Hakeem Jeffries

Early life and career

Jeffries was born on August 4, 1970, at the Brooklyn Hospital Center in the Downtown Brooklyn district of New York City, to Marland Jeffries, a state substance-abuse counselor, and Laneda Jeffries, a social worker. He has one brother, Hasan. He grew up in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, and is a lifelong member of the Cornerstone Baptist Church.

Jeffries graduated from Midwood High School, a public school, in 1988. He then studied political science at Binghamton University, graduating in 1992 with a Bachelor of Arts degree with honors. During his time at Binghamton he became a member of the Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity.

Jeffries continued his education at the Georgetown Public Policy Institute of Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., earning a Master of Public Policy (M.P.P.) degree in 1994. He then attended the School of Law of New York University in Lower Manhattan, where he was a member of the NYU Law Review. He graduated magna cum laude in 1997, with a Juris Doctor degree and delivered the student address at Convocation.

Upon graduating from law school, Jeffries became a law clerk for Judge Harold Baer Jr. of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

From 1998 to 2004, Jeffries was in private practice at the law firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison. In 2004, he became a corporate litigator for television companies Viacom and CBS, where among other matters he worked on the Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show controversy. During Jeffries's time at Paul, Weiss, he also served as director of intergovernmental affairs for the New York State Chapter of the National Association of Minority Contractors (construction contractors) and as the president of Black Attorneys for Progress.

New York State Assembly

Jeffries was elected and reelected in the 57th district, serving in the New York State Assembly from 2007 to 2012. During this time, he introduced over 70 bills.

In 2007, while still in his first term in the State Assembly, Jeffries endorsed and supported Barack Obama, and was among Obama's earliest supporters in Hillary Clinton's home state. In one interview, he said, "When I first ran for office, some people suggested that someone with the name 'Hakeem Jeffries' could never get elected, and when I saw someone with the name 'Barack Obama' get elected to the U.S. Senate, it certainly inspired me."

While in the Assembly, Jeffries worked on policing issues. In 2010, Governor David Paterson signed a Stop-and-Frisk database bill sponsored by Jeffries and then-Senator Eric Adams that banned police from compiling names and addresses of those stopped but not arrested during street searches.

Jeffries wrote and sponsored that law. He also sponsored and passed House Bill A.9834-A (now law), which stopped counting prison populations of upstate districts as part of those districts' population, becoming the second state to end this practice.

U.S. House of Representatives

Early years in Congress (2013–2018)

On April 11, 2013, Jeffries introduced the Prison Ship Martyrs' Monument Preservation Act (H.R. 1501; 113th Congress). The bill would direct the secretary of the interior to study the suitability and feasibility of designating the Prison Ship Martyrs' Monument in Fort Greene Park in Brooklyn as a unit of the National Park System (NPS). Jeffries said, "as one of America's largest revolutionary war burial sites and in tribute to the patriots that lost their lives fighting for our nation's independence, this monument deserves to be considered as a unit of the National Park Service." On April 28, 2014, the Prison Ship Martyrs's Monument Preservation Act was passed by the House.

On July 15, 2014, Jeffries, who in private practice addressed intellectual property issues, introduced H.R. 5108, which would establish the Law School Clinic Certification Program of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to be available to accredited law schools for the ten-year period after enactment of the Act.

In 2015, Jeffries led the effort to pass the Slain Officer Family Support Act, which extended the tax deadline for people making donations to organizations supporting the families of deceased NYPD detectives Wenjian Liu and Rafael Ramos. The families of the officers, who had been killed in their patrol car on December 20, 2014, in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Jeffries's district, had been the recipients of charitable fundraising. Before the law's enactment, people would have had to make those contributions by December 31, 2014, to qualify for a tax deduction in connection with taxes filed in 2015. With the change, contributions made until April 15, 2015, were deductible. President Obama signed the bill into law on April 1, 2015.

In 2015, prominent African-American pastors called for Jeffries to step into the 2017 Democratic primary for mayor of New York City against Bill de Blasio. Jeffries said he had "no interest" and wished to remain a member of Congress.

On May 22, 2018, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the bipartisan First Step Act by a 358–36 vote with Jeffries as a key sponsor. The bill was the bipartisan product of Jeffries and Representative Doug Collins. President Trump signed it into law on December 21, 2018. It eased mandatory minimum federal sentences, expanded early releases, and ended some draconian practices, such as the shackling of women inmates giving birth.

Democratic Caucus Chair (2018–2022)

On November 28, 2018, Jeffries defeated California congresswoman Barbara Lee to become chair of the House Democratic Caucus. His term began when the 116th Congress was sworn in on January 3, 2019. In this role, he was the fifth-ranking member of the Democratic leadership.

On January 15, 2020, Jeffries was selected as one of seven House managers presenting the impeachment case against Donald Trump during his trial before the United States Senate. On January 22, 2020, a protester in the Senate gallery interrupted Jeffries by yelling comments at the senators seated a floor below. Jeffries quickly responded with a scripture verse, Psalm 37:28, "For the Lord loves justice and will not abandon his faithful ones", before continuing with his testimony.

During the impeachment hearings, in response to Trump's counsel's rhetorical question "Why are we here?", Jeffries delivered a soliloquy that concluded by quoting The Notorious B.I.G.: "and if you don't know, now you know". Billboard magazine called it a "noteworthy mic-drop moment".

House Minority Leader (2022–present)

With outgoing Speaker Pelosi's endorsement, Jeffries was elected unopposed as House Democratic leader for the 118th Congress in November 2022, becoming the first African American to lead a party caucus in either chamber of Congress.

At the start of the 118th Congress on January 3, 2023, the House of Representatives began the nominating contest for Speaker of the House. The Democratic caucus unanimously nominated Jeffries for speaker. He received 212 votes, all from Democrats, on nearly every ballot. (David Trone missed the 12th round of voting for a surgery but returned for the 13th round.) Meanwhile, Kevin McCarthy, the Republican front-runner, failed to secure a majority of votes cast. On January 6, McCarthy finally received a majority and was elected on the 15th ballot after making concessions to the far right. In total, Jeffries received 3,179 votes for speaker.

When McCarthy was elected speaker, Jeffries handed him the gavel after a 15-minute speech. The speech, an alphabetical recitation of words describing what the government should and should not be, was dubbed the "ABCs of Democracy". The video of Jeffries's alphabet speech has been viewed over 2.4 million times on social media. On July 31, 2024, Jeffries announced he had penned an illustrated book, The ABCs of Democracy, to be published on November 12, 2024.

House Democrats unanimously nominated Jeffries again in the October 2023 election after the successful motion to vacate McCarthy's speakership.

The first major test of the 118th Congress was the looming expiration of the nation's debt ceiling. Economists warned that a breach and subsequent default would be catastrophic. On May 29, 2023, Representative Patrick McHenry introduced the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023. Democrats initially resisted the measure. When the Fiscal Responsibility Act was brought for a vote on May 31, Jeffries held up a green card to alert Democrats that they could vote in favor of it; over 50 did. The Fiscal Responsibility Act was signed into law on June 3 and is estimated to have reduced the deficit by $1.5 trillion over 10 years.

On October 3, 2023, Representative Matt Gaetz filed a motion to vacate the speakership criticizing McCarthy for working with Democrats to pass a spending bill which did not include fiscally conservative reforms. Preceding the vote, Jeffries said in a letter to colleagues that House Democratic leaders would vote “yes” on the motion to vacate the chair. After listing off reasons not to keep McCarthy in power, Jeffries said Democrats “remain willing to find common ground on an enlightened path forward.”

Caucus membership

Black Maternal Health Caucus

Congressional Black Caucus

Congressional Ukrainian Caucus

U.S.–Japan Caucus

Congressional Caucus on Turkey and Turkish Americans

Congressional Taiwan Caucus

Committee assignments

No committee assignments as party leader; ex-officio member of United States House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.

No committee assignments as party leader; ex-officio member of United States House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.

Committee on the Judiciary

Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property and the Internet

Subcommittee on Antitrust, Commercial, and Administrative Law

Committee on the Budget

Committee on the Judiciary

Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet

Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security

Committee on the Budget

Committee on the Judiciary

Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet

Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations

Committee on the Budget

Committee on Education and Workforce

Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions

Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Training

Political positions

Since his first election, Jeffries has been labeled a "rising star" in the Democratic Party. He has said he is willing to work with Republicans "whenever possible, but we will also push back against extremism whenever necessary" while maintaining good working relationships with more progressive Democrats. He is a member of the Congressional Black Caucus and, before becoming caucus leader, was a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. Jeffries is noted for his ability to work with Democrats across the caucus and Republicans on shared goals. In an interview with NY1, Republican former U.S. representative Bob Goodlatte said of Jeffries: "One of the best skills a legislator can have is to be willing to communicate with anybody in a constructive way about how to get things done. And that's exactly the approach that he's taken", calling Jeffries "open to compromise".

In the 117th Congress, he voted with President Joe Biden's stated position 100% of the time according to a FiveThirtyEight analysis.

Progressivism and democratic socialism

Jeffries distinguishes himself from democratic socialists, and considers himself "a Black progressive Democrat concerned with addressing racial and social and economic injustice with the fierce urgency of now" who will never "bend the knee to hard-left democratic socialism". In explaining this distinction, Jeffries said, "Black progressives do tend to tackle issues first and foremost with an understanding that systemic racism has been in the soil of America for over 400 years... Hard-left progressives tend to view the defining problem in America as one that is anchored in class. That is not my experience as a Black man in this country." Members of the Democratic Party's left wing have been critical of Jeffries's donations from people in the investment and real estate industries.

Congressional Black Caucus

Before becoming House Democratic Leader, Jeffries served as the Congressional Black Caucus whip, having been elected to the position in November 2014. In that role, he was actively involved in maintaining the CBC's historic role as "the conscience of the Congress", addressing special orders on the House floor, including regarding voting rights (after the Supreme Court decision on the 1965 Voting Rights Act), and in December 2014 leading CBC members in a "hands up, don't shoot" protest of killings of African-Americans by police.

After the shootings in Charleston in June 2015 by a white supremacist inspired by the Confederate flag, Jeffries led the effort to have the flag removed for sale or display on National Park Service land, an amendment the Republican House leadership eventually killed after its initial support and inclusion on voice vote. During debate on the House floor, Jeffries stood next to the Confederate battle flag, said he "got chills", and lamented that the "Ghosts of the Confederacy have invaded the GOP".

Criminal justice reform

Shortly after taking office, Jeffries was appointed to the House Judiciary Committee Task Force on Over Criminalization. He called for a Department of Justice investigation into the circumstances of Eric Garner's death. On a visit to the Staten Island site where Garner was killed, recorded by a CNN news crew in December 2014, Jeffries encountered Gwen Carr, Garner's mother. In April 2015, he stood with Carr to announce the introduction of the Excessive Use of Force Prevention Act of 2015, which would make chokeholds illegal under federal law.

Gun control

Jeffries supports increased background checks for potential gun owners and a ban on assault weapons. After a mass shooting in Nashville, Tennessee left six people dead, he called on Congress to bring the Bipartisan Background Checks Act and assault weapons ban to the House floor. "Our schools have become killing fields and our children slaughtered by weapons of war. It is time for Congress to put kids over guns", Jeffries wrote to Speaker McCarthy.

Abortion rights

Jeffries criticized the 2022 Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe v. Wade, calling it "an assault on freedom, the Constitution and the values shared by a majority of Americans". In the 118th Congress, he joined House Democratic lawmakers to reintroduce the Women's Health Protection Act, a bill that would legally protect providing and accessing abortion care nationwide for patients and abortion providers.

LGBTQ rights

Jeffries supports banning discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. In 2019, he voted in favor of the Equality Act and urged Congress members to do the same.

Environment

In June 2024, after New York governor Kathy Hochul indefinitely halted the implementation of congestion pricing in New York City, Politico reported that Hochul had acted in response to concerns raised by Jeffries. In August 2024, Jeffries reiterated that the ongoing pause was "a reasonable thing to do at this moment."

Cannabis

Jeffries reintroduced bipartisan legislation, the Preparing Regulators Effectively for a Post-Prohibition Adult Use Regulated Environment (PREPARE) Act, a bill that would create a transparent process for the federal government to establish effective regulations to be enacted upon the termination of the prohibition of cannabis. He also co-sponsored the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act, a bill that would end the federal prohibition and criminalization of cannabis by removing it from the Controlled Substances Act and facilitate the expungement of low-level federal cannabis convictions while incentivizing state and local governments to do the same.

In the past, Jeffries called on the New York City Police Commissioner to reform its cannabis arrest policy after reports showed that low-level cannabis arrests, which increased dramatically under Mayor Michael Bloomberg's administration's application of stop-and-frisk, were still rising in New York City under Bloomberg's successor, Bill de Blasio.

Healthcare

Jeffries co-sponsored Medicare for All legislation between 2013 and 2021, but in August 2026, he said he had shifted his stance and no longer supported or co-sponsored the proposal. Instead, he said, he supports reversing Republican-enacted Medicaid cuts and extending Affordable Care Act tax credits.

Trump impeachment

Jeffries voted to impeach President Donald Trump during both his first and second impeachments in the House. He repeatedly called Trump's presidency "illegitimate" due to the Russian interference in the 2016 United States presidential election.

Foreign affairs

A member of the bipartisan Congressional Ukraine Caucus, Jeffries has spoken out against Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine. He defended the Biden administration's assistance to Ukraine throughout the crisis and voted to send relief. In April 2024, he voted for military aid package supplementals for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan.

In 2023, Jeffries voted against H.Con.Res. 21, which directed President Joe Biden to remove U.S. troops from Syria within 180 days.

Jeffries visited Israel on his first trip abroad as House Democratic leader and said that House Democrats would "lean in on our strong support" for Israel. In April 2023, he led a delegation of House Democrats on a trip to Israel and met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Jeffries has been called "one of the most pro-Israel Democrats in the House". Jeffries also believes Israel has the right of self-defense from terrorism. He has been a longtime close ally and financial beneficiary of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), a pro-Israel lobby group, receiving $1 million in campaign contributions as of 2025. Jeffries accepted the endorsement of liberal Zionist lobby group J Street for the first time in August 2025.

Pro-Israel groups cheered Jeffries's ascent to House Democratic leader due to his staunch support for Israel. He has traveled to Israel multiple times since being elected to Congress, five times as of 2023. In 2020, Jeffries told an AIPAC conference, "back home in New York City we consider Jerusalem to be the sixth borough".

Upon the onset of the Gaza war, Jeffries reiterated his support for Israel, saying, "Our commitment to Israel's security is ironclad." On November 9, 2023, he rejected calls for a ceasefire. Jeffries spoke at the March for Israel on November 14, 2023, condemning antisemitism and calling for the safe return of all hostages taken captive by Hamas, and a "just and lasting peace". On April 24, 2025, Jeffries met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel amidst the Gaza war.

During consideration of the annual State Department appropriations bill in July 2026, Jeffries opposed Representative Thomas Massie's amendment to eliminate $3.3 billion in U.S. military assistance to Israel. Although he announced he would vote against the amendment, Jeffries said Democratic leadership would not whip the vote, allowing members to vote according to their conscience. The amendment failed by a vote of 104–314, with Jeffries voting against it.

Elections

New York State Assembly

In 2000, while a lawyer at Paul Weiss, Jeffries challenged incumbent assemblyman Roger Green in the Democratic primary. He criticized Green for inattentiveness to his constituents' needs and preoccupation with pursuing higher office after the incumbent had run for New York City Public Advocate in 1997 and had spoken of his plans to run for Congress upon the retirement of Edolphus Towns. Jeffries lost the primary, 59% to 41%, but remained on the Independence Party line in the general election, receiving 7% of the vote to Green's 90%.

During post-census redistricting, Jeffries's home was drawn one block outside of Green's Assembly district as Prospect Heights was removed from the district. Jeffries was still legally permitted to run in the district for the 2002 cycle, as state law requires only that a candidate live in the same county as a district they seek in the first election after a redistricting, but this complicated his path and left Jeffries unable to challenge Green in the 2004 Democratic primary. Green claimed he did not know where Jeffries lived. Jeffries lost the 2002 primary, 52% to 38%. Interviewed later about the redistricting, Jeffries said, "Brooklyn politics can be pretty rough, but that move was gangsta."

The 2002 redistricting left Jeffries unable to challenge Green in the 2004 Democratic primary, which took place after Sheldon Silver and Democratic leadership forced Green to resign after he pleaded guilty to billing the state for false travel expenses. Green was renominated unopposed.

In 2006, Green retired from the Assembly to run for the U.S. House from New York's 10th congressional district against incumbent U.S. representative Ed Towns. Jeffries ran for the 57th district again and won the Democratic primary, defeating Bill Batson and Freddie Hamilton with 64% of the vote. In the general election, he handily defeated Republican nominee Henry Weinstein.

Jeffries was reelected in 2008, defeating Republican nominee Charles Brickhouse with 98% of the vote. In 2010 he was reelected to a third term, easily defeating Republican nominee Frank Voyticky.

U.S. House

In January 2012, Jeffries announced that he would give up his Assembly seat to run for the U.S. House from New York's 8th congressional district.

Jeffries expected to give Towns a strong challenge in the Democratic primary—the real contest in this heavily Democratic, black-majority district. But with Jeffries assembling "a broad coalition of support", Towns announced his retirement on April 16, leaving Jeffries to face city councilman Charles Barron in the Democratic primary.

Jeffries was supported by a broad coalition of local leaders from across the district. On June 11, 2012, former mayor Ed Koch, Congressman Jerrold Nadler, Councilman David Greenfield, Assemblyman Dov Hikind and other elected officials and community leaders held a joint event to support Jeffries's campaign.

While President Barack Obama did not openly support candidates in Democratic primaries, he and President Bill Clinton together took a photograph with Jeffries weeks before his 2012 Congressional primary against Charles Barron, which was effectively used in campaign literature.

Jeffries defeated Barron in the June 26 primary election, 72% to 28%. A New York Daily News editorial noted that Barron had been "repudiated" in all parts of the district, including among neighbors on Barron's own block in East New York, which he lost.

In the general election, Jeffries defeated Republican nominee Alan Bellone and Green Party nominee Colin Beavan with 71% of the vote.

On January 3, 2013, he was sworn in to the 113th Congress. He has since been reelected six successive times.

Jeffries was reelected to the House in 2014 without opposition.

In 2016, Jeffries faced no primary challenger. He defeated a Conservative Party challenger with 93% of the vote.

Personal life

Jeffries is married to Kennisandra Arciniegas-Jeffries, a social worker with 1199 SEIU's Benefit Fund. They have two sons and live in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn.

Jeffries is a Baptist Christian. In 2013, he played in the infield on the Democratic team in the Congressional Baseball Game. He is also of Cape Verdean descent; his great-grandfather Manuel Gomes emigrated from Cape Verde to New Bedford, Massachusetts, in 1915.

Jeffries's younger brother, Hasan Kwame Jeffries, is an associate professor of history at Ohio State University and the author of Bloody Lowndes: Civil Rights and Black Power in Alabama's Black Belt.

Hakeem and Hasan are the nephews of Leonard Jeffries, a former professor at City College of New York. While in college, Hakeem Jeffries wrote an editorial defending his uncle and Louis Farrakhan when his uncle was invited to speak at Binghamton University. He has said he only has a "vague" recollection of the events. His spokesperson said, "Leader Jeffries has consistently been clear that he does not share the controversial views espoused by his uncle over thirty years ago."