Hakeem Jeffries becomes first black House leader in US. See who is he

Democratic Party officially elected Hakeem Jeffries as its leader in the new US House of Representatives on Tuesday (January 3). It is a difficult position as he will have to work with the Republicans to fulfill the interest of his party and electoral base.

Jeffries became the first black American to hold such a high position in the federal legislature of the US. This comes as the lower chamber of Congress was adjourned without choosing a speaker after an infighting occurred among Republicans.

The new leader’s appointment marks the oncoming of a new generation of Democratic Party leadership.

Hakeem Jeffries’s background

The US leader is a native of Brooklyn, New York. He studied public policy, political science and law. In 1997, he got his law degree and started a successful practice in litigation.

By 2000, he started to foray into politics when he contested and lost the Democratic Party Primary to Roger Green.

In 2006, Jeffries finally got elected to the state assembly from New York’s 57th District. He comfortably won both his primary and the contest with Republican Henry Weinstein.



He introduced over 70 bills in six-year tenure in the state assembly to earn popularity for an eventual run to the US Congress. In 2012, he resigned from the state assembly. In 2013, he was elected to the 113th US House of Representatives successfully.

His ideology

Jeffries has also been touted as the “Barack Obama of Brooklyn”. He is a self-declared progressive. The leader holds both progressive and conservative positions on many issues.

He holds progressive positions on criminal justice reform, gun reform and reproductive rights.

He has also supported Israel in its conflict with Palestine, which has been both commended and criticized.

FAQs:

1. What has Hakeem Jeffries studied?
   Jeffries has studied public policy, political science and law.
2. Who is the spouse of Hakeem Jeffries?
   Kennisandra Jeffries