Updated November 14, 2024 at 15:38 PM ET
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., made history as the first Black lawmaker to lead a major party in Congress when he delivered the opening speech of the 118th Congress on Jan. 7, 2023.
That speech later became the basis of his new illustrated book, ABCs of Democracy.
The timing of the book's release is fitting as his party grapples with the 2024 election results, which saw former President Donald Trump return to the White House, Republicans retain a majority in the House, and Democrats lose control of the Senate to the GOP.
Jeffries sat down with Morning Edition host Michel Martin to discuss his book and what comes next as Democrats face a minority in both houses of Congress.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Michel Martin: I was wondering what gave you the idea to kind of riff on the alphabet as a way to conclude your opening speech?
Hakeem Jeffries: Well, it was a moment of transition, as Democrats had just lost control of the House of Representatives. And I thought it was important to make clear that, while we would always be prepared—and that's the case right now—to work with the other side of the aisle whenever and wherever possible in a bipartisan way to get things done, we would stand up for traditional American values and push back against extremism at all times. I concluded that perhaps the most accessible way to lay that out was to go through those traditional American values through the lens of the alphabet.
Martin: Would you just read a couple of pages?
Jeffries: Hopefulness over hatred, inclusion over isolation, Justice over judicial overreach, knowledge over kangaroo courts and liberty over limitation.
Martin: In the current moment, it does look as though Republicans will take the House as well as the Senate and the White House, of course. A lot of people have given their take on why this happened. What's yours?
Jeffries: It was a tough election night, and we can't sugar coat that reality, and we've got to power through it with family conversations as House Democrats, which we will do that will be candid and clear eyed and comprehensive. What happened? Why did it happen? How do we make sure we can get better results moving forward?
Martin: I get that, but what's your take on what happened? I know you have an opinion.
Jeffries: I think we all have to do a better job of meeting the needs of everyday Americans who are struggling to live paycheck to paycheck. And the high housing prices, the high food prices and the high gas prices that we've seen in America, of course, that spiked in the aftermath of the shutdown on the economy connected to the once-in-a-century pandemic, and that we are still navigating our way through to this moment, had a significant impact. And the party in power is going to receive the lion's share of responsibility for the fact that food prices, gas prices, housing prices remain high, and that the American dream for far too many people, who are either part of the middle class or who aspire to be part of the middle class, seems out of reach. That is a breakdown of what America represents. And we have to deal with it and we have to deal with it in as decisive a way possible, hopefully not as Democrats, independents or Republicans, but as Americans.
Martin: So is it that you as a Democratic Party did not know that, or is it that you as a Democratic Party did not communicate that, that you knew that?
Jeffries: Well, I think it's definitely clear that we were aware in the districts that we all represent that this was a big challenge. And I think it's fair to say, at least in terms of House Democrats, where we had 31 battleground members in the toughest seats in the country who were incumbents, we will return 27 or 28. That's 90% or so of our frontline members who weren't washed away in a wave. They are coming back.
Martin: So let's look forward. What is the way back for your side?
Jeffries: When former President Trump took office in January of 2017, he had a majority in the House of 241 Republicans, and there were only 194 Democrats. Everyone agrees that even if House Democrats fall short at this particular moment in time of getting to the 218 number, we will have at least 213 to 215 members of the House, and so that's a very different dynamic in terms of heading into a midterm election.
Martin: What could you do with those numbers that you couldn't do with 194?
Jeffries: Well, on the governing side as has been demonstrated during this Congress, where extreme MAGA Republicans who are in the majority can't point to a single thing that they have done to make life better for the American people. And Democrats, because of the closeness of the margins, have effectively governed in the majority, though we are in the minority. And the same dynamic will exist as we move forward.
Martin: Just to give an example that keeping the government open, right, preventing the government from shutting down because of the failure to pass budget bills through regular order. That would not have been accomplished without the votes of Democrats?
Jeffries: Definitively, and we can go through the list. We have avoided a government shutdown now on five different occasions so that we could fund the government in a manner that meets the health, safety, national security and economic needs of the American people because Democrats provided a majority of the votes.
Martin: Who's the standard bearer now? Who speaks for the Democrats now?
Jeffries: Well, it's going to fall to the house, it's going to fall to the Senate. It's going to fall to the governorships.
Martin: You were in striking distance of becoming the first Black speaker of the house. It's not the only thing you are, but it is certainly one thing. How are you?
Jeffries: I grew up in the cornerstone Baptist Church, and learned from an early point in time that a setback is nothing more than a set up for a comeback. And election night was certainly a setback, but it just sets us up for a comeback on behalf of the American people, staying consistent with our ideals, making sure we put working families over the well connected, and then we stand up for these traditional American values.
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