Hakeem Jeffries pitches calm governance over chaos as Democrats seek the House majority [View all]

Source: NBC News

Oct. 15, 2024, 4:30 PM EDT


ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The way Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries sees it, House Democrats haven’t held the majority this Congress — but they’ve governed as if they did.

From avoiding government shutdowns to raising the nation's debt limit to passing an annual defense authorization bill, "we’ve been required to consistently rise to the occasion,” Jeffries, D-N.Y., told NBC News in an interview during a recent campaign stop here. “Democrats have provided the support necessary, almost overwhelmingly in most instances, in order to get things done.”

Now, he wants the gavel to go with the governing.

Jeffries hopes to win back the House majority with twin messages of “people over politics” and a promise to curb the chaos of the House GOP. If he succeeds, it would bookend the historic Nancy Pelosi speakership (she was the first woman elected to the top job) with another milestone for his party: electing the first Black speaker of the House. But to do that, Democrats will have to flip at least four House seats from red to blue while holding on to some of their most vulnerable districts.

Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/hakeem-jeffries-democrats-house-majority-2024-election-calm-governance-rcna174499