After nearly two decades in Democratic leadership, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is expected to step down at the end of this Congress, and Rep. Hakeem Jeffries is reportedly the new favourite to lead the party, according to The Washington Post.
“After almost 19 years as House Democratic leader, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) is expected to step down at the close of this Congress, ending a historic career that included trying to end George W. Bush’s Iraq War, implementing President Barack Obama’s signature health-care law, impeaching President Donald Trump twice and squeezing President Biden’s sweeping agenda through a narrowly controlled House,” the Post wrote in a report.
Hakeem Jeffries, a Democrat from New York, is the early frontrunner and favorite to succeed Pelosi. Jeffries has been the U.S. representative for New York’s 8th congressional district since 2013.
“Typically, that job would fall to one of the speaker’s top two lieutenants, the majority leader, Steny Hoyer, and majority whip, Jim Clyburn. However, both of them, like Pelosi, are in their early 80s, which has sparked questions about whether it may be time for some fresh faces to manage the House Democratic caucus,” the Guardian reported in October.
Pelosi will hand over the gavel with some of her lowest approval ratings in her career. According to a recent Gallup poll, 58 percent of respondents disapproved of Pelosi. Mitch McConnell, the only politician with a lower rating, came in at 63 percent.
