Jeffries: House Democrats can have ‘noisy conversations’ and ‘come together’

Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), who is expected to lead House Democrats in the next term, pushed back on notions that the caucus is in “disarray” and expressed optimism on Sunday that Democrats will maintain unity in the face of a GOP majority.

During an appearance on CNN’s “State of the Union,” co-anchor Jake Tapper asked Jeffries about Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) telling The New York Times there was “healing that needs to be done in our caucus” after Jeffries emerged as Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-Calif.) likely successor.

“The thing about us, Jake, is that while we can have some noisy conversations at times, about how we can make progress for the American people, what we’ve seen is that under the leadership of Speaker Pelosi, Steny Hoyer, Jim Clyburn, we’ve constantly been able to come together,” Jeffries said, touting Democrats’ legislative accomplishments in the last term.

Pelosi announced on Thursday she would step down from her role leading House Democrats after two decades, and Hoyer and Clyburn, who hold the No. 2 and No. 3 roles, respectively, quickly announced they would do the same.

Jeffries soon after announced he would run for minority leader, and he is expected to glide to power alongside Reps. Katherine Clark (D-Mass.) and Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.) in leadership elections scheduled for Nov. 30, which would mark a major generational shift for House Democrats.

Jeffries had replaced Rep. Joseph Crowley (D-N.Y.) as caucus chairman after Ocasio-Cortez ousted Crowley in a 2018 primary. 

“I have great respect for representative Ocasio-Cortez and every single member of the House Democratic Caucus, from representative Ocasio-Cortez to Rep. Josh Gottheimer, my good friend, and all points in between,” Jeffries said on CNN.

Ocasio-Cortez and Gottheimer are seen as some of the most progressive and moderate members in the Democratic caucus, respectively.

“People have doubted us, tried to create this frame of Democrats in disarray,” Jeffries told Tapper. “We always are consistently able to come together, find the highest common denominator, get things done for everyday Americans and make progress.”