Why the lower tier of Democratic leaders is worth watching
| Washington
Even before Wednesday鈥檚 election results were announced, House Democrats knew who their top three leaders would be. It鈥檚 the same folks who have been running things for more than a decade 鈥� Nancy Pelosi, Steny Hoyer, and James Clyburn. All pushing 80 years old, they all ran unopposed, with more than three-quarters of the Democratic caucus nominating leader Pelosi to be the next speaker of the House.
Ms. Pelosi still has to win over more supporters when the whole House votes for speaker on Jan. 3. But at some point 鈥� and critics hope it鈥檚 sooner rather than later 鈥� this troika will step aside and the next generation will step up. That鈥檚 why it鈥檚 worth focusing on the winners of the lower-rung positions on the leadership ladder. Usually, only political junkies are curious about these folks, and that鈥檚 been especially true for the past eight years that House Democrats have wandered in a political wilderness as the minority power.
Not anymore. While Pelosi has been criticized for clogging the pipeline, she has also worked to create more leadership positions and widen the decision-making circle to include newer members. Among the rising stars is Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, an African-American from New York, who used one of those previous Pelosi-created positions as a springboard to his new role as chair of the caucus 鈥� the No. 5 job. He鈥檚 often talked about as a potential future speaker.聽
Why We Wrote This
Leadership is often steeped in lengthy experience. That is certainly the case for the three lawmakers selected to lead House Democrats. But amid growing demand for generational change, they also elevated some new faces.
鈥淚 think the brilliance of Leader Pelosi was always the ability to create more seats at the leadership table,鈥� says former Democratic Rep. Steve Israel of New York, who once occupied one of those seats. 鈥淩ather than being exclusive, she was inclusive. Even in the minority, she found a way to bring people into the conference room for leadership settings and ensure they made valuable contributions.鈥�
Of course, standard bearers can emerge from places other than these slots 鈥� chairmanships or caucus leaders. For instance, South Carolina鈥檚 Congressman Clyburn, now the chief vote counter, or 鈥渨hip鈥� (the No. 3 slot), began his ascent as chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus.聽
But the Democratic lawmakers who were elected this week had to make their case before all of their political peers, and those peers took a definite generational turn, electing people in their 50s and 40s, progressive and moderate, minorities and women.
The group is, as Pelosi calls sometimes calls her legislative colleagues, a 鈥渒aleidoscope鈥� 鈥� not unlike the diverse Americans who handed Democrats the steering wheel in the House this fall.
Here is a look at some of the newest members of the Democratic leadership team.
Ben Ray Luj谩n, assistant Democratic leader
These days, it鈥檚 not unusual for Rep. Ben Ray Luj谩n鈥檚 name to come up in talk about the 2018 elections. As the first Latino to chair the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), the New Mexico congressman helped raise and direct the funds that ultimately led to the party鈥檚 House takeover.
He cemented his place in the national spotlight on Election Night when he stood with Pelosi to celebrate the victory. The next day, he launched his bid for assistant Democratic leader, the No. 4 spot in the caucus (he ran uncontested).
Congressman Luj谩n also plays up his humbler roots: How his grandfather was a sheep herder and his father an ironworker before becoming speaker of the New Mexico House. The 46-year-old Luj谩n himself worked nights as a blackjack dealer at a tribal casino until he got his college degree in 2007.
Luj谩n got his start in politics in 2002 as New Mexico鈥檚 deputy treasurer. In 2008, he ran for the Third District, which then-Rep. Tom Udall vacated to run for the US Senate. This will be his sixth term.聽
Hakeem Jeffries, caucus chair聽
Democrats opted for generational change when they elected Rep. Hakeem Jeffries to be their caucus chair 鈥� the fifth-highest position in leadership, and one that will put the ambitious congressman in the room where the important decisions are made. Some in the caucus speculate that this rising star could eventually become the first African-American speaker of the House.
Congressman Jeffries, who hails from Brooklyn, in New York, and is just finishing up his third term, has been a fierce critic of President Trump. But he emphasizes consensus-building among the most diverse caucus in history (a 鈥済orgeous mosaic鈥� he calls it), and the need to work with the president where possible. In college, his fraternity brothers nicknamed him 鈥淜ool Ha鈥� for his measured speaking.
He narrowly beat the far more experienced and left-leaning Rep. Barbara Lee of California, who is the former chair of the Congressional Black Caucus (Jeffries is a member of the caucus). Congresswoman Lee told reporters after the vote that she felt ageism and sexism had played a role.
Still, Lee supporters like African-American Rep. Frederica Wilson of Florida said they were pleased that a black member who is 鈥測oung enough, smart enough, and has the respect of the caucus鈥澛爄s in a top slot that could some day lead to the speakership. 鈥淭his is almost like President Obama鈥檚 inauguration!鈥澛爏aid Congresswoman Wilson from underneath her trademark star-spangled cowboy hat.
With support from Pelosi, Jeffries was elected in 2016 to one of three new co-chairmanships that she created to hone the Democrats鈥� election messaging. He calls himself a 鈥減ragmatic progressive鈥� 鈥� a pro-union Democrat with experience as a corporate attorney.
The congressman鈥檚 passion is criminal justice reform and economic inequality, and he is a top cosponsor of the bipartisan prison reform bill that lawmakers on both sides are trying to push through this lame-duck session. He served in the New York State Assembly for six years before being elected to Congress in 2012.聽
Katherine Clark, caucus vice chair聽
Sen. Elizabeth Warren may be Massachusetts鈥� liberal star, but Rep. Katherine Clark, who represents the state鈥檚 Fifth District, has made her own waves.
In 2015, she launched a campaign against online harassment that inspired an anonymous caller to falsely report an active shooter at the congresswoman鈥檚 home in Melrose, Mass., bringing armed police officers to her lawn.
In 2016, after the mass shooting at the Pulse nightclub in Florida, she joined civil rights icon Rep. John Lewis of Georgia in leading a sit-in on the House floor, demanding that Republican leaders allow a vote on gun control legislation.
A year later, a C-SPAN video of Congresswoman Clark grilling Education Secretary Betsy DeVos about discrimination against LGBTQ students in private schools went viral.
Now, after besting California Rep. Pete Aguilar for caucus vice chair, Clark is poised to help shape party policy. She鈥檚 said her goal is to incorporate the historic diversity of the 116th Congress into the party鈥檚 policymaking process.
Clark was first elected to Congress in 2013 to fill the seat then-Rep. Ed Markey vacated when he ran for Senate. Prior to the House, Clark served on her local school board and then in the state senate.聽聽
David Cicilline, chair of the DPCC
Last week, Pelosi announced another new position in party leadership: chair of the House Democratic Policy and Communications Committee (DPCC), the caucus鈥檚 messaging arm.
The next day, Rhode Island Rep. David Cicilline saying he would drop his bid against Luj谩n for assistant Democratic leader and run 鈥� unopposed 鈥� for the new post instead.
Congressman Cicilline had previously served as one of three DPCC co-chairs (which the new position will be above) alongside Jeffries and Rep. Cheri Bustos (D) of Illinois, helping craft the new party slogan, 鈥淔or the people.鈥� Though not among Pelosi鈥檚 favorites for that role 鈥� she鈥檇 reportedly wanted someone who could appeal to a working-class constituency 鈥� Cicilline ran, won, and has since made a case for working families that Pelosi has praised.
But Cicilline鈥檚 big passion is gun control. As mayor of Providence, he was a founding member of Mayors Against Illegal Guns, which later helped form the nonprofit Everytown for Gun Safety. In 2015, he authored a bill to reinstate a federal ban on assault weapons. 聽
Cicilline became the fourth openly gay member of Congress when he won the First District seat in 2010. He currently serves as co-chair of the LGBT Equality Caucus and, following the legalization of gay marriage聽in 2014, introduced legislation to broaden anti-discrimination protections for the LGBT community.
Cheri Bustos, chair of the DCCC
This former reporter from Illinois has been all about one thing: making sure Democrats don鈥檛 overlook the Heartland, like they did in 2016.
In a leadership team almost exclusively made up of lawmakers from the coasts, she鈥檚 the only one from the Midwest. Her district in the northwest corner of Illinois covers a lot of rural territory, and Trump won it (barely) two years ago.聽Her grandfather was a hog farmer 鈥� and also a state lawmaker.
Like Jeffries, Luj谩n, and Cicilline, she is sometimes mentioned as a possible speaker down the road, but in an interview earlier this year, Rep. Gerry Connolly (D) of Virginia batted down that idea. As a speaker, he explained, she would regularly have to defend left-of-center positions, and 鈥渢hat would be a kiss of death in a Trump district.鈥澛�
Still, Representative Bustos鈥檚 mantra that the party should field candidates that fit the district 鈥� including more conservative ones 鈥� was shared by Luj谩n, who led Democrats to victory this year as chair of the DCCC. Now she鈥檚 got his job after a three-way race that she handily won.
In 2020, 鈥渆very single district will be contested and protected,鈥� she said Thursday. She pointed out that Democrats picked up 16 districts in the heartland this time 鈥� about the size of the margin they will have to defend in two years.
Bustos is just finishing up her third term, after working in communications in the health-care industry.聽She is known as a workhorse 鈥� recruiting, fundraising, and mentoring new politicians in her 鈥渂oot camps.鈥澛燘ack home in Illinois, she likes to try out people鈥檚 jobs and talk to folks in supermarkets to stay close to her constituents.
Like Jeffries and Cicilline, she used her position as one of the three Pelosi-created co-chairs of the Democrats鈥� messaging arm as a springboard up the ladder.聽
