack on the Capitol, will become the party’s third authority in the lower house, signaling the generational shift in the party strengthen.
“It’s a solemn responsibility that we all inherit,” Jeffries told reporters on the eve of the party rally.
“And the best we can do due to the seriousness and solemnity of the moment is to push ourselves and do the best possible job for the people,” he added.
It is rare for a party that lost power in the midterms to regroup so easily, and the unanimous vote of the Democrats contrasts with the anger and lack of unity among the Republicans.
Although the Democrats have been relegated to the minority in the House of Representatives, they will still have some influence because the Republican majority is not very expressive and Kevin McCarthy’s control over his party is fragile.
Jeffries vowed to keep an “open mind” in his dealings with the opposition.
“Democrats in the House of Representatives are pushing for a legislative agenda that reduces costs, protects abortion rights and strengthens democracy,” Aguilar said in a statement after his election.
Source: DN
