As President Donald Trump steers the country toward Democrats’ worst nightmare for the country — huge tariffs, mass deportations and massive cuts to the federal government — House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries faces a daunting task: Being the face of an aggressive opposition.
Some Democrats aren’t sure Jeffries is doing enough to fulfill that role.
In conversations with more than a dozen House Democrats, many told NOTUS they want to see Jeffries lead a more aggressive response to Republicans.
“I am, personally, of the view that America needs to see a lot more of him,” Rep. Jared Huffman told NOTUS recently. “And I have been urging a bit of a road show, a bit more of him stepping up as the public face of our fight.”
“Honestly,” Huffman continued, “I just think he’s the best national messenger the Democratic Party has.”
The Democratic Party is in dire need of such a national messenger, particularly as it tries to reclaim the House in 2026. As the party scrambles to rebuild after 2024, it has struggled to demonstrate to its base that Democrats are effectively and aggressively opposing the Trump administration, resulting in furious calls to congressional offices and angry questions at town halls.
Without a president or clear 2028 frontrunner, the lack of Democratic leadership has, perhaps, not been more apparent in recent memory. The question for Jeffries is whether he can effectively fill the leadership vacuum that the party faces, as some Democrats hope. Or if — as other Democrats fear — he’s just not the right man for the job.
“He has a lot of really good qualities,” said one senior House Democrat, who requested anonymity to speak freely. “I’m not sure those qualities are well-suited for this moment.”
Still, Jeffries appears to be trying. He sent a letter, obtained by NOTUS, to Speaker Mike Johnson on Tuesday, calling on him to debate the Democratic leader on the House floor in a so-called colloquy, a House floor conversation with no time limit. Although the move was celebrated by top Democratic political minds like James Carville, the debate never materialized.
The New York Democrat has also been in a more public-facing role, doing more mixed-media interviews and calling for action from the base to fight against Trump’s policies. Democrats have had historic fundraising this year in light of the Trump administration’s actions.
Jeffries also announced a plan for House Democrats to take the fight across the country during the two-week recess over the Easter holiday. Democrats will host events on three so-called “Days of Action” on the current pillars of Democratic messaging: bringing down the cost of living and protecting Social Security and Medicaid.
But whether Jeffries seizes on those events to elevate his own profile remains to be seen.
“In a perfect world,” Rep. Don Beyer told NOTUS, “we have that one unitary Democratic voice who would be the counterpoint to Trump’s voice.”
“I would love that, but also think it’s a little naive,” he continued. “It’d be great if Hakeem could do it, but he also has a lot of other responsibilities, and he doesn’t represent the Senate or the governors.”
Jeffries — in his second term leading House Democrats — has developed a reputation as a careful operator and, at times, a painfully on-message communicator.
As the Republican majority spent more time fighting amongst themselves than with Democrats during Jeffries’ first term as leader, he enjoyed a reputation of a “shadow” speaker. Johnson repeatedly turned to him to deliver the votes to keep the government running and to advance aid for Ukraine.
Still, there was a sense then on Capitol Hill that Jeffries was still learning the ropes from former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who hand-picked him as her successor. Many lawmakers saw her as someone who still played an essential role in leadership, most visibly as she strong-armed then-President Joe Biden to withdraw his reelection bid.
But now, as an emboldened House GOP unites behind the Trump administration’s agenda, Jeffries’ problems are twofold. First, he must navigate the national spotlight and deliver a coherent Democratic message. And second, he must manage the day-to-day caucus business, build consensus among Democrats, and controll the most unruly corners of the caucus.
It was there that Pelosi excelled. Her longtime top lieutenant, Rep. Steny Hoyer, called Jeffries “excellent” and said he is “getting more experience and getting more confidence.”
“Pelosi, I think, will go down, though, as one of the best speakers,” Hoyer told NOTUS. “That’s a little too early to determine that Jeffries is going to go down as one of the best speakers.”
“But,” Hoyer added, “he has the ability to be so described.”
Part of the issue for Jeffries is just that he’s in a position where he will always have critics.
During Trump’s joint address earlier this year, Jeffries was visibly upset by some of the demonstrations organized by the Congressional Progressive Caucus, after leadership urged stoicism. His disapproval of the CPC’s signs and boos ruffled feathers with some progressives, who felt they needed to do something to show their opposition to Trump.
But Jeffries’ inability to keep those members in check also annoyed some other Democrats.
(For what it’s worth, CPC Chair Rep. Greg Casar told NOTUS he works “very closely and well” with the leader, and no moderate Democrat was willing to blame Jeffries on the record for the joint address antics.)
But in another notable display of the difference between power and authority, when Rep. Al Green challenged Trump and was about to get thrown out of the chamber, sergeant-at-arms officers consulted with Pelosi about Green’s removal, not Jeffries.
Some Democrats have privately expressed to NOTUS that the varied responses would have never happened if Pelosi were still leading the caucus.
Although he applauded Jeffries’ leadership, longtime Rep. Mark DeSaulnier — whose district neighbors Pelosi’s in the San Francisco Bay Area — acknowledged the reality that, after just two years leading the caucus, it’s nearly impossible for Jeffries to fill Pelosi’s shoes.
Jeffries, he told NOTUS, “had a tough act to follow as somebody who’d done this for three decades, in terms of being here and being an influential person and being national.”
Even if Jeffries has delivered near-unanimity from his caucus on the floor — including losing just Rep. Jared Golden in a high-stakes vote against funding the government — there has been some friction.
And Pelosi isn’t the only person Jeffries has to measure up against.
He’s regularly compared with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, with whom Jeffries broke on the government funding vote. His national presence is also regularly held up against other House Democrats, like Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Jasmine Crockett, who have emerged as the faces of the Trump 2.0 resistance.
A March CNN poll conducted by SSRS — which has been plastered on Fox News as recently as this week — showed that when Democrat-aligned adults were asked to name a Democratic leader they feel “best reflects the core values” of the party, 30% did not offer a name.
Another 10% of respondents named Ocasio-Cortez, 9% picked former Vice President Kamala Harris and 8% listed Sen. Bernie Sanders. Jeffries came in fourth place, clocking in at 6% — just ahead of former President Barack Obama, Schumer and Crockett.
“It is exceptionally rare that you have any minority leader of a legislative branch who rises to being a national voice,” Rep. Sean Casten told NOTUS, offering that “there was nobody chomping at the bit to hear Kevin McCarthy talk a few years ago.”
“We’ve all been spoiled by Pelosi, of thinking that that’s the norm,” Casten added.
For her part, Ocasio-Cortez made a few rally stops with her mentor, Sanders, with the events drawing thousands to hear her and the Vermont Independent speak about the state of the country.
One of her Democratic colleagues privately pointed to Ocasio-Cortez as someone who is leading in speaking out against the president in the right way.
“She’s incredibly talented and there are others too, that’s the thing,” this House Democrat said, requesting anonymity to speak freely. “There are lots of deputies that we can send out. We have it. We have a lot of skill within the caucus.”
Ocasio-Cortez called Jeffries “very consistent in communicating what is happening in terms of, like, the House floor proceedings.”
“But this is a team sport,” she said.
“The weight of all of this doesn’t just rest on one person,” she continued, “and it rests on the full breadth of belief of leadership across the Democratic Party.”
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Riley Rogerson and Daniella Diaz are reporters at NOTUS.