Hakeem Jeffries Is Already Fumbling The Speaker’s Job

The day after America turned the White House blue, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries found a way to fix his lips to say that the new Congress–the one that’s so blue not even Bluey could keep up–would not be seeking revenge.

Record scratch. 

Hear that noise? It’s the ancestors crying. 

If there were a single statement to undo Jeffries, the man who’s the betting favorite for the next Speaker of the House, chances it would’ve been that line right there. What does Jeffries mean by saying they won’t seek revenge?

The American people handed the reins, the literal purse strings, and the ability to hold all kinds of hearings and committees to Democrats for one reason: revenge. 

We want blood. 

Fine, not actual blood, but we want heads to roll and people to be afraid. We want Republicans chased around the same way that ICE chased down anyone of Latin descent only to imprison them while they wondered if they would ever get to see their families again. We want a wall that will enclose Maine, Vermont, and West Virginia simply for being the whitest states in the country. We want all our money back from those dumb ass tariffs. And we want half off at any steakhouse of our choosing for all of our hard work.  

But before we start dreaming, we want revenge. 

And that’s what Jeffries and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, two men who appear to have mistaken winning an election for receiving a personal endorsement from the American people.

Trump and his lawless band of goons worked tirelessly to make everyday life in America hell. Everything cost movie concession stand prices. Gas is higher than Snoop Dogg dangling from the Eiffel Tower’s antenna and we are involved in a senseless war with Iran. 

And now, after all of that, Hakeem Jeffries wants to walk into the Speaker’s office and tell everybody to play nice.

Absolutely not.

The problem with Jeffries isn’t simply that he doesn’t sound particularly interested in revenge. It’s that he seems to fundamentally misunderstand the assignment. The Speaker of the House is not supposed to be the nation’s guidance counselor, sitting everybody down for a group conversation about how we can all get along. The Speaker controls the legislative calendar, determines what gets brought to the floor, influences committee assignments and wields enormous power over congressional investigations. It’s one of the most powerful positions in American government.

And Democrats are about to hand that power to a man whose first instinct after winning it back is to reassure the people who spent two years terrorizing the country that he won’t be mean to them.

Sir, read the room.

Jeffries has spent years positioning himself as the responsible adult in the Democratic Party, which sounds wonderful until you realize that being the responsible adult has apparently meant allowing Republicans to set the terms of every political fight. He’s been careful, measured, and calculated at a time when the country has needed Democrats to be loud, aggressive, and willing to use every bit of power available to them.

And let’s not pretend this is some isolated incident. He took a private meeting with Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner; he’s been reluctant to embrace the progressive policies that animate a significant portion of the Democratic base, and his general allergy to making Republicans uncomfortable has all contributed to the growing belief that Jeffries represents the Democratic establishment at precisely the moment voters are demanding way more Malcolm than Martin.

We don’t need another politician who can deliver a beautifully rehearsed speech about the dangers of Donald Trump. We need somebody who understands that the danger doesn’t disappear because you have a nicer tone than the people causing it.

What exactly does Jeffries think Democrats should do with their new majority? Hold a bipartisan brunch? Invite Mike Johnson over for a little wine and cheese? Perhaps they can exchange friendship bracelets and get white girl wasted with the people who tried to dismantle the federal government, strip Americans of their rights, and turn the Justice Department into Trump’s personal collection agency.

Nah, fam. 

Democrats should be preparing investigations into the administration’s abuses of power, demanding answers about the billions of dollars spent on Trump’s immigration agenda, examining the administration’s decision to drag America into a war with Iran and making sure every single person who participated in the administration’s lawlessness understands that congressional oversight is not an optional activity.

And they should be doing it with the kind of urgency that suggests they understand people are still suffering from the decisions Republicans made. This isn’t about being vindictive for the sake of being vindictive. It’s about accountability. It’s about making sure that the people who spent years telling Americans that nobody was above the law actually experience what that looks like.

And the American people don’t want him. There have been concerns about his allegiance to Israel and his relationship with corporate donors. He doesn’t even want to abolish ICE, the president’s personal hitmen who’ve terrorized millions. Jeffries believes they can be reformed. According to Axios, Democratic congressional offices have been inundated with calls and emails from voters demanding that lawmakers not give him the gavel. Not to mention his refusal to adopt progressive programs that many in his party support, like Medicaid for all. Jeffries is an establishment pick that will carry the water for those who believe that it’s a Democratic birthright to maintain civility and decorum even as the world falls apart around us. Currently, a Change.org petition is asking House Democrats to choose another Speaker, and it already has over 1 million signatures.  

The Democratic Party doesn’t need another politician who mistakes toeing the line for courage or caution for leadership. It needs somebody who understands that power is useless if you’re too afraid to use it.

And if Hakeem Jeffries cannot understand that, then he has absolutely no business being Speaker of the House.

The American people didn’t deliver a blue tsunami so Democrats could spend the next two years politely asking Republicans to stop drowning everybody. We want somebody who knows how to swim, somebody who knows how to fight and, most importantly, somebody who knows when it’s time to stop playing nice.

Jeffries has already told us where he stands.

Perhaps Democrats should listen.

SEE ALSO:

Congress Is Back. Republicans Still Have A Few Weeks To Make A Mess

All The Rats Are Leaving Donald Trump’s Sinking Ship