Hakeem Jeffries is ending the year in a major way for not only himself, but also in the name of Black political history. The New York Representative has been elected the head of the House Democratic caucus, making him the first Black lawmaker to lead a major American party in Congress.
The 52-year-old was unanimously selected on Wednesday (Nov. 30) during a closed-door vote, Rolling Stone reports. This victory is especially notable as the NYU law graduate will be filling the shoes of longtime party leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who announced she would be stepping down after over 20 years in the role. Pelosi was a history maker herself, as she was the first woman to ever hold the speakership.
Jeffries’ victory makes him a shoo-in for House minority leader after the Republicans secured a close House majority during the midterm elections earlier this month. The new head of the House Democratic caucus will be joined in party leadership by Representatives Katherine Clark (D-Mass.), who will serve as Democratic whip, and Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.), who will serve as caucus chair.
Earlier this month, Democrat Wes Moore became Maryland’s first Black governor. This victory marked the third time a Black person had ever been elected governor, with the governor-elect joining Virginia’s Douglas Jackson and Massachusetts’ Deval Patrick. Notably, former United States President Barack Obama expressed his support for Moore’s campaign.
“We’re not in this race to make history,” the Rhodes Scholar said in October. “We’re in this race because we have a unique opportunity to make child poverty history […] We have a unique opportunity to make the racial wealth gap history.”