Jeffries on track to become Speaker, but some progressives still undecided

US House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries is on track to become House speaker in January. But some progressives among the new members of Congress have not yet publicly committed to supporting him.

The group of new members is now known as 'The Bloc.' They say they are not withholding votes; they are undecided. Rep.-elect Adam Hamawy of New Jersey said: 'We're not withholding votes. What we're doing is saying we're undecided. We're not going to rubber stamp anything.'

Rep.-elect Melat Kiros of Colorado said it is not about the individual; it is about the agenda, and an agenda that actually reflects the priorities of the American people. Rep.-elect Claire Valdez of New York said there needs to be talk about improving the lives of working people and helping them join unions. The progressive members are reported to be pressing for legislative guarantees before January.

The progressives, however, have not put forward any alternative name for speaker against Jeffries. Rep. Joe Courtney of Connecticut said you cannot beat somebody with nobody, and that is where this race stands.

Joe Courtney also said this protest is a weaker version than last time. He said Jeffries did a great job over the last two years of keeping the caucus marching in the same direction, which was not easy. He warned that the worst thing that could happen is to start this Congress as happened in 2023, when Republicans went through 15 ballots before electing former Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

Rep. Jim Himes of Connecticut said having a bigger majority is a lot easier to manage than a tiny majority, which is basic math. But as a new speaker, Jeffries will need to do a lot of work listening to everybody and managing, because managing Democrats is always a challenge.

Rep. Glenn Ivey of Maryland appeared mystified by the progressive position. He said it is kind of odd: you get a coach who takes his team to the Super Bowl, they win by 30 points, and then some folks want to fire him the next day.

More than 110 new members are coming to this Congress, and a few are returning after serving before. Rep.-elect Hilda Solis of California last served in Congress in 2009; she departed to become President Obama’s labor secretary. Rep.-elect Jerry Carl of Alabama left Capitol Hill early last year after losing a primary to Rep. Barry Moore, who is now moving to the Senate. Rep.-elect Melissa Bean of Illinois first won a seat in 2004 and lost in 2010; now she is back. Her advice to the rookies was to get a really good scheduler and make sure eating is scheduled, because staff will run them all day.

Meanwhile, Rep.-elect Don Leonard of Ohio emerged to defeat Republican Rep. Mike Carey. On Instagram, Leonard said Democratic leaders informed him in no uncertain terms that if he did not support Jeffries, the party brass would make his life a living hell and assure he loses reelection. So there are questions from the left and questions from centrists.

Democrats won the majority by flipping deeply red districts. The Democrats who will represent those districts know voters could note whether they supported Jeffries or broke with him.