Tuesday, November 19, 2024
Year : 2, Issue: 12
CBS News: House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries was elected Tuesday to lead Democrats for another two years in the minority despite the party failing to flip control of the lower chamber in the 2024 election.
Democrats held their leadership elections on Tuesday as the party seeks to keep its leadership intact as it reels from the bruising losses in the 2024 elections.
Democratic caucus chair Rep. Pete Aguilar of California was reelected Tuesday morning, as was House Minority Whip Katherine Clark of Massachusetts, who will continue in her role in the 119th Congress, beginning in January.
Jeffries made history in 2023 when he became the first Black lawmaker to lead a party in Congress, succeeding former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi as the top Democrat in the lower chamber. He was set to again make history as the first Black speaker had Democrats gained control of the House.
Heading into Election Day, Democrats needed a net gain of four seats to win the majority. Though Democrats won more than a handful of Republican-held seats in this month’s election, they lost just as many. The party also suffered the loss of the Senate and the White House. As House Democrats conduct the leadership elections Tuesday, they’re still reeling from the results — and reckoning with the path forward.
