Hakeem Jeffries
Hakeem Sekou Jeffries (/ˌhɑːˈkiːm/ hah-KEEM; born August 4, 1970[2]) is an American politician and attorney who has served as House Minority Leader and Leader of the House Democratic Caucus since 2023. He has been the U.S. representative for New York's 8th congressional district since 2013 and was a member of the New York State Assembly from 2007 to 2012.
Hakeem Jeffries
Katherine Clark
Steve Israel (Chair)
Edolphus Towns (Redistricting)
2
Hasan Kwame Jeffries (brother)
Jeffries was born and raised in Crown Heights, in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. He attended law school at New York University, graduating with honors and becoming a successful corporate lawyer before running for elected office. Both his state assembly district and congressional district are anchored in Brooklyn.
In Congress, Jeffries chaired the House Democratic Caucus from 2019 to 2023. The members of the caucus unanimously elected him to succeed Nancy Pelosi as leader in November 2022. This made him the first African American to lead a party in either chamber of the United States Congress.
Early life and career
Jeffries was born in New York City, at Brooklyn Hospital Center to Laneda Jeffries, a social worker, and Marland Jeffries, a state substance-abuse counselor.[3][4] He has one brother, Hasan. He grew up in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, and is a lifelong member of the Cornerstone Baptist Church.[5][6]
Jeffries graduated from Midwood High School, a public school, in 1988.[7] He then studied political science at Binghamton University, graduating in 1992 with a Bachelor of Arts degree with honors. During his time at Binghamton he became a member of the Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity.[8]
Jeffries continued his education at Georgetown University's McCourt School of Public Policy, earning a Master of Public Policy degree in 1994. He then attended New York University School of Law, where he was a member of the New York University Law Review. He graduated magna cum laude in 1997 with a Juris Doctor degree and delivered the student address at Convocation.[9][10]
Upon graduating from law school, Jeffries became a law clerk for Judge Harold Baer Jr. of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.[11]
From 1998 to 2004, Jeffries was in private practice at the law firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison. In 2004, he became a corporate litigator for television companies Viacom and CBS, where among other matters he worked on the Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show controversy.[12][13] During Jeffries's time at Paul, Weiss, he also served as director of intergovernmental affairs for the New York State Chapter of the National Association of Minority Contractors (construction contractors) and as the president of Black Attorneys for Progress.[14][15]
Elections
New York State Assembly
In 2000, while a lawyer at Paul Weiss, Jeffries challenged incumbent Assemblyman Roger Green in the Democratic primary. He criticized Green for inattentiveness to his constituents' needs and preoccupation with pursuing higher office after the incumbent had run for New York City Public Advocate in 1997 and had spoken of his plans to run for Congress upon the retirement of Edolphus Towns.[115][116] Jeffries lost the primary, 59% to 41%,[117][118] but remained on the Independence Party line in the general election, receiving 7% of the vote to Green's 90%.[119]
During post-census redistricting, Jeffries's home was drawn one block outside of Green's Assembly district as Prospect Heights was removed from the district. Jeffries was still legally permitted to run in the district for the 2002 cycle, as state law requires only that a candidate live in the same county as a district they seek in the first election after a redistricting, but this complicated his path and left Jeffries unable to challenge Green in the 2004 Democratic primary.[120] Green claimed he did not know where Jeffries lived.[118][121][122][123] Jeffries lost the 2002 primary, 52% to 38%.[124][125] Interviewed later about the redistricting, Jeffries said, "Brooklyn politics can be pretty rough, but that move was gangsta."[126]
The 2002 redistricting left Jeffries unable to challenge Green in the 2004 Democratic primary, which took place after Sheldon Silver and Democratic leadership forced Green to resign after he pleaded guilty to billing the state for false travel expenses. Green was renominated unopposed.[120][127]
In 2006, Green retired from the Assembly to run for the U.S. House from New York's 10th congressional district against incumbent U.S. Representative Ed Towns. Jeffries ran for the 57th district again and won the Democratic primary, defeating Bill Batson and Freddie Hamilton with 64% of the vote.[128][129][130] In the general election, he handily defeated Republican nominee Henry Weinstein.[131]
Jeffries was reelected in 2008, defeating Republican nominee Charles Brickhouse with 98% of the vote.[132] In 2010 he was reelected to a third term, easily defeating Republican nominee Frank Voyticky.[133]
Personal life
Jeffries is married to Kennisandra Arciniegas-Jeffries, a social worker with 1199 SEIU's Benefit Fund. They have two sons and live in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn.[9][156]
Jeffries is a Baptist.[157]
Jeffries's younger brother, Hasan Kwame Jeffries, is an associate professor of history at Ohio State University[158] and the author of Bloody Lowndes: Civil Rights and Black Power in Alabama's Black Belt.[159]
Hakeem and Hasan are the nephews of Leonard Jeffries, a former professor at City College of New York.[156][160] While in college, Hakeem Jeffries wrote an editorial defending his uncle and Louis Farrakhan when his uncle was invited to speak at Binghamton University.[160][161] He has said he only has a "vague" recollection of the events. His spokesperson said, "Leader Jeffries has consistently been clear that he does not share the controversial views espoused by his uncle over thirty years ago."[160]