House Democrats appoint new leader

Democrats selected Rep. Hakeem Jeffries to be their new leader in the House. He is the first black member of Congress to lead either major political party. The 52-year-old New York congressman is currently serving his fifth term in Congress. He has been in Congress since 2013. He will be House Minority Leader in January as Nancy Pelosi steps down from that leadership role.

What’s going on with Republicans? House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy has the Republican Party’s nomination to run for House Speaker. Still, he will need 218 votes out of the 221 Republican representatives to get the job, and at least three have opposed him. The GOP will take control of the House when the new Congress convenes in January, but its majority is quite slim. This may grant Democrats some leverage, especially if Republicans are not unified.

Dig deeper: Read Carolina Lumetta’s report in WORLD Magazine about the runoff election for Senate in Georgia.