Incoming House Democratic Leader Team Jeffries is vowing to seek common ground, as you just heard, with Republicans as his party moves into the minority in the next Congress. CNN's Eva McKenzie joins us live.
Jeffrey's election also marked a generational shift for the Democratic Caucus after 20 years under the leadership of Nancy Pelosi. See, Alex. A generational shift, indeed. For so long, octogenarians have been running the show among House Democrats, but Jeffries is not necessarily a fresh faith.
In many ways, this has been a long time in the making. After nearly a decade on Capitol Hill, Brooklyn red attorney Hakeem Jeffries, made history as House Democrats selected him as the first black American to lead a party in Congress.
Stand on the shoulders of people like Shirley Chisholm and so many others as we work to advance the ball for everyday Americans and get stuff done because that's what Democrats do. At 52, Jeffrey's ascension marks a generational change from 82-year-old outgoing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
We're going to work hard. Jeffrey became Democratic Caucus chair in 2019 and has long been known for his advocacy around affordable housing and criminal justice reform. Working across the aisle in 2019 to get the first Step Act passed, we.
Look forward to finding opportunities to partner with the other side of the aisle and work with them whenever possible, but we will also push back against extremism whenever necessary. Judy but it was his role as an impeachment manager during former President Donald Trump's first impeachment trial that was among Jeffrey's most high-profile posts, highlighting his background as a lawyer and his penchant for weaving in the legacy of hip hop.
That is why we are here, Mr. Seculo. And if you don't know, now you know. One of my constituents said, aren't you the congressman that shouted out Biggie Smalls on the House floor two years ago? I said, yeah, that was me.
He said, and now I hear that small number five Democrat in the House of Representatives. How did that happen? And the only way that I could respond is by quoting the Biggie Smalls lyric, which is, you never thought that hip hop would take it this far.
And so I think that biggie, small Jay Z, in many ways, captures sort of the aspirational aspect of the American dream. A former longtime staffer suggests Jeffries will pose a formidable challenge to Republicans.
He has a mind like a computer. He's brilliant. And so he remembers every single detail of everything. For his speeches, we never write speeches out. We put together the substance, and he could just go and speak for 45.
Minutes and argues he's the right man. For this moment in 2015. I said to him, I said, you're going to be the next speaker of the House, because the reality of our party is that we have this old fashioned that was destined to leave at some point, and he came, was the guy that could best articulate what we stood for.
And we now live in an era where that matters more than most. Other things can't stop, but Jeffries will. Have to contend with the left wing of the party who view him as part of the establishment, and he's poised to take the mantle with a Democratic minority.
Great philosopher Grace Jones said, I may not be perfect, but I'm perfect for you. So for those who claim he is not progressive enough, there are far fewer progressive people who could stand in his stead and try to occupy his space.
He's as progressive a figure as is capable of securing the broad base of the Democratic Party to represent them. A big question now is just how much will those progressives challenge him. They were frustrated when he started a pack to protect incumbent Democrats, but notably, he did not receive much pushback in running for this position.
Alex.