Hakeem Jeffries Makes History as First Black Party Leader in Congress

House Democrats unanimously elected Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) to become the party’s new leader. After the GOP secured the majority, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) announced she would not run again for party leadership, opening the door for a younger generation of leaders to be chosen in the Wednesday, November 30 vote. When the 118th Congress convenes in January, it will be House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries at the helm of the Democratic Party.

From Nancy Pelosi to Hakeem Jeffries – Out With the Old, In With the New

Nancy Pelosi has been nothing if not a divisive figure. She was anti-Trump from the beginning, and rabidly so. From two impeachments to the January 6 Committee, the speaker appeared incapable of focusing on doing the actual job over her own hatred for the man she clearly regards as some kind of arch nemesis.

Though she seemed to toy with the idea of holding on to power – or trying to, in any case – once the GOP won enough seats to take the House, her choices became clear. The only real question when Pelosi took the floor in mid-November to deliver her speech was whether she was stepping down from leadership or retiring entirely. And there for a while, at least, it really sounded as if it would be the latter.

With Pelosi out and Hakeem Jeffries in as the new minority leader, the Democrats can begin the new term with something of a fresh start. Jeffries was first elected to the 113th Congress and has served continuously since 2013 through five – soon to be six – consecutive terms. In a speech after the election, the new party leader spoke of reaching across the aisle to work with all Americans, which would certainly be a refreshing departure from the norm under Pelosi. That is, assuming it’s true – the speech included a caveat about extremists that’s eerily familiar to anyone who listened to or read the unity spiel from President Joe Biden or his administration.

A Tradition of Historic Firsts

The first black US Representative was Joseph Hayne Rainey, a Republican from South Carolina. He served from 1869 to 1879. After another 23 black Republicans joined the House, the first black Democrat, Arthur Wergs Mitchell of Illinois, took office in 1935.

Just a year after Rep. Rainey began his first term, Hiram Revels, a Republican from Mississippi, became the first black man to join the Senate. The state legislature sent him to fill a vacancy in 1870. He was followed in 1875 by Blanche K. Bruce, another black Republican from Mississippi. The next black senator to take office was Edward Brooke in 1967. The Maryland Republican was also the first African American to be elected to the upper chamber by popular vote, despite the 17th Amendment having been in effect for over half a century already.

The next black senator wasn’t elected until 1992. Carol Moseley Braun was able to claim both the titles “first black Democrat elected to the Senate” and “first black woman elected to the Senate.”

Representation Through the Years

According to The US House of Representatives’ History, Art & Archives site: “Since the U.S. Congress convened on March 4, 1789, 12,421 individuals have served as Representatives, Senators, or in both capacities. There have been 10,427 Members who served only as Representatives, 1,314 Members who served only in the Senate, and 680 Members with service in both chambers.” Out of all those, just 175 representatives and 11 senators have been African Americans.

The 117th Congress saw just three black senators – Raphael Warnock (D-GA), Cory Booker (D-NJ), and Tim Scott (R-SC) – a mere 3% of the 100 total, though to be fair, Kamala Harris might well have been re-elected had she not been Biden’s running mate. In the House, there were 461 representatives and non-voting delegates, 66 of whom (about 14%) were black. To put those stats into perspective, in the 2020 census, about 12.4% of Americans were counted as “Black or African American alone.”

Jeffries made it clear he intends to only be the first black minority leader for a couple of years - calling the Republicans' takeover of the House "temporary." He called out the GOP plan of demanding a legislative solution to the growing problem of the national debt - yes, the idea that we should get the nation's debt under control strikes him as "extremism" - and says that it's a fight "we are prepared to lean into aggressively." With his adherence to the "extreme Republicans" mantra, however, that speaker's gavel may remain out of his reach even in 2024.