Just a week after a massive blue tsunami completely washed over the country, resulting in Republicans losing control over Congress and leaving President Donald Trump’s hands mostly tied when it comes to pushing the America First agenda forward, a few Democrats are now allegedly rallying their newly elected congressmen to stay on board with the agenda or suffer the consequences.
Reports have stated that the Democratic Party is so desperate and determined to make current Senate Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York its Speaker of the House candidate that a handful of its members actually sent threats to Democratic Ohio Rep.-elect Don Leonard, saying if he doesn’t get on board with their selection, he would pay a heavy price.
Leonard, who managed to flip a district President Trump carried by 10 percentage points in the 2024 election, stated in a video posted on Instagram titled, “To speaker or not to speaker?” that allies of Jeffries threatened to “make life a living hell” for him if he didn’t vote the way they wanted him to. He then said that they threatened that he would “never be re-elected” if he didn’t get in line and support Jeffries.
According to a report from The Daily Caller, Leonard stood strong in his defiance against senior Democrats and their orders for him, stating later in the video that he received a letter from Jeffries that “still left several of my constituents’ questions unanswered. “So unless Speaker Jeffries is willing to commit to enforcing our nation’s laws, like the Leahy Law, against Israeli genocide in Gaza,” Leonard said.
“Unless the speaker is willing to get to the heart of this crisis, which is Citizens United, he will not have my vote,” Leonard stated in another video clip. He then referred to the heavily scrutinized 2010 landmark Supreme Court decision that allowed corporations and labor unions to have unlimited political expenditures covered by the First Amendment of the Constitution.
Unfortunately, the vast majority of new Democrats preparing to take office in January are all-in when it comes to backing Jeffries for speaker. Democrats such as Rep. Greg Casar of Texas, who is the chairman for the Congressional Progressive Caucus, along with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, and Washington Rep. Pramila Jayapal, all announced they are backing the New York Democrat for House leader.
Reports have surfaced that many Democrats have stated in private that they think Jeffries will be easier to sway on big issues than former Speaker Nancy Pelosi was during her time in the role. Rep. Delia Ramirez (D-IL), who is the lead sponsor of the Block The Bombs Act, which prohibits the transfer of specific weapons to Israel, had a meeting with Jeffries.
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Ramirez said she came away from the meeting with the sense that the New York Democrat would be open to putting her bill on the floor. Despite the vote still being out at the time, former Speaker of the House and outgoing congresswoman Nancy Pelosi offered Jeffries a congratulations, which was released on Election Day.
“With tremendous personal pride, I congratulate our next Speaker, Hakeem Jeffries. Exactly twenty years after I became the first woman to hold the gavel, he will make history as the first Black Speaker of the House,” Pelosi went on to say in the statement. “I know the strength, judgment and resolve that office demands. Hakeem has those qualities in abundance. He has led Democrats to this extraordinary victory, and he will be a magnificent Speaker.”
Featured image: Screen shot from embedded video