Hakeem Jeffries isn't speaker yet, but the Democrat may be the most powerful person in Congress https://t.co/c1qMd2rQjt
— The Associated Press (@AP) May 2, 2024
Read the whole thing — Per the Associated Press, “Hakeem Jeffries isn’t speaker yet, but the Democrat may be the most powerful person in Congress”:
… The minority leader of the House Democrats, it was Jeffries who provided the votes needed to keep the government running despite opposition from House Republicans to prevent a federal shutdown.
Jeffries who made sure Democrats delivered the tally to send $95 billion foreign aid to Ukraine and other U.S. allies.
And Jeffries who, with the full force of House Democratic leadership behind him, decided this week his party would help Speaker Mike Johnson stay on the job rather than be ousted by far-right Republicans led by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene…
The decision by Jeffries and the House Democratic leadership team to lend their votes to stop Johnson’s ouster provides a powerful inflection point in what has been a long political season of dysfunction, stalemate and chaos in Congress.
By declaring enough is enough, that it’s time to “turn the page” on the Republican tumult, the Democratic leader is flexing his power in a very public and timely way, an attempt to show lawmakers, and anyone else watching in dismay at the broken Congress, that there can be an alternative approach to governing…
In the House, the minority leader is often seen as the speaker-in-waiting, the highest-ranking official of the party that’s out of power, biding their time in hopes of regaining the majority — and with it, the speaker’s gavel — in the next election. Elected by their own party, it’s a job without much formal underpinning.
But in Jeffries’ case, the minority leader position has come with enormous power, filling the political void left by the actual speaker, Johnson, who commands a fragile, thread-thin Republican majority and is constantly under threat from far-right provocateurs that the GOP speaker cannot fully control.
“He’s operating as a shadow speaker on all the important votes,” said Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus…
As Johnson sidles up to Donald Trump, receiving the presumed Republican presidential nominee’s nod of support, it is Jeffries who holds what Democratic Rep. Nancy Pelosi, the speaker emerita, has referred to as “currency of the realm” — votes — that are required in the House to get any agenda over the finish line.
Pelosi said in an interview that Jeffries as the minority leader has “always had leverage” because of the slim House majority.
“But it’s a question of him showing that he’s willing to use it,” she said.
Jeffries has been “masterful,” she said, at securing Democratic priorities, notably humanitarian assistance in the foreign aid package that Republicans initially opposed.
But Pelosi disagreed with the idea that Democrats lending support to Johnson at this juncture creates some sort of new coalition era of U.S. politics…
Ahead of the November election, the two parties are in a fight for political survival to control the narrowly divided House, and Jeffries would most certainly face his own challenges leading Democrats if they were to gain the majority, splintered over many key issues.
But Jeffries and Johnson have both been in a cross-country sprint, raising money and enthusiasm for their own party candidates ahead of November — the Republican speaker trying to keep his job, the Democratic leader waiting to take it on.
.@NorahODonnell profiles Congressman Hakeem Jeffries, the Democratic leader in the U.S. House of Representatives, who, depending on the November elections, might become the first-ever Black speaker of the House. 60 Minutes, Sunday. https://t.co/mEN4CWeXMW pic.twitter.com/b0pOE8Mepr
— 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) May 2, 2024
“Has Speaker Johnson asked for your help?”
Lol
Mike knows who is in charge and it’s Hakeem Jeffries
Future Speaker Bae has a Congress to run and he’s not going to stand for the GOP making a mess in his House 🔥 pic.twitter.com/nLGeL35Ezc
— Qondi (@QondiNtini) May 3, 2024
Rep. @ericswalwell: Republicans just want chaos. Hakeem Jeffries has essentially been the functional speaker. He has kept us united and has collaborated to get things done. MAGA Republicans would rather have fame than help the people they represent pic.twitter.com/zDvNXxVIEB
— DNC War Room (@DNCWarRoom) May 2, 2024
Baud
Just wait until Jeffries is actually the Speaker.
lowtechcyclist
Looking forward to that, but that’s still eight months away. And shit still needs to get done in the meantime.
ETA:
That’s right – all it is, is the recognition on the part of Jeffries and his caucus that another round of spending weeks with the House having no Speaker, and then having another neophyte Speaker who might well be even harder to work with than Moses Johnson has been so far, would be very bad for the country.
Baud
OzarkHillbilly
@Baud: Jack Booted Thugs!
lowtechcyclist
Biden’s people have made our government work better in so many ways, large and small. He really has been the best President of my lifetime. Looking forward to seeing what he can do with another four years, and with any luck a Democratic Congress again.
lowtechcyclist
Don’t crush those dwarves, hand me the pliers!
Nah, let’s just crush ’em.
mrmoshpotato
I see them more as GOP Assclowns.
David 🌈 ☘The Establishment☘🌈 Koch
You know when you get old in life
things get taken from you.
That’s, that’s part of life.
But,
you only learn that when you start losing stuff.
You find out that life is just a game of inches.
So is politics.
Because in either game
life or politics
the margin for error is so small.
I mean
one half step too late or to early
you don’t quite make it.
One half second too slow or too fast
and you don’t quite catch it.
The inches we need are everywhere around us.
On this team, we fight for that inch
On this team, we tear ourselves, and everyone around us
to pieces for that inch.
We CLAW with our finger nails for that inch.
Cause we know
when we add up all those inches
that’s going to make the fucking difference
between LIVING and DYING
between Democrats and Republicans
Geminid
Two interesting guests for this Sunday’s Face the Nation, CBS: Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman and California Rep. Ro Khanna.
Also appearing: Jordan’s Queen Rania, and an obscure Governor from South Dakota who is kicking off a book tour.
David 🌈 ☘The Establishment☘🌈 Koch
They’re so married to this false narrative. Pelosi never lost a vote. Neither will Jeffries.
lowtechcyclist
@Geminid:
Yeah, that book tour should be a lot of fun. With any luck, she’ll be greeted by crowds of angry dog lovers at every stop.
Jeffro
@Geminid: wait…actual Democrats? On a Sunday show??
wild times we live in!
Freemark
@David 🌈 ☘The Establishment☘🌈 Koch: As much as people here have often complained against ‘the squad’ they have come through on close votes when needed. Pelosi dealt well with them and so will Jeffries.
TBone
Couldn’t love her more, I thought. I was wrong!
Betty Cracker
@Geminid: Just read about Noem’s book tour launch on CBS. According to Politico, there are other controversies arising from the book to explore besides the governor’s habit of summarily executing pets. She lied about staring down Kim Jong Un while she was in Congress, which is a weird thing to lie about since it’s so easily disproven. Noem also claimed Nikki Haley threatened her, though the conversation she recounts contains no threats. I sure hope these controversies destroy Noem politically. She’s a dangerous kook.
lowtechcyclist
@David 🌈 ☘The Establishment☘🌈 Koch:
Other than perhaps Israel/Gaza, I can’t think of much that divides the Democrats – this is a party that’s very unified on practically everything important. And the House Democratic caucus really doesn’t have anyone who will sink a bill just to be a purity pony. (Neither will the Senate caucus if they can hold onto it.)
The media really is wedded to “Democrats in disarray” as a narrative. I wonder how many years (decades?) it will take for them to catch on that things have changed.
They need to stop reporting on what’s in their heads, and see what’s going on in real life.
Princess
@Freemark: I don’t even know how meaningful it is any more to talk about the “squad” as a thing. Ayanna Presley seems to have forged her own path, and so has AOC. There’s a much larger than 4 block of more leftish votes and they work together on issues, but the whole four-woman original squad seems to have fractured in that they no longer in particular seem to speak as one.
Geminid
@David 🌈 ☘The Establishment☘🌈 Koch: Also, House Democrats are not splintered over that many issues. Right now, Gaza is the big one but so far Jeffries and the rest have kept this from becoming a bitter intra-caucus fight.
It probably helps that Jeffries, Clark and Aguilar have endorsed every caucus member in tbeir primaries, without exception. There are divisive primary battles, such as between Rep. Cori and Wesley Bell in MO CD1 and between Rep. Jamaal Bowman and George Latimer in NY16, but leadership is trying to limit damage nationally.
I guess immigration and the border are also potential points of conflict, but I don’t see other substantial ones.
OzarkHillbilly
It’s SOP in today’s GOP.
Baud
@Betty Cracker:
@OzarkHillbilly:
Poor woman. She suffers from Pencitis.
Spanky
@Betty Cracker: I had to go look on Amazon to see who the publisher was. It’s independently published, so I guess all these factoids are truly self-inflicted.
There are no reader reviews yet. Can’t wait to see what they’ll say!
stinger
I was dreading the departure from leadership of Ms. Smash, but Jeffries has proven to be just as knowledgeable, just as canny, and just as tough.
OzarkHillbilly
@Baud: Don’t worry, it’s all fake news: Kristi Noem calls dog shooting report ‘fake news’ but insists on need to kill animal
Geminid
@Betty Cracker: Noem’s story sounds like the beginning of a Stephen King novel: The Gravel Pit.
More seriously, I wonder if there will be demonstrations outside (or inside) her book signings. Actually, I’d bet on it, and unlike the Gaza demonstrations, this blog will be united in solidarity with tbe protesters.
RevRick
@David 🌈 ☘The Establishment☘🌈 Koch: The reason for this is that Democrats are all swimming in the same direction. They only disagree about how far they should go at the present time.
The GOP, on the other hand, is split between complete and utter nihilists out to destroy, and those, especially in Biden districts, who want to avoid the taint.
Betty Cracker
@Geminid: LMAO, yep! I expect that too. ;-)
Dorothy A. Winsor
Teen Vogue continues to impress:
Campus Cancel Culture Freakouts Obscure the Power of University Boards
https://www.teenvogue.com/story/campus-cancel-culture-university-boards
MattF
@Betty Cracker: And, um, a very close friend of Corey Landowski. Which is a ‘shoots puppies in the head’ level of bad news.
ETA: Also, people who know a thing or two about goats have noted that they have very solid skulls, so she’s ignorant about farm animals, FWIW.
OzarkHillbilly
This is a John Grisham novel waiting to be written: Second Boeing whistleblower dies after short illness
Sam ought to be careful, including hiring different lawyers. Not saying they are involved, just maybe they are cursed?
comrade scotts agenda of rage
@OzarkHillbilly:
Either a Grisham novel or Putin’s Russia just using different methods of elimination.
Brit in Chicago
@Freemark: When I think about the Peolosi/Jeffries caucus what comes to mind is the elves arriving at Helm’s Deep, acting in perfect unison:
https://makeagif.com/gif/elves-arrive-at-helms-deep-the-lord-of-the-rings-the-two-towers-ERAo8R
OzarkHillbilly
@comrade scotts agenda of rage:
I like the “what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound.” Nice touch, that.
OzarkHillbilly
@Dorothy A. Winsor: Thanx for that.
Eyeroller
@Dorothy A. Winsor: That article reflects the conventional thought about university administrators, which is mostly wrong. In particular, deans don’t have enough power to be “allies” of boards of trustees. Even provosts often don’t. It comes from the presidents and the CFOs and the COOs, i.e. the ones who control the money. The biggest change at universities has been the rise of the research university. Before the 1970s, most American institutions were largely focused on teaching. Only a handful were research-driven institutions. That has changed in the past 50 or so years. That is a major factor driving the changes in faculty hiring, especially in sciences and engineering (along with the dreaded DEI–before that it was largely a good ole boys–and I mean boys–network). Guess what, researchers don’t want to teach any more than they have to. They get course release if they have grants. So people have to be hired to teach. Sometimes they are second-class faculty and sometimes they are adjuncts. Or sometimes there is just too much demand for required courses in, say, English or foreign languages, for faculty to teach even on a 3-2 schedule so there is little choice but to hire adjuncts. Faculty in non-grant fields at research universities usually do get some consideration for their scholarship and don’t usually have to teach a full course load every semester.
Ken
Chiming in with what others have said, any talk of Democratic divisions that doesn’t acknowledge the far worse Republican ones is definitely a “mote in your neighbor’s eye” situation. My immediate thought on reading “Johnson, who commands a fragile, thread-thin Republican majority” was no; he’s the nominal head of a squabbling coalition of between two and five small parties that are literally unable to pass any legislation other than performative stunts.
Ken
“Of course it’s all lies about stuff that never happened — they’re quoting my book.”
Baud
@Ken:
If Democrats debate issues among themselves, they are divided in the media’s eyes.
Barry
@lowtechcyclist: “The media really is wedded to “Democrats in disarray” as a narrative. I wonder how many years (decades?) it will take for them to catch on that things have changed.”
Ever heard of the saying that science advances one grave at a time.
IMHO that’s the *best* case scenario.
Scott
Too much talking and crowing about Jeffries. Democrats need to shut up or they will lose that leverage.
Brit in Chicago
@Ken: I’ve sometimes thought that if we chose members of the House by proportional representation rather than a first-past-the-post system then instead of the present Republican caucus we would have a number of parties in a coalition. In that case, one bloc could be peeled away to join the Democrats for a given vote, or maybe on a longer-term basis. The fact that the R’s are all members of the same caucus, and live in fear of being primaried, makes it much harder to do. But Speaker Jeffries seems to be doing amazingly well under the circs. It surely doesn’t hurt that he got to see Speaker Peolosi in action, but he is clearly a force in his own right. More power to him. (Much more come January, I hope.)
lowtechcyclist
@Barry:
Tru dat – after all, Broder’s been dead for years. Lot of good that did.
sab
@Jeffro: The Sunday shows used to host Senator Biden every week.
SFAW
@MattF:
Speaking of Noem and Lewandowski.
[Apparently, the “M/F/K” meme has been around, in different forms, for awhile. Who knew?]
Soprano2
@Geminid: I’m still gobsmacked that she thought that was a good story to tell in her book, and that her editor let it stay in.
Soprano2
@RevRick: Right now in MO the radical Freedom Caucus of Republicans is filibustering the yearly authorization of the Medicaid tax because the governor hasn’t signed the bill that would deny Medicaid money to PP, and the law putting revisions to our initiative petition process hasn’t passed. Keep in mind our whole state government is dominated by Republicans, so they are filibustering against their own party. They’re the reason the “reforms” to the initiative petition process didn’t happen last year.
brantl
I don’t know how many GOP Dwarves there are in the House right now, but I think that “Hakeem Jefferies vs the XXX GOP Dwarves” should be a rotating tag line. It should also have a baseball score style Totboard.
brantl
@David 🌈 ☘The Establishment☘🌈 Koch: Well done! It needs a driving melody, and a crescendo at the end.
Frank Wilhoit
@Baud: …by which you mean that the Press will turn upon him with orchestrated unanimity and novel violence of rhetoric.
brantl
@Betty Cracker: She’s a dangerous, self-inflated, self aggrandizing, miserable little twit.
Shalimar
@OzarkHillbilly: Shades of Charles Barkley denying a story in his own autobiography, saying the ghostwriter misquoted him.
brantl
@Barry: That’s safest for us, those are Republicans-lost-positions graves, the longer it takes for them to catch on, the better for us.
brantl
@Soprano2: Maybe her editor isn’t a Republican. But, I kid.
stinger
@Scott:
How? By whom, using what mechanism? Republican representatives? The ones who took fifteen tries to elect the previous Speaker, then after booting him went three weeks before settling on Johnson? They are going to unite somehow and yank Jeffries’ leverage away from him?
Josie
@brantl:
If the book was independently published, the editor probably left in whatever the author wanted.
piratedan
@Brit in Chicago: is there one about the lighting of the beacons?