Nia-Malika Henderson, Columnist

Hakeem Jeffries Needs to Get It Together

Once known as the Barack of Brooklyn, the House minority leader has stumbled to craft a path for Congressional Democrats.

February 21, 2025 at 10:00 AM UTC

Corrected

February 21, 2025 at 6:31 PM UTC

By Nia-Malika Henderson

Nia-Malika Henderson is a politics and policy columnist for Bloomberg Opinion. A former senior political reporter for CNN and the Washington Post, she has covered politics and campaigns for almost two decades.

Not off to a great start.
Photographer: Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images

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On paper, it would seem that House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries was made for this moment. He hails from Brooklyn, where local politics is a blood sport, and he is at home in the worlds of big law, Biggie Smalls and the Baptist church. Yet, Jeffries, 54, has so far been underwhelming and ineffectual as caucus leader. An acolyte of former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, Jeffries has yet to fill her shoes as the fierce face of the opposition party with a compelling story to tell.

He has appeared overly-scripted, cautious and out-matched.