Jeffries seeks House Speaker role and outlines Democratic priorities

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries asked colleagues on November 4 to support his bid for Speaker, setting out an affordability and accountability agenda for the next Congress.

The bid followed the Fox News Decision Desk’s November 3 projection that Democrats would control the next House. The Speaker leads the majority party and presides over the chamber, according to the House Clerk, giving the choice significance for how House business is organized.

In his letter to colleagues, Jeffries said “we will aggressively fight for an affordable America.” He identified five affordability working groups covering housing, healthcare, groceries and goods, gas and utilities, and caregiving.

For the first 100 days, Jeffries called for reversing Medicaid cuts, restoring funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and extending Affordable Care Act tax credits. His letter also called for an end to Trump tariffs. Under accountability, he proposed banning members of Congress from trading stocks. These are goals in his appeal for colleagues’ support.

Jeffries’s candidacy is a request for support, not an election to the office. The Clerk says the Speaker is elected by the full House, while other party leaders are chosen by members of their respective party delegations. The Clerk’s leadership list names Mike Johnson as Speaker and Jeffries as minority leader.

The 20th Amendment sets noon on January 3, 2027, for the terms of incoming House members to begin. Its separate assembly provision sets a default meeting day while allowing Congress to choose another by law.