House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries is one of the most vocal and disruptive opponents to President Trump’s administration. From feuding with White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt to speaking on the House floor for several hours in an attempt to stop President Trump’s legislation, Hakeem Jeffries has been tirelessly championing liberal progressive ideals.

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Early Life

Hakeem Sekou Jeffries is a native of Brooklyn, New York. He was born to drug-abuse counselor Marland Jeffries and social worker Laneda Jeffries, who later had his younger brother, Hasan, who is now a professor and author at Ohio State University. His former life was greatly influenced by his upbringing in church, combined with his parents’ affinity for social services. He remains a member of the same Cornerstone Baptist Church he grew up attending, and his parents’ influence in liberal welfare and social justice proved crucial in his development as a future politician.

After graduating from high school, Jeffries attended Birmingham University to study political science, graduating with honors in 1992 with a Bachelor of Arts degree. He also joined the Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity during his time at Birmingham. Continuing his schooling, Jeffries headed to Washington, D.C., where he studied at Georgetown University’s School of Public Policy. He earned a Master’s in Public Policy in 1994. After that, he returned to New York to attend NYU’s School of Law, where he graduated in 1997 with a J.D. degree.

For several years, Jeffries practiced law in New York before breaking into government and politics in 2000. After multiple losses, he was elected in 2006 for a seat in his home state’s official assembly. He worked in the New York State Assembly from 2007 to 2012, being elected twice. During this time, former President Barack Obama’s success in the U.S. Senate and beyond served as a source of inspiration for Jeffries’ political career, and he would continue to acquire the skills and experience necessary for him to climb up the ladder.

A Career of “Progressive” Agendas

Mr. Jeffries eventually set his sights on Congress. When he ran for the House of Representatives in 2012, a prominent majority of support landed him a position representing his hometown. After being elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, Congressman Jeffries served as a key member of the Democratic base by representing New York’s 8^th district from 2013 to 2018. During this time, he supported a variety of acts and bills.

Reflecting his upbringing with parents who were social workers, Jeffries concerned himself heavily with “police reform” and “criminal justice.” He spearheaded legislation in an attempt to federally ban the use of chokeholds by police officers after the death of Eric Garner in 2014. Then he later supported the First Step Act, a bipartisan bill meant to lower prison populations supposedly through rehab and reform. President Trump signed it into law in 2018.

He kept himself busy, serving on the House Judiciary and Budget Committees while also being a member of the Congressional Black Caucus. But ultimately, it was his skills as a compelling communicator that allowed him to become chairman of the House Democratic Caucus in 2019. Clearly influenced by his Baptist roots, Congressman Jeffries speaks with the lilt and rhythm of a pastor—and uses this skill to wield pathos like a surgeon wields his scalpel. (He often quotes Scripture.)

During this time, former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi employed his services among several others to lead the first impeachment trial of President Trump. They accused the president of illegally targeting his political opponents (namely, President Joe Biden) by pressuring for legal investigations and withholding aid to Ukraine. The trial proved to be fruitless. It was during the Biden Administration’s term that Speaker Nancy Pelosi stepped down from her role as Democratic leader. Congressman Jeffries would succeed her. He ran unopposed and was elected as the House Minority Leader on January 3, 2023.

What Does He Stand For?

More than anything, Congressman Jeffries stands for self-proclaimed “social justice”. He essentially embodies most of the core Leftist tenets of the contemporary Democrat party. According to his website,  “In Congress, Rep. Jeffries is a tireless advocate for social and economic justice. He has worked hard to help residents recover from the devastation of the COVID-19 pandemic, reform our criminal justice system, improve the economy for everyday Americans, and protect our healthcare from right-wing attacks.”

Evidently, these efforts have not been successful. New York’s criminal justice system is still deeply broken, the economy was in shambles when President Biden was in office, and the Left’s definition of “healthcare” is keeping families broken and poor so that bureaucracies can continue to profit off of them. Congressman Jeffries has also proven to believe in “stopping the Right” more so than staying true to his principles and helping American citizens living in his district.

Similar to how different warring sects of Islam will cooperate to fight Israel, many on the Left who disagree on policies are willing to be cobelligerents for the sake of defeating a common enemy. Enter Congressman Jeffries’ endorsement of Zohran Mamdani. Jeffries had refused to officially support Mamdani for months, until now. According to AP News, while acknowledging he had “areas of principled disagreement” with his party’s nominee for mayor, Jeffries said Democrats have a “clear obligation to push back against” Republican extremism, calling it a “national nightmare,” in a statement.

“Donald Trump must be given no space to haunt the people of New York City,” said Jeffries, adding that communities he represents in Brooklyn “are being devastated by this extreme version of the Republican Party.” Jeffries, without a doubt, sees that Zohran Mamdani is not worthy of the position of mayor, but is willing to cooperate to execute the Democrat party’s designs in their war against conservatives and the political right.

So How Do We Pray?

1. First and foremost, pray that God’s will be done in all things, from politics and government to the lives of Hakeem Jeffries and his peers. Pray that God’s will alone be exacted in everything.
2. Pray that America be struck with the spirit of repentance across the board, and that we cease straying from God’s mercy.
3. Pray that Hakeem Jeffries would cease misrepresenting and blaspheming the Scriptures.
4. Pray for Congressman Jeffries and his family, that their eyes would be opened, for their sake.
5. Lastly, pray that all plans and designs that are not of Yeshua (Jesus) be exposed and disbanded.

In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Add your own prayers for Representative Jeffries in the comments below.

T.K. Robinson is a student and part-time (amateur) philosopher. In his downtime, he enjoys reading, music, and chronic daydreaming. His Scripture-oriented commentary usually involves the younger generation (especially Gen Z). He wants to shed light on important current events regarding his peers and share insights from a Biblical perspective. Photo Credit: Gage Skidmore from Surprise, AZ, United States of America – Hakeem Jeffries, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=154675129.