Congratulations, Hakeem Jeffries, On Becoming Nancy Pelosi!

House Democrats on Wednesday chose new leadership for their caucus, electing Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-New York) as the new Democratic minority leader, at least until a few of the Republicans elected in November get indicted and have to resign. (We can dream, right?)

Since the new Republican majority in the House can’t get its shit together at all, Democrats decided to to show off just how unified they are by skipping a vote, instead choosing Jeffries by acclamation. (Also no other candidates had declared, but that was a unity thing, too.) Same goes for new Democratic Whip Rep. Katherine Clark of Massachusetts, who’ll be in charge of making sure party members stay in line before votes (or at least making sure she knows who stands where), and for new party caucus chair Rep. Pete Aguilar of California, who’ll coordinate the caucus’s messaging and is also in charge of the sheep dip. G’day!

Jeffries becomes the first Black member to lead his party in either house of Congress, following up Nancy Pelosi’s time as the first woman speaker of the House.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-New York) said that Jeffries’s new job marked a “turning point in the history of the United States Congress.”

“It’s not surprising that House Democrats are turning to someone from Brooklyn to lead the way next year, because when you’re from Brooklyn, you learn quickly traits like persistence and serious mettle. It’s a crowded place and a diverse place. You learn how to work with all kinds of different people. You learn how to stand your ground. You learn to not take things personally,” Schumer, a fellow Brooklynite, said on the Senate floor. “Hakeem Jeffries exemplifies all these traits.”

Pelosi, who announced earlier this month that she would not remain in leadership but will continue to serve in the House, congratulated all the new party leaders, saying in a statement,

Together, this new generation of leaders reflects the vibrancy and diversity of our great nation — and they will reinvigorate our Caucus with their new energy, ideas and perspective. […] Now, with the fullest confidence of our Members, our new Leaders are well-prepared to carry on Democrats’ fight for working families and defense of Democracy.

Jeffries told reporters yesterday that he and his new leadership colleagues will “lean in hard and do the best damn job that we can for the people.” As for Kevin McCarthy (R-California), who’s expected to end up as speaker after Republicans can’t agree on any of the more extreme candidates putting themselves forward, Jeffries said

I think I’ve been pretty gentle on Kevin McCarthy over the years, to tell you the truth. I just respond to things that he has either said or done that I found to be outrageous, such as calling out members on our side of the aisle as extreme when he’s got an extraordinary group of members on the other side of the aisle who fall into that category. […]

Moving forward, it’s my hope that House Democrats can find common ground with Republicans to get things done that would make life better for everyday Americans whenever possible. But we’re also prepared to oppose their extremism when we must.

Then everyone had a good laugh at the idea of Republicans working together for the common good of Americans and they broke out the champagne, we bet.

OPEN THREAD!

[CBS News / NYT / Photo: Hakeem Jeffries on Facebook]

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