Hakeem Jeffries
U.S. Representative from NY, District 8
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Biography
Hakeem Jeffries is a Democrat serving as House Minority Leader since 2022, the first African American to lead a party caucus in either chamber of Congress, representing New York's 8th District.
Hakeem Sekou Jeffries, the U.S. Representative for New York's 8th Congressional District, serves as House Minority Leader, making him the first African American to lead a party caucus in either chamber of Congress. A Democrat first elected in 2012, he is now in his seventh term representing a district spanning Brooklyn and Queens. Educated at Binghamton University, Georgetown University, and New York University School of Law, Jeffries practiced law at Paul, Weiss and served in the New York State Assembly before his congressional election. He previously chaired the House Democratic Caucus and served as a House impeachment manager during the Trump impeachment trial. Elected House Democratic Leader in November 2022 after Nancy Pelosi's retirement, Jeffries has worked to rebuild the Democratic caucus and has initiated new initiatives including a House Democratic Commission on AI and the Innovation Economy launched in 2026.