Jeffries takes charge of the Democratic resistance

• Control of the House in the congressional session that begins in January is still in doubt, but the New York Democrat indicated his mission is clear: Oppose Trump.
• At the same time, he said he'll rely on his growing relationship with Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) to ensure that the basics of governing, such as funding the government, are completed, according to Jeffries' allies and advisers.

Zoom in: In a private video call with donors Thursday afternoon, Jeffries said Democrats still have a chance to win the House majority as votes continue to be counted in Arizona and California.

• He told the donors that Democrats will win at least 214 seats. That would be two more than they hold in the current House, and five short of enough to make Jeffries the speaker.
• He noted that House Democrats have outperformed Vice President Harris in many of the party's "Frontline" districts, with its most vulnerable incumbents.

House Democrats began this campaign hoping to win a significant majority of the House and regain control of the chamber from Republicans.

• Jeffries stopped short of explicitly blaming Harris for the party's disappointing performance. But many of his colleagues are privately and publicly holding her and the Biden White House responsible.
• A spokesperson for Jeffries declined to comment on his private meeting with the donors.

Zoom out: Across the country, Democrats, still shellshocked by Tuesday's results, are processing the defeats in different ways.

• Along with questions about whether the party has moved too far to the left, there has been predictable finger-pointing, public and private.
• "There's nothing on this Earth uglier than the first (House) members' meeting after a losing election," according to a person who knows Jeffries well.
• "Like (Speaker emerata Nancy) Pelosi, Jeffries has the ability to absorb the hysteria raging through the caucus and keep them all working toward the larger goal. He also understands that someone needs to take the fall — and it's not going to be him."
• Jeffries' allies also note that he helped Democrats pick up three seats from Republicans in his home state of New York, in addition to the Democrats' mid-cycle victory in the seat vacated by former Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.).

The big picture: Jeffries will have an ally in uniting his party in the coming months: Trump.

• Nothing binds House Democrats together like their deep hatred of the once and future president.
• On a tactical level, they're likely to have a better chance of winning the majority in two years if they bury their differences and focus on their common enemy.
• That would make Jeffries' job easier in the new Congress than it's been in this session, when Democrats sometimes have been at odds with President Biden, their party's leader.

Between the lines: Trump intensely dislikes Pelosi, but privately he respected her political skills as House speaker.

• Jeffries was one of the impeachment managers in Trump's second trial, but it's unclear whether Trump thinks of him as a worthy adversary.

What we're hearing: Jeffries is a more cautious leader than Pelosi, his colleagues say.

• "He starts with a carrot, but he's not afraid of pulling out the knife," one Democratic lawmaker told Axios. "He's a big-tent, pragmatic guy, and he understands how to get things done."
• "He is going to take pole position on leading us to who we are as a party."