The progressive House "Bloc" plots its first moves

• They have been strategizing about demands they could make if Jeffries (D-N.Y.) ends up needing their votes to secure the speaker's gavel, sources familiar with the discussions told Axios.
• Possible concessions that have been privately floated include prime committee assignments, resources for their districts, changes to House rules to "democratize" the chamber and votes on progressive legislation, sources said.
• These sources spoke on the condition of anonymity because the group's discussions are in the preliminary stage and no plans have been finalized.

Reality check: This is all contingent, of course, on Democrats winning the House majority — which is not a guarantee.

State of play: The Bloc is an informal grouping of candidates who won House primaries this year with support from left-wing groups such as Justice Democrats and the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), often by unseating incumbents.

• They include Melat Kiros of Colorado, Darializa Avila Chevalier and Claire Valdez of New York, Adam Hamawy of New Jersey, Chris Rabb of Pennsylvania and Donavan McKinney of Michigan. All are running in safely Democratic seats.
• Other progressives facing competitive general elections — including Will Lawrence of Michigan and Mai Vang, Angela Gonzales-Torres, and Randy Villegas of California — could also end up aligning themselves with the group.
• So could a broader group of Bloc-adjacent progressives such as Brad Lander of New York, who is not a DSA member but won his primary by unseating more establishment-aligned Rep. Dan Goldman.

Between the lines: Most of these candidates have declined to commit to voting for Jeffries as speaker, with some making clear they aren't going to give away their votes for nothing.

• "We're focused on pushing for a bold House agenda with priorities that reflect what the voters want to see us fighting for," one person involved with the Bloc told Axios.
• They cited Medicare for All, a data center moratorium and "withdrawing aid from Israel" as policies that are "wildly popular among the voters" and "should be among the House agenda's priorities."

What they're saying: "Of course we're having conversations," Rep. Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.), a member of the Progressive Caucus' executive board, told Axios of her communications with the Bloc.

• Ramirez said that "over the next few weeks we'll have very intentional, coordinated conversations about how ... we make sure that the next Congress we do everything in our power to respond to what our voters have asked of us."
• "That means that as new members — 9, 10, 13 more members — come into the Congressional Progressive Caucus, they feel equipped with clear demands of what they want to see in our congressional calendar, what they want to ... demand the vote for," she added.
• Ramirez pointed to the Block the Bombs Act, which would restrict the transfer of offensive weaponry to Israel, as a bill the group will likely try to force to a House vote.

What to watch: These plans directly conflict with the more modest policy agenda party leadership has laid out.

• Jeffries has suggested, for example, that the core of his health care agenda would be to restore Affordable Care Act tax credits that expired at the end of last year.
• That's not nearly enough for the left. Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) told Axios: "We have to have a vision that is much more than just, 'restore the subsidies.'"
• "Like yes, we should do that right away, but that's still not going to fix the problems that we have of the private insurance company greed," said Jayapal, who wants a markup and vote on her Medicare-for-All Act.