Hakeem Jeffries

**Hakeem Sekou Jeffries** (; born August 4, 1970) is an American politician. He is the U.S. Representative for New York's 8th congressional district since 2013. He is a member of the Democratic Party. In 2023, he became the House Minority Leader, the first African-American to hold this position or to be a congressional party leader.

## Personal life

Jeffries was born in Brooklyn, New York City. He studied at Binghamton University, Georgetown University and New York University. In 1997, he married Kennisandra Arciniegas. They have two children.

## Political career

Jeffries was elected and reelected, serving in the New York State Assembly for a Brooklyn district from 2007 to 2012. During this time, he introduced over 70 bills.

On November 28, 2018, Jeffries defeated California Congresswoman Barbara Lee to become chair of the House Democratic Caucus. His term began when the new Congress was sworn in on January 3, 2019.

On November 30, 2022, Jeffries was elected to lead the Democratic Party caucus in the House of Representatives in 2023, replacing Nancy Pelosi.

When Kevin McCarthy was elected Speaker, Jeffries handed him the gavel after a 15-minute speech. The speech was called the "ABCs of Democracy". The video of Jeffries's alphabet speech has been viewed over 2.4 million times on social media alone.

## Other websites

- Congressman Hakeem Jeffries official U.S. House website
- Hakeem Jeffries for Congress official campaign website
- Hakeem Jeffries wiki quotes

## Infobox (officeholder)

- **name**: Hakeem Jeffries
- **image**: Rep-Hakeem-Jeffries-Official-Portrait.jpg
- **order**: Party leaders of the United States House of Representatives, House Minority Leader
- **term start**: January 3, 2023
- **deputy**: Katherine Clark
- **predecessor**: Kevin McCarthy
- **office1**: House Democratic Caucus#Leaders of the House Democratic Caucus, Leader of the House Democratic Caucus
- **term start1**: January 3, 2023
- **deputy1**: Katherine Clark
- **predecessor1**: Nancy Pelosi
- **office2**: Democratic Caucus Chairman of the United States House of Representatives, Chair of the House Democratic Caucus
- **leader2**: Nancy Pelosi
- **term start2**: January 3, 2019
- **term end2**: January 3, 2023
- **predecessor2**: Joe Crowley
- **successor2**: Pete Aguilar
- **office3**: House Democratic Caucus, Co-Chair of the House Democratic Policy and Communications Committee
- **leader3**: Nancy Pelosi
- **alongside3**: Cheri Bustos and David Cicilline
- **term start3**: January 3, 2017
- **term end3**: January 3, 2019
- **predecessor3**: Steve Israel (Chair)
- **successor3**: Matt Cartwright
Debbie Dingell
Ted Lieu
- **state4**: New York (state), New York
- **term start4**: January 3, 2013
- **predecessor4**: Edolphus Towns (Redistricting)
- **state assembly5**: New York
- **district5**: 57th
- **term start5**: January 1, 2007
- **term end5**: December 31, 2012
- **predecessor5**: Roger L. Green, Roger Green
- **successor5**: Walter T. Mosley, Walter Mosley
- **birth name**: Hakeem Sekou Jeffries
- **birth place**: Brooklyn, New York (state), New York, U.S.
- **party**: Democratic Party (United States), Democratic
- **spouse**: Kennisandra Arciniegas
- **children**: 2
- **relatives**: Leonard Jeffries (uncle)