Hakeem Jeffries is on the brink of becoming the first Black speaker of the House after Democrats claimed the chamber’s majority on Tuesday. The 56-year-old New York Democrat’s leadership will shape how the party uses its power to challenge President Donald Trump and help define the agenda for the 2028 presidential campaign, according to the report.
The article recounts that, on the evening of Trump’s inauguration, Jeffries met privately with senior aides at an Italian restaurant in Washington. With Democrats in the minority and Republicans controlling both chambers of Congress, they discussed how to counter the new administration. Jeffries stressed the importance of winning the 2026 midterms, telling the group: “We just have to win. If we don’t win in 2026, it’s over.”
Jeffries grew up in a working-class household in Brooklyn’s Crown Heights during the 1980s. The neighborhood was a center of Black activism, while also facing crime and unrest associated with the crack cocaine epidemic. The report describes his family as having roots in Black nationalism.
Sources: The New York Times Politics.