House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries formally announced on Wednesday that he will seek the speakership of the House of Representatives, telling colleagues in a letter that he wants to lead the new Democratic majority when the next Congress convenes in January.
Jeffries, 56, who represents a New York City district, is in line to become the first Black speaker in the history of the House, Reuters reported. Democrats won a comfortable House majority in Tuesday's midterm elections, ending four years of Republican control, and no other Democrat is seen as posing a serious threat to Jeffries, according to multiple Democratic aides cited by Reuters.
House Democrats are scheduled to choose their leadership nominee in internal elections in the week of November 16, and the full House will vote for speaker on January 3, 2027, when the 120th Congress convenes. Jeffries would need 218 votes to win the gavel.
His bid is not going unchallenged from outside Congress. An online petition on Change.org, titled "House Democrats: Choose a New Speaker," has drawn more than 425,000 verified signatures, arguing that the party should hold a competitive leadership election rather than automatically elevating Jeffries. The petition, launched in September by Nicole Whitted, does not endorse an alternative candidate.
In his announcement, Jeffries specifically called for reversing Republican Medicaid reductions, the St. Louis Argus reported. The petition argues that congressional leadership should reflect Democratic voters' priorities rather than those of the party establishment.
