Hakeem Jeffries was on November 30 unanimously elected as the Democratic Party’s leader in the new US House of Representatives.
Key points
- He will begin his term in January 2023, when the 118th US Congress convenes.
- Hakeem Jeffries has made history by becoming the first black American to hold such a high position in the US’s federal legislature.
- He will succeed incumbent House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
- Nancy Pelosi was the first woman in US history to hold the role. Pelosi – who represents California’s 12th district in the San Francisco Bay Area – has served as leader of the House Democrats for nearly 20 years.
