House Democratic meeting devolves into 2024 grudge-fest
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House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries at the U.S. Capitol on Nov. 13, 2024. Photo: Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images.
House Democratic leaders are planning a series of "listening sessions" following their disappointing 2024 election performance, but some lawmakers aren't waiting to make their complaints known.
Why it matters: Democrats are engaged in a party-wide blame game over their electoral collapse on Nov. 5 — and even House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) is getting caught up in the finger pointing.
- Jeffries told House Democrats during a closed-door caucus meeting on Wednesday morning that "the buck stops with me" while acknowledging that Democrats are unlikely to retake the House majority.
- Some progressives have said Jeffries needs to answer for the result, though House Democrats have broadly said they stand behind him.
Driving the news: During the caucus meeting, several Democrats stood up and offered up their culprits for the loss, according to sources who were in the room.
- Rep. Susan Wild (D-Pa.), one of a handful of Democrats who lost their reelection bids, said Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee consultants are stale and out of touch.
- Rep. Vicente Gonzalez (D-Texas), who narrowly won reelection as his South Texas district swung hard to the right, told leadership not to whip him on any bills because he knows his constituents better than anyone.
- And Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Texas), a progressive Israel critic on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said the war in Gaza has damaged Democrats' electoral standing.
What to watch: Democratic leaders are planning to hold three listening session to hear from members, the first of which will take place Thursday, according to an invite shared with Axios.
- House Democrats will meet Nov. 19 to elect their leaders, with Jeffries, House Minority Whip Katherine Clark (D-Mass.) and Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.) all expected to run unopposed.
- Reps. Susie Lee (D-Nev.), Greg Landsman (D-Ohio) and Kim Schrier (D-Wash.) are duking it out to be battleground-district members' representative to leadership, promising to be a voice for the party's centrists.
Editor's note: This story has been corrected to reflect that Katherine Clark is the House minority whip (not the House minority leader).
