Elections in the USA: The highest-ranking Democrat in the USA

Democrat Hakeem Jeffries had a relaxed smile on his face as he addressed his supporters in Washington shortly after 11 p.m. The otherwise rather reserved representative from New York visibly enjoyed the minutes of cheering and pumped his fists into the air as energetically as he did in his football days.

His subsequent speech was equally uncharacteristically strong. “People today have shown that they are fed up with extremism and corruption in Washington.” He then vowed to fight for all Americans, urban and rural, black, brown and white, conservative and progressive.

Jeffries will be at the forefront of this fight for the next two years. The previous minority speaker becomes speaker of the House of Representatives and thus the highest-ranking Democrat in the USA. If the president and vice president were unable to carry out their duties due to an accident, he would move into the White House.

The position is the highlight and long-held goal of Jeffries’ career so far. When Alexandria Ocasio Cortez defeated her opponent in her own party, Jim Crowley, in 2018, Jeffries saw his chance. Actually, Crowley should have succeeded Nancy Pelosi, the old lady in the Capitol who was either speaker of the House or the caucus for 20 years. As it was, there was a vacancy that Jeffries could fill.

However, there may be moments in the coming months when Jeffries curses his desire to sit in that chair. Jeffries not only has to find a way to deal with a hostile White House that will probably use any means possible to sabotage the work of Congress. The 56-year-old from Brooklyn doesn't have an easy time in his own party either.

This Tuesday's election cemented a generational shift in the Democratic Party that has been brewing for a long time. The party's new stars, James Talarico, Abdul El-Sayed, AOC and Jon Ossoff, are all millennials. This puts Jeffries in a complicated position. When he came to Washington in 2023, he embodied rebellion, youth and awakening. His nickname was “Brooklyn Barack.” Now, however, for the new generation and especially for the socialist bloc, he represents the establishment.

The reputation has strengthened over the past two years. The new guard accuses him of not having taken a strong enough stand against the Trump administration. He did let himself be carried away with a loud “Fuck Trump” in front of the cameras. He opposed Trump's budget for as long as he could and pushed for Congress to constitutionally ratify the war against Iran. Nevertheless, many among the millennials in Washington believe that he is too tame, too diplomatic, too jaded by everyday parliamentary life to effectively stand up to Trump.

The antipathy is at least partly mutual. Jeffries has never been a big fan of the democratic socialists. He always associated them with the spoiled young white guys who gentrified his Brooklyn hood. He hesitated to support Mamdani until the very last moment. And on one of the most important issues of this election campaign, Israel, he was at odds with the new team for a long time.

Jeffries has been a steadfast supporter of Israel throughout his career, so much so that he was nicknamed "Aipac Shakur" in reference to the pro-Israel lobby group AIPAC. He has not given up his sympathies for Israel. However, as a concession to the new zeitgeist, he is now associated with the Jewish organization J Street, which advocates for a two-state solution.

In the coming years, Jeffries' primary task will be to unite his own party. As a minority spokesman, he achieved this by being able to talk to anyone, whether it was Ocasio Cortez or centrists like Josh Gottheimer from New Jersey. One of his best qualities is that he is a good listener. “But at some point he has to give a route,” an anonymous MP told the New Yorker.

The route he set out in his speech on Saturday evening is a tireless fight against social injustice and so that “every citizen can fulfill their American dream.” However, major social legislation will probably fail because of Trump's veto. Nevertheless, the House can formulate and introduce them and thus draw a blueprint for 2028. Jeffries' achievement would be to have united his party for a common future and to develop a common vision.

Meanwhile, he has not yet decided that he will seek impeachment proceedings against Trump again. However, it is clear that the new House of Representatives will put pressure on the Trump administration. The Judiciary Committee prepared 130 investigations into the Trump administration last year. These investigations, mostly into corruption, could now result in solid lawsuits.

It's a big package of tasks that Jeffries faces, and it's not long until he takes office in January as speaker of the new parliament. There's hardly any time left to celebrate the blue wave. The work starts from today.