Hakeem S. Jeffries

Hakeem Jeffries was born in Brooklyn and graduated from Midwood High School. He earned a bachelor's degree in political science from the State University of New York at Binghamton and a master's degree in public policy from Georgetown University, then earned a J.D. from New York University School of Law in 1997. He clerked for Judge Harold Baer Jr. of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, practiced law at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, and served as counsel in the litigation department of Viacom Inc. and CBS.

Jeffries served six years in the New York State Assembly before his election to Congress. He is serving his seventh term representing New York's 8th District. He is a former chair of the House Democratic Caucus and was one of seven House managers in a Senate impeachment trial of President Donald Trump.

His official biography says House Democrats elected him Democratic Leader in 2022 and again in 2024, and the House leadership page lists him in that post. The Clerk of the House records his most recent oath of office as January 3, 2025.