Jeffries announces bid for House Democratic leader

Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) on Friday formally announced his bid to replace Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) at the top of the party next year, one day after the longtime party leader said she would step out of that position in the next Congress.

Jeffries, the chair of the House Democratic Caucus, has long been eyeing a run to succeed Pelosi as the leader of House Democrats when she stepped down. If he succeeds, as expected, he would become the first Black leader of either party, in either chamber, in the history of Congress.