Democratic Candidates Revolt Against Hakeem Jeffries Ahead of Midterms
Democrats are increasingly confident that they will win the House of Representatives come November. But even a blue wave doesn’t mean Hakeem Jeffries would receive a natural promotion to House speaker.
Jeffries, a Democrat representing New York’s 8th district, has been House minority leader since 2023. He was the first Black person to head a party in either chamber of Congress, and has generally enjoyed strong standing in his caucus. In 2024, he led the charge to pass a foreign aid bill to Ukraine, Israel, and the Indo-Pacific, which had been stalled in the House for months.
But his stature has fallen greatly since, largely due to his persistent support of Israel despite the country’s ongoing genocide in Gaza, his acceptance of money from foreign lobbying groups, and for mounting what some Democrats have seen as weak and ineffective resistance to the Trump administration. Now, Axios reports, he faces increased opposition to his leadership from within his own party.
Last fall, 57 Democratic House candidates said they were neutral on Jeffries’s leadership and 25 said they were opposed to it, out of 113 who responded to a poll by Axios. His popularity has only lessened since, the site reports.
Mai Vang, a progressive House primary challenger in California, told Axios that “the Democratic Party and its leadership—Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries—have failed to mobilize meaningful opposition to Trump’s illegal war and their silence as AIPAC and corporations flood Congressional primaries with millions of dollars is deafening.”
”I cannot support this kind of leadership,” she concluded. ”If we want to defeat Trump and rebuild trust with working Americans, we need new leadership and a new direction.”
Jeffries’s supporters cite the fact that he has steered his party through multiple government shutdowns with House Democrats generally unified.
“Leader Jeffries is focused on addressing the affordability crisis, stopping the bombing in the Middle East, reining in ICE and taking back the House to stop Republican extremists from destroying America,” Jeffires spokesperson Justin Chermol told The New Republic in a statement. “Beyond that, we have zero interest in a frivolous story from [Axios,] the same outlet that once sensationally claimed Leader Jeffries was going to face a serious primary. How did that work out?”
Oddsmakers continue to make Jeffries the favorite for next House speaker, providing Democrats win in November. But there’s always a chance that someone else gets the nod instead—Anabel Mendoza, a progressive candidate in Illinois, specifically touted Michigan Representative Rashida Tlaib.
This story has been updated.
