Jeffries's criminal justice reform work shapes his House speakership path

First Step Act effort required close work with Jared Kushner

Before entering politics, Jeffries worked as a lawyer in private practice and credited his time helping community members through a law school legal clinic with sparking his interest in criminal justice reform. In a 2023 interview with NY1, he said, “I think over time it did inform that if I had the opportunity to go into the practice of law, or eventually public service, that I wanted to do something about the broken criminal justice system.”

He served six years in the New York State Assembly, where he worked on regulating warrantless stop-and-frisk searches by the New York City Police Department.

Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, Jeffries has represented parts of the borough in Congress since 2013 and served as a leader in both the Congressional Black Caucus and the House Democratic caucus. His nearly 14-year House tenure spans a rise from a rank-and-file member focused on criminal justice policy to a top party lieutenant under former Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California and then minority leader.

During the first Trump administration, Jeffries led the effort to pass the bipartisan First Step Act, which reduced sentences for some drug crimes. The effort required close work with President Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner. Jeffries told Time that “to get things done in this town you need a coalition of unusual suspects.” He also said, “There was a real partnership [with Kushner] that produced real results.”

That relationship later drew criticism from some within his party in 2026 after Jeffries met privately with Kushner. The New York Times first reported the meeting, which Jeffries later confirmed. Jeffries said he took the meeting at Kushner’s request to discuss affordability and that Democrats intended to hold the administration accountable.

Jeffries’ rise has also required securing support across a House Democratic caucus whose members hold differing priorities. NPR reported that maintaining that support may prove only more challenging as Democrats look to make good on their promises to voters.

Jeffries has maintained that the primary focus for the new Congress is lowering costs for Americans. On Tuesday night, he said, “This is a change election, and we understand as House Democrats that we need to deliver dramatic change.” He added, “Things are broken. We need a Congress that puts the American people first.”

Jeffries once belonged to the Congressional Progressive Caucus and sponsored Medicare for All proposals, while NPR reported that outside activists from his party’s left wing had long been skeptical of him. As speaker, Jeffries would have to accommodate a growing group of members with differing policy priorities, including members aligned with the Democratic Socialists of America, in the legislative process of the new term.

NPR noted that the party’s progressive members are as racially diverse as the rest of the caucus, while Jeffries points specifically to his race when describing what shaped his views on systemic inequities. In a 2021 interview with The Atlantic, Jeffries said, “There will never be a moment where I bend the knee to hard-left democratic socialism.” He also said, “Black progressives do tend to tackle issues first and foremost with an understanding that systemic racism has been in the soil of America for over 400 years.” He added, “Hard-left progressives tend to view the defining problem in America as one that is anchored in class. That is not my experience as a Black man in this country.”

Jeffries also served as an impeachment manager during the Senate trial over what NPR described as Trump’s pressure campaign on Ukraine. NPR reported that Trump withheld military aid while pushing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to announce investigations into Joe Biden ahead of the 2020 presidential election.

Like many elected Democrats, Jeffries has so far refused to commit to pursuing impeachment again in Trump’s second term. He told Fox News in April that impeachment was not a top priority for Democrats, and in September told ABC that Democrats “haven’t ruled anything in and we haven’t ruled anything out.”

Jeffries was elected House minority leader in 2022 and is the first Black politician to lead either party in the House or Senate, according to NPR. NPR reported that, after helping House Democrats deliver a decisive victory in the 2026 midterms, he appeared all but certain to become the first Black lawmaker elected speaker. If elected, he would stand second in the presidential line of succession, after the vice president. The House will hold a floor vote for speaker when the new Congress convenes on Jan. 3.