Four things to know about Hakeem Jeffries
STORY: "Good afternoon everyone, it's an honor, to stand before you today. As the incoming house democratic leader."
Who is Hakeem Jeffries?
The 52-year-old Brooklyn native began his career as a lawyer
before being elected to the New York state legislature
In office, he made criminal justice reform one of his top legislative priorities
Jeffries was first elected to Congress in 2012
He played a leading role in passing the bipartisan First Step Act of 2018
a law that reduces sentences for some drug crimes
He also worked on legislation to bar police 'chokeholds' and certain other tactics
following the 2020 murder of George Floyd, who was Black
"We need to deal with systemic racism in America and we can start with the cancer of police brutality. That is what the George Floyd Justice in Policing Bill is all about."
He has been a leader in the Congressional Black Caucus
and a member of the left-leaning Congressional Progressive Caucus
In 2020, he acted as a prosecutor for House Democrats
outlining the case against former President Donald Trump
in the first of the two Senate impeachment trials
"There is a toxic mess at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue and I humbly suggest that it's our collective job, on behalf of the American people to try to clean it up. President Trump tried to cheat, he got caught, and then he worked hard to cover it up."