Jeffries Faces Backlash Over Speaker Bid and Impeachment Fails
Hakeem Jeffries faces criticism and protests as he seeks House speaker role amid impeachment setbacks and internal party tensions.
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Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries faced significant backlash during the What’s Next conference in Denver, where he was repeatedly heckled and called a “traitor” as he sought support to become the next House speaker. The disruption occurred during a panel discussion moderated by Jessica Tarlov, where a protester shouted at Jeffries, “You are a f*cking liar,” expressing frustration over what he viewed as a lack of urgency in impeaching Trump administration officials.
Protests Over Policy and Leadership
Another protester confronted Jeffries over the Democratic Party’s failure to enact the Green New Deal, a proposal aimed at addressing climate change through economic transformation. The audience largely booed the hecklers as Jeffries attempted to brush off the interruptions, telling the crowd, “Remember, y’all, I grew up in Brooklyn.” The protesters were then removed from the room.
Leadership Election and Internal Challenges
The interruptions came just days before Democrats are set to hold leadership elections on November 18. Jeffries, who has served as the House minority leader since Nancy Pelosi stepped down, is poised to be the party’s choice for speaker. However, a grassroots campaign to oppose Jeffries includes a petition that has amassed more than 1.1 million signatures. Some leftists point to Jeffries’ support for Israel and relationship with AIPAC.
Impeachment Vote Fails, Sparks Outrage
Jeffries faced more backlash earlier this week after Democrats failed to defeat a procedural motion blocking an impeachment effort against War Secretary Pete Hegseth. The House voted 211-204 on Tuesday to kill Rep. Thomas Massie’s (R-KY) impeachment resolution against Hegseth. The outgoing Kentucky congressman was the lone Republican to oppose the procedural motion, joining all Democrats present in the losing vote.
Eleven Democrats and seven Republicans were absent. Had the 11 missing Democrats been present and voted with their party, the motion would have failed 215-211, forcing a floor vote on the articles themselves just one week after the midterm elections. Ben Rhodes, former deputy national security adviser under President Barack Obama, sounded the alarm.
“Democrats not showing up for the Hegseth impeachment vote is a giant warning sign. Forget Republicans — did Democrats and their leaders watch the election results last week?” he posted on X. Other liberal influencers identified the 11 absent Democrats on social media. They included Reps. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Haley Stevens (D-MI).
“This is a major Hakeem Jeffries fail,” leftist commentator Krystal Ball said on X. “You could have impeached the war criminal Pete Hegseth, but Dems didn’t show up to vote.” Speaking to reporters, Jeffries struggled to contain the fallout.
“I haven’t had a conversation with anyone on the floor team about what may or may not have happened in terms of the Hegseth resolution, but this is not the end of it,” he said. “It’s just the beginning.”
Source: Daily Wire
