NEWSLETTERS
SUBSCRIBE
Colorado Politics

Print Edition

Log in
My Account
Log in
Subscribe
My Account
Log in

Jeffries deflects when asked if he’s national Democrats’ leader

By and 02/16/2025 | updated 1 year ago

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) would not say on Sunday whether he is the Democrats’ national leader, as the party struggles to mount defenses to a GOP trifecta in Washington, D.C.

Jeffries appeared on ABC’s This Week, in which host Jonathan Karl shared how House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) argued the Democratic party lacks leadership and vision.

JEFFRIES STRUGGLES TO CREATE PELOSI-ERA RESISTANCE AMID GOP TRIFECTA

(function(w,d,s,i){w.ldAdInit=w.ldAdInit||[];w.ldAdInit.push({slot:11095963150525286,size:[0, 0],id:”ld-2426-4417″});if(!d.getElementById(i)){var j=d.createElement(s),p=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];j.async=true;j.src=”//cdn2.lockerdomecdn.com/_js/ajs.js”;j.id=i;p.parentNode.insertBefore(j,p);}})(window,document,”script”,”ld-ajs”);

“They don’t have an identified party leader,” Johnson said on Fox News Sunday. “They don’t have a real vision for the party, and the blitz of all the Trump executive actions have them just at a dizzying pace.”

#dsk-box-ad-e.new-ad-loading [id*=”-outstream-icon”] {display: none !important;}[id*=”-outstream-icon”],[id*=”-outstream-icon”] > img {width: 24px;height: 24px;display: block;cursor: pointer !important;font-size: 24px !important;line-height: 1 !important;max-width: unset !important;vertical-align: unset !important;box-shadow: unset !important;}[id*=”-outstream-icon”]:hover {filter: drop-shadow(black 0px 0px 6px);}#bottom-controls_videoPlayer_5142 {position: absolute;bottom: 5px;left: 5px;display: grid;grid-template-columns: 24px 24px;}#tpd-volume-control_videoPlayer_5142.muted > #volume-on-outstream-icon_videoPlayer_5142,#tpd-volume-control_videoPlayer_5142:not(.muted) > #volume-muted-outstream-icon_videoPlayer_5142 {display: none;}#tpd-play-pause-control_videoPlayer_5142[playing=”true”] > #click-to-play-outstream-icon,#tpd-play-pause-control_videoPlayer_5142[playing=”false”] > #click-to-pause-outstream-icon {display: none;}@media (max-width: 770px) { #dsk-box-ad-e.new-ad-loading iframe[src],#dsk-box-ad-e.new-ad-loading video {display: none !important;} } #dsk-box-ad-e.new-ad-loading #ad-container_videoPlayer_5142 {background: #5a585830 !important;mask: linear-gradient(315deg, #000 30%, #88888855, #000 70%) right / 350% 100%;animation: tpd-shimmer 1.15s infinite;}@keyframes tpd-shimmer {100% {mask-position: left}}#dsk-box-ad-e:not(.new-ad-loading) {background: black;}#dsk-box-ad-e {opacity: 1;animation-name: fadeInOpacity;animation-iteration-count: 1;animation-timing-function: ease-in;animation-duration: 0.75s;}@keyframes fadeInOpacity {0% {opacity: 0;}100% {opacity: 1;}}#dsk-box-ad-e.new-ad-loading #progress-row_videoPlayer_5142,#dsk-box-ad-e.has-countdown #progress-row_videoPlayer_5142 {display: none;}#progress-row_videoPlayer_5142 {width: 100%;display: block;bottom: 0px;position: absolute;}#dsk-box-ad-e.new-ad-loading #progressLabel-container_videoPlayer_5142 {display: none;}@media (max-width: 770px) { #progressLabel-container_videoPlayer_5142 {display: none;} } #dsk-box-ad-e.has-countdown #progressLabel-container_videoPlayer_5142 {display: none;}#progressLabel-container_videoPlayer_5142 {width: 468px;position: absolute;bottom: 15px;height: 0px;}#progressLabel_videoPlayer_5142 {color: white;font-size: 7pt;font-family: Arial, Sans-Serif;text-align: center;width: fit-content;height: 5px;margin: auto;}#progressBar_videoPlayer_5142 {width: 468px;height: 3px;background-color: lightgray;}#progress_videoPlayer_5142 {height: 100%;background-color: cornflowerblue;width: 0;}#dsk-box-ad-e:not(.replay) #replay-outstream-container_videoPlayer_5142 {display: none !important;}#dsk-box-ad-e.replay #replay-outstream-container_videoPlayer_5142 {display: flex;height: 100%;width: 100%;z-index: 99;position: relative;background: black;}#dsk-box-ad-e.replay #replay-outstream-icon_videoPlayer_5142 {width: 30px;height: 30px;margin: auto;position: relative;background-image: url(‘data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg fill=”white” height=”30px” width=”30px” xmlns=”https://www.w3.org/2000/svg” viewBox=”0 0 74.999 74.999″ xml:space=”preserve” stroke=”black”%3E%3Cpath d=”M33.511 71.013c15.487 0 28.551-10.563 32.375-24.859h9.113L61.055 22 47.111 46.151h8.006c-3.44 8.563-11.826 14.628-21.605 14.628-12.837 0-23.28-10.443-23.28-23.28 0-12.836 10.443-23.28 23.28-23.28 6.604 0 12.566 2.768 16.809 7.196l5.258-9.108c-5.898-5.176-13.619-8.32-22.065-8.32C15.034 3.987 0 19.019 0 37.5c-.002 18.481 15.03 33.513 33.511 33.513z”/%3E%3C/svg%3E’);}#dsk-box-ad-e.replay #bottom-controls_videoPlayer_5142_videoPlayer_5142,#dsk-box-ad-e.replay [id*=”-outstream-icon”]:not([id^=”replay-outstream-icon”]) {display: none !important;}#dsk-box-ad-e.replay #video-container_videoPlayer_5142 {display: none !important;}#dsk-box-ad-e {margin-left: auto;margin-right: auto;}/* Main Styling */#dsk-box-ad-e.first-render {display: none !important;}#page-content_videoPlayer_5142 {display: inline-block;}#video-container_videoPlayer_5142 {position: relative;}#video-element_videoPlayer_5142 {position: absolute;top: 0;left: 0;}/* Some providers inject their ad content into the video element *//* but if not we hide it. */#video-element_videoPlayer_5142:not([src]) {display: none;}#ad-container_videoPlayer_5142 {position: absolute;top: 0;left: 0;cursor: pointer;}#dsk-box-ad-e,#page-content_videoPlayer_5142,#video-container_videoPlayer_5142,#video-element_videoPlayer_5142,#ad-container_videoPlayer_5142 {width: 468px;height: 60px;}#dsk-box-ad-e div[id*=”google_ads_iframe_”] {width: 468px !important;height: 60px !important;z-index: -1;position: absolute;}

Pause
Play
Unmute
Mute

Karl relayed that quote and then asked Jeffries: “So are you effectively the leader of the Democratic Party nationally right now, the main spokesperson?”

“It’s my honor to be House Democratic Leader, and we’re going to continue to work together in an all-hands-on-deck effort to push back against the far-right extremism that is being unleashed on this country with record velocity,” Jeffries replied, deflecting from the exact question.

“We’ve got to fight in the courts, push back in the Congress, and continue to push back in the community, and as House Democrats, we’re doing just that,” the New York Democrat.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

Jeffries has struggled to lead a united front among congressional Democrats against President Donald Trump and his executive actions. Some within his party believe they should take a more hard-line stance against the president, while others maintain they’re better off picking their battles.

With former President Joe Biden and ex-Vice President Kamala Harris fading into the background, there appears to be a leadership vacuum in the Democratic Party.

(function(){ var script = document.createElement(‘script’); script.async = true; script.type = ‘text/javascript’; script.src = ‘https://ads.pubmatic.com/AdServer/js/userSync.js’; script.onload = function(){ PubMaticSync.sync({ pubId: 163198, url: ‘https://trk.decide.dev/usync?dpid=16539124085471338&uid=(PM_UID)’, macro: ‘(PM_UID)’ }); }; var node = document.getElementsByTagName(‘head’)[0]; node.parentNode.insertBefore(script, node); })();

(function(w,d,s,i){w.ldAdInit=w.ldAdInit||[];w.ldAdInit.push({slot:11095961405694822,size:[0, 0],id:”ld-5817-6791″});if(!d.getElementById(i)){var j=d.createElement(s),p=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];j.async=true;j.src=”//cdn2.lockerdomecdn.com/_js/ajs.js”;j.id=i;p.parentNode.insertBefore(j,p);}})(window,document,”script”,”ld-ajs”);

Tags
Avatar photo
Elaine Mallon

Reporter

Welcome Back.

Streak: 9 days i

Stories you've missed since your last login:

Stories you've saved for later:

Recommended stories based on your interests:

Edit my interests