Brittany Bernstein reports that House Democrats unanimously voted to make Hakeem Jeffries their leader:
House Democrats unanimously chose Representative Hakeem Jeffries (D., N.Y.) as their new leader in a closed-door meeting on Wednesday.
Jeffries, 52, will succeed House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who at 82 years old has served as the party’s leader in the house for two decades. He will be the first black lawmaker to lead a party in Congress.
Jeffries will be the House minority leader come January, when Republicans retake control of the chamber.
“It’s a solemn responsibility that we are all inheriting,” Jeffries told reporters on Tuesday. “And the best thing that we can do as a result of the seriousness and solemnity of the moment is lean in hard and do the best damn job that we can for the people.”
“We’re still working through the implications of Trumpism and what it has meant, as a very destabilizing force for American democracy,” said Jeffries
When it comes to combating Trumpism by defending the legitimacy of American elections, Jeffries does not appear to be the best available spokesman:
The more we learn about 2016 election the more ILLEGITIMATE it becomes. America deserves to know whether we have a FAKE President in the Oval Office #RussianInterference https://t.co/x3BHO5CPIm
— Hakeem Jeffries (@RepJeffries) February 16, 2018