The Cradle
House Democrats are facing a wave of calls and emails urging them not to elect Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries as House speaker following the party’s landslide victory in Tuesday’s elections, Axios reported.
Several lawmakers reported receiving hundreds of calls, with one describing the issue as their office’s top concern. The backlash reflects growing frustration among Democratic voters with party leadership, particularly Jeffries’ ties to pro-Israel organizations and corporate political action committees.
Some callers are pushing for Rep. Jamie Raskin, a prominent progressive Democrat, to replace Jeffries, although Raskin has expressed no interest in challenging him.
A Change.org petition opposing Jeffries had gathered nearly 900,000 signatures by Friday, amplified in part by actor Mark Ruffalo’s call for “a new speaker.” Meanwhile, incoming Ohio Democrat Don Leonard said he would be “shopping for a new leader” if Jeffries refused to change his pro-Israel position.
Despite the mounting pressure, Jeffries remains widely expected to secure the speakership after Democrats won a commanding House majority of more than 250 seats. He has maintained unanimous support from his caucus in previous speaker votes, and no challenger has emerged.
However, several incoming Democrats have declined to commit to supporting him, highlighting divisions within the party ahead of its leadership elections on 18–19 November and the House speaker vote on 3 January.
