New Delhi: Six years ago, Hakeem Jeffries stood before the United States Senate, making the case for Donald Trump’s impeachment. As one of seven House managers appointed to prosecute the case against the then-president, the New York Democrat had a front-row role in one of the most consequential political confrontations in modern American history.
Now, he is set to occupy one of the most powerful positions in the country’s political system as the Speaker of the House of Representatives amid a Republican rout in the 2026 US midterm elections.
Democrats regained control of the House Tuesday, ending the Republican majority that began in 2023. The New York Times called it ‘a stunning upset’ and a ‘national rebuke’ to Trump. It is akin to a political earthquake where even traditionally Republican states like Texas, Ohio, Kansas and South Carolina have all elected a Democrat. Texas had not elected a Democratic senator since 1988, while Kansas had not done so since 1932.
At the centre of this political shift is Jeffries. Once the new Congress convenes in January, 56-year-old Jeffries will become the first African American to hold the Speaker’s post.
But the prospect of leading the House also brings a set of challenges. Labelled as ‘one of the most pro-Israel Democrats in the House’, Jeffries will have to manage a narrow and ideologically diverse Democratic majority, navigate divisions over Israel, and work with progressives who have questioned whether his cautious, consensus-driven leadership is suited to the moment.
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A steady rise
Jeffries’ potential elevation would carry significance beyond House politics. No African American has ever held the Speaker’s post in the US, one of the most powerful positions in the US government and second in the presidential line of succession. He is often labelled as the ‘next Obama’ but he refuses to identify with that title.
He represents New York’s Eighth Congressional District, which includes parts of Brooklyn and has a strong civil rights legacy. Parts of the district were once represented by Shirley Chisholm, the first Black woman elected to the US Congress.
In a profile published before the election, The Washington Post noted that his ascent within the party has been shaped by his ability to build consensus and hold together a diverse Democratic caucus.
In November 2022, House Democrats unanimously elected him to succeed Nancy Pelosi as their leader, making him the first African American to lead a party caucus in either chamber of Congress.
His political career began in the New York State Assembly, where he served from 2007 to 2012. He introduced more than 70 bills and worked on issues including policing and criminal justice. Among his legislative achievements was a 2010 law restricting police from maintaining databases of people stopped and searched but not arrested.
In Congress, which he entered in 2013, Jeffries developed a reputation as a legislator willing to work across party lines. He was a key sponsor of the bipartisan First Step Act, a criminal justice reform bill signed by Trump in December 2018. The legislation eased certain mandatory minimum sentences, expanded opportunities for early release and ended some prison practices, including the shackling of women during childbirth.
His ability to combine progressive priorities with bipartisan legislative negotiations helped establish him as a figure who could appeal to different parts of the Democratic Party.
But it was the first Trump impeachment trial in 2020 that brought him national attention. Jeffries was among seven Democrats selected to present the House’s case against Trump in the Senate. During the proceedings, he delivered a speech that ended with a reference to the rapper The Notorious B.I.G.: “And if you don’t know, now you know.” The moment became one of the more memorable exchanges of the trial.
Three years later, when Republicans struggled to elect a Speaker at the beginning of the 118th Congress, Jeffries emerged as the Democratic nominee. He received 212 votes, all from his party, across nearly every ballot while Republican Kevin McCarthy struggled through 15 rounds of voting before securing the post.
When McCarthy finally prevailed, Jeffries handed him the Speaker’s gavel after a speech that became known as the “ABCs of Democracy“, an alphabetical account of the principles he believed should guide American government, which included American values over autocracy, benevolence over bigotry, constitution over a cult and democracy over demagogues among others.
Dominance and divisions
A Democratic House under Jeffries would give the party massive leverage over the legislative agenda and congressional investigations. Committees could scrutinise the Trump administration’s executive decisions, while the Speaker would determine which legislation reaches the floor.
Yet a House majority would not translate into unrestricted power. Democrats would still need to deal with the Senate, where legislation faces a separate set of political and procedural hurdles.
Jeffries also faces a challenge within his own party. His measured approach and emphasis on message discipline have helped him hold together a broad coalition, but they have also drawn criticism from progressives who believe he has been insufficiently forceful on issues including healthcare, campaign finance and Israel.
His longstanding support for Israel and his ties to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee have become particularly contentious among Democrats, as support for Israel has weakened within parts of the party’s electorate. He has resisted calls to end military assistance to Israel and rejected demands for a ceasefire in the early months of the Israel- Gaza war adding that the support for Israel’s security is ‘ironclad’.
He however opposed the 2026 US-Iran war, calling it “Donald Trump’s reckless and costly war of choice in the Middle East”.
He has also faced criticism for backing away from his earlier support for Medicare-for-all. More recently, his reported meeting with Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law in August, prompted questions about the direction of his leadership.
Jeffries held a private meeting in New York with Kushner, NYT reported in what was seen as a signal of Trump’s efforts to establish ties with Democrats ahead of the midterm elections, amid the possibility of losing its Republican majority in the House, which eventually did happen.
Even among allies, there have been concerns about his communication with lawmakers and his willingness to exert pressure when members break with party positions, Washington Post wrote.
“The success of a Jeffries speakership would depend on how he manages what could be a fragile majority, including a cadre of new lawmakers whose politics are more liberal than his and whose loyalty he has yet to earn,” it added.
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