House Democrats are meeting to nominate their speaker and pick the rest of their leadership team, as they prepare to take control of the House of Representatives in January. Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., defeated progressive icon Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Calif. by a vote of 123-113, to become the next chairman of the House Democratic Caucus. Jeffries is widely perceived to be a young candidate who represents the changing face of the party. This is the fifth leadership position in the caucus.
The election of the speaker is likely to begin around 1 p.m.
Ahead of the closed-door meeting, Nancy Pelosi made her final pitch to colleagues for a second stint as House Speaker.
“We all agree that history is in a hurry, and we need to accelerate the pace of change in Congress,” Pelosi said in a letter to colleagues Tuesday. “My responsibility is to recognize the myriad of talent and tools at our disposal to take us in to the future by showcasing the idealism, intellect and imagination of our Caucus.”
Pelosi’s support is sufficiently strong so that she is expected to win enough votes in the closed-door meeting to be chosen by her caucus for the speakership. The bar will be higher when she must win 218 votes on the House floor — or the majority of lawmakers present — in January. Democrats will control 234 seats in the House, meaning she can lose just 16 members. A small group of Democrats has been intent on derailing Pelosi’s bid for speaker.
Democrats will also vote for leadership positions of majority leader, majority whip and assistant Democratic leader. Each race has only one candidate.
Reps. Steny Hoyer and James Clyburn, the current No. 2 and No 3. House Democrats, are running to keep their positions. Hoyer, the current minority whip, is running to become majority leader in the new Congress. Clyburn, the current assistant Democratic leader, is running to become majority whip.
Rep. Ben Ray Luján, who currently serves as chair of the House Democratic campaign arm, is running for the position of assistant Democratic leader.
