Hakeem Jeffries (Democratic Party) is a member of the U.S. House, representing New York's 8th Congressional District. He assumed office on January 3, 2013. His current term ends on January 3, 2027.
Jeffries (Democratic Party) is running for re-election to the U.S. House to represent New York's 8th Congressional District. He declared candidacy for the 2026 election.
Jeffries is the U.S. House minority leader. Democratic House members elected him to that position on November 30, 2022, in a unanimous vote, following the midterm elections in which Republicans gained a 222-213 majority.
Outgoing House Speaker Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who had served in that role since 2019, endorsed Jeffries. The minority leader serves as the minority party counterpart to the speaker of the House.
In 2021, Jeffries said, "I'm a Black progressive Democrat concerned with addressing racial and social and economic injustice with the fierce urgency of now. That's been my career, that's been my journey, and it will continue to be as I move forward for however long I have an opportunity to serve.
Read moreThere will never be a moment where I bend the knee to hard-left democratic socialism."
Jeffries formerly served as chairman of the House Democratic Caucus during the 116th Congress. He was the youngest member serving in leadership at the time he was elected in 2019.
The chairman runs weekly caucus meetings and "establishes the Caucus Issue Task Forces – through which legislative and party policy is developed and communicated – and appoints Members to lead each one," according to the House Democrats' official website. In 2020, during President Donald Trump's (R) first impeachment on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress, Pelosi named Jeffries one of the seven impeachment managers who made the U.S. House's case against Trump before the U.S. Senate.
Jeffries was a member of the New York State Assembly from 2007 to 2013. Before entering politics, Jeffries worked as an attorney and, later, in legal counsel roles for Viacom and CBS Broadcasting.
Jeffries was born in Brooklyn. Jeffries earned a B.S. in political science from State University of New York at Binghamton, a master's in public policy from Georgetown University, and a J.D. from New York University Law School. Jeffries' professional experience includes work as an administrator, clerk, associate and assistant general counsel.
