Hakeem Jeffries, the US House minority leader, is the first Black lawmaker to lead a party in Congress. Born on August 4, 1970, in Brooklyn, New York, Jeffries has had a distinguished career in law and politics.
Early Life and Education
Jeffries was born to Marland Jeffries, a counselor, and Laneda (Gomes) Jeffries, a social worker. He graduated from Binghamton University with a B.A. in 1992, then earned a Master’s in Public Policy from Georgetown University in 1994, and a J.D. from New York University in 1997.
Jeffries is a Baptist and has been married to Kennisandra (Archinegas) Jeffries since 1997. They have two children, Jeremiah and Joshua.
Career
Jeffries worked as a law clerk for federal district judge Harold Baer Jr. from 1997 to 1998. He then worked as an attorney at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, LLP from 1997 to 2004. In 2006, he became the assistant general counsel at CBS Broadcasting.
Jeffries was first elected to the New York State Assembly in 2006, representing the 57th District. He was reelected in 2008 and 2010. In 2013, he was elected to the US House of Representatives, representing New York’s 8th District.
In 2015, Jeffries became the whip of the Congressional Black Caucus, a position he held until 2017. In 2018, he was elected chairman of the House Democratic Caucus. In 2020, he was one of the managers of President Trump’s first Senate impeachment trial.
Leadership and Records
On November 30, 2022, Jeffries was elected as the party leader of the House Democrats, replacing Nancy Pelosi. On July 3, 2025, he set a record for the longest floor speech in modern House of Representatives history, speaking for nearly 9 hours in protest against President Trump’s domestic policy bill.
Original reporting: KRDO (Colorado Springs metro) — read the source article.
