So I might be a little faster on certain things, about willing to do certain things, and I think he’s bringing his conference along.”īut bigger tests loom for Jeffries, along with potentially more influence.Īs McCarthy wrestles with his slim, unruly majority, Democratic support may again be needed to approve must-pass appropriations, agriculture, and defense bills later this year. “He’s new to being the leader right? And I’ve been in leadership a little longer. He will listen, right? And you can tell he’s sitting and he’s thinking,” McCarthy said. And I think that many of them appreciate that.” “What I hear from rank-and-file Democrats is that he is a much more engaging leader and less of a dictator. Garret Graves (R-La.), a close McCarthy ally who helped negotiate the debt deal, drew a biting contrast to Pelosi. “He spends a lot of time listening to where the members are, what they’re feeling, what they’re hearing from their constituents and it’s why he has been so effective.” Steve Horsford (D-Nev.), chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus. “First and foremost, Leader Jeffries is a listener,” said Rep. In conversations across the party’s ideological, geographical and demographic spectrum, the word “listener” came up nearly every time. Six months into his tenure, interviews with more than a dozen House Democrats depict Jeffries not as a leader bending the caucus to his will, but as one seeking threads of consensus. “His calm sense that we have a plan, that it’s under control, that people shouldn’t overreact, they should just be steady.” She’s never heard Jeffries raise his voice. Annie Kuster (D-N.H.), chair of the center-left New Democrats. “What stands out is projecting calm,” said Rep. Jeffries’ allies say the fight showed the steady demeanor and bridge-building approach of the newest, least experienced leader in Congress. The moment in late May was the culmination of the first major challenge Jeffries, 52, faced as successor to House Democrats’ longtime power center, former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) And it was a rare chance to exert influence in a chamber where the majority typically runs roughshod. “I would have done the same thing.” Democrats, McCarthy added, “over-performed” their expected vote count after negotiations between himself and President Joe Biden. “Well played,” House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) recounted in a recent interview. The wait forced Republicans to put up votes for the deal, while also making clear that Democrats were the ones providing the majority of the muscle to avert a potentially disastrous default. It signaled to scores of fellow Democrats to approach the dais and turn in their green voting cards, providing the “ayes” to push a compromise forward. Standing on the House floor, the minority leader from New York silently held up a green card. Congress was careening toward the debt ceiling deadline and a key procedural vote was short on support, when Rep.
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