Hakeem Sekou Jeffries is an American politician and attorney who has been House Minority Leader and leader of the House Democratic Caucus in the US House of Representatives since 2023.
44 Facts About Hakeem Jeffries
2.
Hakeem Jeffries chaired the House Democratic Caucus from 2019 to 2023 and in November 2022 was elected caucus leader unopposed, succeeding Nancy Pelosi.
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Hakeem Jeffries grew up in Crown Heights, Brooklyn and his heritage traces back to Virginia, Georgia, Maryland, and Cape Verde.
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Hakeem Jeffries then studied political science at Binghamton University, graduating in 1992 with a Bachelor of Arts degree with honors.
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Hakeem Jeffries continued his education at Georgetown University's McCourt School of Public Policy, earning a Master of Public Policy degree in 1994.
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Hakeem Jeffries then attended New York University School of Law, where he was a member of the New York University Law Review.
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Hakeem Jeffries graduated in 1997 with a Juris Doctor degree.
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In 2000, Hakeem Jeffries challenged incumbent Assemblyman Roger Green in the Democratic primary, criticizing Green for inattentiveness to his constituents' needs and preoccupation with pursuing higher office.
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Hakeem Jeffries contended that his point was that voters should focus on the issues rather than the age or religion of the candidates.
10.
Hakeem Jeffries was still legally permitted to run in the district for the 2002 cycle, as state law requires only that a candidate to live in the same county as a district they seek in the first election after a redistricting, but this complicated his path.
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Hakeem Jeffries called the redrawing of the district a "desperate act by a career politician trying to save his government job".
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Hakeem Jeffries was later forced to admit that a political club he had founded, Brooklyn Freedom Democratic Association, had been behind three anonymous mail pieces sent during the last week of the election, two of which attacked Green for inaction as a legislator, and a third of which falsely implied that presumptive Democratic gubernatorial nominee Carl McCall supported Hakeem Jeffries when he had in fact endorsed Green.
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Hakeem Jeffries announced in January 2012 that he would give up his Assembly seat to run for the US House from.
14.
On June 11,2012, former Mayor Ed Koch, Congressman Jerrold Nadler, Councilman David Greenfield, and Assemblyman Dov Hikind gathered with several other elected officials to support Hakeem Jeffries and denounce Barron.
15.
Green Party candidate Colin Beavan called on Hakeem Jeffries to "get the money out of politics", noting that as of his March 2012 filing, "he had received about $180,000, or 35 percent of his funds, from Wall Street bankers and their lawyers".
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Beavan added that Hakeem Jeffries gets many campaign donations from charter school backers and hedge fund managers.
17.
On January 3,2013, Hakeem Jeffries was sworn in to the 113th Congress.
18.
In 2015, Hakeem Jeffries led the effort to pass The Slain Officer Family Support Act, which extended the tax deadline for people making donations to organizations supporting the families of deceased NYPD Detectives Wenjian Liu and Rafael Ramos.
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The families of the officers, who had been killed in their patrol car on December 20,2014, in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Hakeem Jeffries's district, had been the recipients of charitable fundraising.
20.
On November 28,2018, Hakeem Jeffries defeated California Congresswoman Barbara Lee to become chair of the House Democratic Caucus.
21.
Hakeem Jeffries's term began when the new Congress was sworn in on January 3,2019.
22.
On January 15,2020, Hakeem Jeffries was selected as one of seven House managers presenting the impeachment case against Trump during his trial before the United States Senate.
23.
On January 22,2020, a protester in the Senate gallery interrupted Hakeem Jeffries by yelling comments at the senators seated a floor below.
24.
When Kevin McCarthy was elected Speaker, Hakeem Jeffries handed him the gavel after a 15-minute speech.
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Since taking federal office, Hakeem Jeffries has been called "a rising star".
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Hakeem Jeffries has been appointed to the House Judiciary Committee Task Force on Over Criminalization, and was appointed the whip of the Congressional Black Caucus.
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Hakeem Jeffries plays in the infield on the Congressional Baseball Team.
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Since 2006, Hakeem Jeffries has been a cautious supporter of Bruce Ratner's controversial Atlantic Yards project.
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Hakeem Jeffries has opposed the Keystone XL pipeline, but voted against an amendment that would have restricted sales of oil transported on the pipeline to within the United States.
30.
Hakeem Jeffries voted to impeach President Donald Trump during both his first and second impeachments in the House.
31.
Hakeem Jeffries repeatedly called Trump's presidency "illegitimate" due to the Russian interference in the 2016 United States presidential election.
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Hakeem Jeffries is a firm supporter of Israel's right to exist but not necessarily its policies.
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Hakeem Jeffries has been called "one of the most pro-Israel Democrats in the House".
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In 2007, while still in his first term in the State Assembly, Hakeem Jeffries endorsed and supported Barack Obama, and was among Obama's earliest supporters in Hillary Clinton's home state.
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The next year, Hakeem Jeffries backed Laurie Cumbo in the hotly contested race for Brooklyn's 35th city council seat vacated by Tish James, who won the citywide race for Public Advocate, with Hakeem Jeffries's endorsement.
36.
In 2013, Hakeem Jeffries endorsed Kenneth Thompson in the race for Brooklyn District Attorney, the seat held since 1990 by Charles Hynes, whose office was facing deep criticism for wrongful convictions and botched prosecutions.
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Hakeem Jeffries had met Thompson while interning at the US Attorney's Office for the Eastern District in the 1990s, when Thompson was a prosecutor.
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Hakeem Jeffries noted he was offended by Bill de Blasio's ad featuring stop and frisk claiming himself as the only candidate who would address, modify or reform stop and frisk:.
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Hakeem Jeffries said it made sense for Thompson, because he was running to be the city's top executive, not to support them.
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In that race, as in several others since 2012, Hakeem Jeffries has endorsed opponents of candidates endorsed by Eric Adams, which has created the perception of a rivalry between them.
41.
Hakeem Jeffries said he had "no interest" and wished to remain an effective member of Congress.
42.
In June 2020, after 31-year incumbent Representative Eliot Engel faced backlash for "an inartful statement", Hakeem Jeffries threw his full support behind Engel 10 days before the 2020 New York Democratic primaries.
43.
Hakeem Jeffries is married to Kennisandra Arciniegas-Hakeem Jeffries, a social worker with 1199 SEIU's Benefit Fund.
44.
Hakeem Jeffries's younger brother, Hasan Kwame Hakeem Jeffries, is an associate professor of history at Ohio State University and the author of Bloody Lowndes: Civil Rights and Black Power in Alabama's Black Belt.