House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, on Thursday, announced that she would relinquish the role of leader of House Democrats, a position she held for 20 years.
The House Democrats are poised to choose Hakeem Jeffries, to succeed Pelosi. this would make Jeffries the first African-American to lead the party in Congress.
Jeffries was quickly endorsed by House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn and announced they would too, step down from their leadership posts, CNN reported.
Born and raised in Brooklyn, 52-year-old Jeffries has a bachelor's degree in political science from the State University of New York at Binghamton, as well as a master's degree in public policy from Georgetown University.
He also has a law degree from the New York University School of Law, where he served on the Law Review.
Jeffries started his political career in 2006. He served in office from 2007 to 2012.
Who is Hakeem Jeffries, the first African-American set to lead House Democrats?
Jeffries is behind the New York bill, which was signed into law-- it did away with the New York Police Department's stop-and-frisk database. It contained the names of individuals — most of them Black and Hispanic — who had been stopped by police, the Business Insider reported. The stop-and-frisk program was deemed unconstitutional by a federal judge in 2013.
Jeffries was elected to the Congress in 2012. before beginning his political career, he clerked for a federal judge and spent years in private legal practice.
On Pelosi, Jeffries has said, she “is the most accomplished Speaker in American history and our country is unquestionably better off for her extraordinary leadership.” He went on to call her “the steady hand on the gavel during some of the most turbulent times the nation has ever confronted,” The Washington Post reported.
