The Democratic leader in the House of Representatives, Hakeem Jeffries, has formalized this Wednesday his ambition to take charge of this legislative body, after his party secured control of the U.S. lower chamber with 237 seats following the midterm elections held the day before.
The congressman from New York has communicated his decision in a letter sent to his fellow Democrats, which NBC has obtained, and in which he already outlines some of the main lines of his political project.
Jeffries, who is poised to become the first African American to hold this post in the history of Congress, has set three priority pillars: the cost of living, accountability of President Donald Trump, and the "American values," which he has defined as "freedom and justice for all, equality of protection under the law, the unqualified right to vote in a representative democracy, and our legacy as a nation of immigrants."
"House Democrats must act to reverse the cuts to Medicaid, restore funding for SNAP -- in reference to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program --, (...) eliminate Trump’s tariffs and stop the reckless election-year war in Iran," Jeffries has said, while at the same time celebrating that "the era of MAGA extremism is coming to an end in a spectacular fashion."
"Against all odds, House Democrats achieved steady successes while they were in the minority. Now we must carry out the radical change that the American people demand from the majority," he emphasized in his letter.
In January, once the new Congress takes office, the House of Representatives will put to a vote Jeffries’ candidacy and that of any other Democrat who decides to compete for the position, although for now no other member of the party has publicly stated an intention to challenge him for the leadership.
These midterm elections have represented a serious setback for the Republican Party, after Democrats achieved the most favorable scenarios, consolidating control of both chambers of the U.S. Congress and winning historic victories in several gubernatorial races in states such as Texas, Ohio, or Georgia.