Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of Brooklyn is elected leader of House Democrats

Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of Brooklyn was elected leader of the House Democrats on Wednesday, positioning him to become the first Black lawmaker to lead a party in either chamber of Congress.

The five-term congressman won the post by acclamation in a closed-door vote in Washington. Jeffries’ ascent was cleared by Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s decision to step down from atop the party ranks in the next Congress.

Pelosi, an 82-year-old California Democrat, has led her party’s House caucus for two decades and was granted the title of speaker emerita on Tuesday night. Her exit marks a generational passing of the torch for Democrats in the House.

At a news conference on Wednesday, Jeffries described Pelosi as an “extraordinary speaker for the ages who has delivered so much for so many over such a significant period of time.”

He thanked his parents, Marland, a substance abuse counselor, and Laneda, a social worker, who raised him in Crown Heights. And he saluted Shirley Chisholm, the late Brooklyn trailblazer who became the first Black woman to serve in Congress.

Wednesday would have been Chisholm’s 98th birthday.

“I stand on the shoulders of people like Shirley Chisholm and so many others as we work to advance the ball for everyday Americans,” said Jeffries, who represents some of the same Brooklyn neighborhoods that Chisholm once served.

Jeffries, a 52-year-old former state Assemblyman, has served in Congress for nearly a decade, earning a reputation as one of the Democrats’ most skilled communicators.

He now lives in Prospect Heights, less than a mile from Sen. Chuck Schumer, the majority leader and a Park Slope Democrat.

On the Senate floor, Schumer described Jeffries’ elevation as a “turning point” in the history of Congress.

“When I first met him,” Schumer said, “I thought the same thing I thought when I first met Speaker Pelosi: Here’s someone who has it all.”

In the midterm elections, Republicans won back control of the House. Jeffries is set to step in as minority leader when the next Congress is seated in January.

“We look forward to finding opportunities to partner with the other side of the aisle,” Jeffries said. “But we will also push back against extremism whenever necessary.”

Republicans took only a narrow House majority in the midterms, but are expected to gear up investigations into President Biden’s administration and family. Biden, 80, is planning to run for reelection, and his 2020 rival, former President Donald Trump, has already launched a campaign.

But even with Biden apparently ready to run, older Democrats in Congress are giving way to a new generation of leaders.

Rep. Katherine Clark, 59, of Massachusetts was elected Wednesday as the Democrats’ new House whip and Rep. Pete Aguilar, 43, of California was tapped to be the next caucus chairman.

“Together, this new generation of leaders reflects the vibrancy and diversity of our great nation — and they will reinvigorate our caucus with their new energy, ideas and perspective,” Pelosi said in a statement.

Also stepping back are the current House majority leader, Rep. Steny Hoyer, 83, of Maryland, and the Democratic whip, Rep. James Clyburn, 82, of South Carolina.

But the most momentous shift is the handoff from Pelosi to Jeffries. Pelosi, who plans to stay in Congress as a backbencher, is seen as a brilliant legislative tactician and a ferocious fund-raiser.

It remains to be seen what type of figure Jeffries will cut as leader. But allies described the hip-hop fan from central Brooklyn as deliberative and deferential to other Democrats.

“He’s a uniter, a bridge builder and patient,” Rep. Josh Gottheimer, a New Jersey Democrat, said by phone. “No matter what the situation he’s in, he’s able to keep it even and focused. He’s very disciplined.”

Jeffries is a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, but is viewed with a measure of skepticism in the activist community. Last week, climate demonstrators held a protest outside his Brooklyn office, criticizing his record on the environment.

Jeffries told reporters on Tuesday that he is proud of his record, pointing to his role pushing America’s largest ever anti-climate change investment through the House this summer. He said climate change is an “existential threat.”

“I look forward to moving in a direction that continues to bring all of the disparate parts of the caucus together — from progressives, to New Dems to Blue Dogs,” Jeffries said. “House Democratic Caucus is the most diverse legislative caucus in the history of the country. And that’s a good thing.”

With Michael McAuliff