Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries is on course to become the first Black speaker of the House of Representatives, the lower chamber of the US Congress. The speaker election will be held on January 3, the first day of the new Congress, and Jeffries must win a majority in the full House vote.
If Democrats win control of the House in the midterm elections, he is expected to receive the party’s formal nomination for speaker. If elected, he will lead the lower chamber during the last two years of President Donald Trump’s term. But the path will not be smooth for him, CNN reported.
CNN said Jeffries will face ideological and generational challenges within the party. Winning the support of the party’s new socialist wing, which is unhappy with the current leaders’ style, could be hard for him. He may also face criticism from party workers and activists over his somewhat conservative positions on “Medicare for All” and Israel.
People close to Jeffries say he will take a tough stand against the Trump administration. He wants to work on issues such as closer oversight of large companies, taxing the rich and raising the minimum wage.
One of his big challenges will be managing the clash between long-serving members and a new generation within the party. There are also divisions in the party over passing reform proposals such as a ban on members of Congress trading shares. Last year Jeffries faced the anger of Black lawmakers, the Congressional Black Caucus, for agreeing to a Republican bill.
That rift has now largely healed. According to CNN, Jeffries is now working to restore the Democratic Party’s lost image, and wants to use public anger at Trump to strengthen the party’s position in the next election.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report