Oppose Hakeem Jeffries as Speaker of the House

I am writing to urge you to oppose Hakeem Jeffries for Speaker of the House. The Speakership is not a reward for seniority or party loyalty. It is the office that sets the House's agenda, controls its oversight power, and decides what the institution is willing to fight for. Mr. Jeffries's own record delegitimizes him as a credible contender. He has been a reluctant leader of opposition to an openly lawless administration. Pressed on accountability, he recently told MS NOW that "the American people don't want us to get even", misrepresenting the basic work of congressional oversight as vengeance. Michelle Cottle of “The New York Times” rightly assessed that Jeffries’ fatal flaw is an excess of unobjectionableness, too benign to be a convincing fighter in the Trump era. A party facing this presidential administration needs a wartime consigliere, not a caretaker. His policy record compounds the concern. He co-sponsored Medicare for All, then removed his name from the bill. He has been unreliable on labor. And he remained a consistent supporter of Israel's military campaign in Gaza as the death toll mounted — a position that has cost the party credibility with an entire generation of voters. Mr. Jeffries has also used his influence inside New York to defeat progressive candidates in primaries while boosting corporate-compromised ones. A Speaker who treats his own party's base as the enemy will not build the coalition needed to hold the House, much less deliver for working-class Americans. Democrats have just been handed a mandate to check this president. Please do not hand the gavel to someone who has spent two years declining to use it.