One of Ohio's new congressmembers said senior Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives threatened to make his time in Congress "a living hell" if he doesn't support Hakeem Jeffries' bid to become U.S. Speaker of the House.
Jeffries doesn't have a challenger, but Rep-elect Don Leonard from Columbus' Hilltop neighborhood said he won't support Jeffries unless he commits to rein in money in politics and pull back support for the war in Iran and military support for Israel. Leonard posted on social media on Monday that senior Democrats are threatening to make life in Washington D.C. difficult and that he'd lose reelection in 2028 if he continued to withhold his support for Jeffries.
"Tonight I met with senior members of the Democratic House who told me in no uncertain terms the decision as to whether or not I support Jeffries regardless of his willingness to speak with me and meet the interests of my constituents on a couple of key issues...would basically mean both making my life a living hell for the next two years here in Washington, as well as being sure to lose my election in two years."
Leonard didn't name the Democrats who said this to him. Jeffries' office didn't respond to a request for comment.
Leonard said he knew tactics like this were coming and that it was like "something you see out of the movies."
'We're searching our hearts tonight as to how we can reach Leader Jeffries and help him to be a better speaker. At the end of the day the 'big D' Democratic Party needs some 'little d' democracy," he said.
Leonard was one of three Democrats who unseated incumbent Republican congressmen despite Ohio's gerrymandered congressional maps this cycle. Leonard won 52% of the vote against Republican Rep. Mike Carey in Ohio's 15th congressional district, which covers parts of Franklin County along with more rural counties to the south and west.
Leonard, a former Ohio State University professor, ran as a "Do Something Democrat" in his race and told WOSU during the campaign Jeffries would not get his vote if Jeffries isn't able to fundamentally reinvent the party in the 21st Century.
Leonard has been in D.C. this week for orientation meetings for new members.
Leonard has been one of the more vocal Democrats in Washington expressing misgivings about Jeffries' bid to become House Speaker.
Ohio State history professor Hasan Kwame Jeffries is the younger brother of the aspiring Democratic leader, who hopes to become the first Black man elected as U.S. Speaker of the House. Hasan Kwame Jeffries spoke on WOSU's All Sides with Amy Juravich Wednesday saying it is amazing and remarkable that his brother could become speaker.
The brothers grew up in Brooklyn together in the 1980s and are the great-great grandsons of a freed slave in Georgia.
Hasan Kwame Jeffries questioned people who think his brother is too "establishment" and won't stand up to President Donald Trump.
"Some say he's too soft, right, he's too kind (and) he doesn't have the fight to lead this fight, which is interesting. Coming from somebody that survived in Brooklyn in the 80s, you gotta fight," Hasan Kwame Jeffries said.
Hakeem Jeffries has spent the last two years as House Minority Leader, with little power to push back against the Trump administration.
Hasan Kwame Jeffries said his brother has the experience to bridge divides between progressive and conservative Democrats and has spent years doing so, gaining experience and seniority. Hakeem Jeffries previously served under former Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Hasan Kwame Jeffries pushed back on Leonard taking this stand. He also criticized Leonard for wanting to be appointed to powerful committees in the House as a freshman.
"What did you think as a freshman going in that you're gonna do? Now, you have to name names, right, and identify who are these people? I don't have any particular insight on whether this conversation...I'll take him at his word or whatever it is, but you know that's not the way Congress works," he said.
Hasan Kwame Jeffries also contends that the internal party dynamics of the U.S. House isn't a democracy, saying it runs on seniority.
Other Democrats, including longtime Ohio U.S. Rep. Joyce Beatty are fierce defenders of Hakeem Jeffries. Rep-elect Kristina Knickerbocker of Dayton joined the New Democrat Coalition, a caucus of more than 100 members, alongside Ohio's incumbent U.S. Reps. Greg Landsman, Shontel Brown and Emilia Sykes. That group put out a statement endorsing Jeffries on Wednesday.
'We're at a critical moment in American history. Hakeem Jeffries is the right person at the right time to lead our party," the statement said.
Knickerbocker and Ohio's other freshman congressman, Brian Poindexter of Brook Park, didn't respond to WOSU's request for comment.
