House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries speaks as Democrats projected to win House — 11/3/2026

[1:02] enough of the broken promises from House Republicans, and they are ready for new [1:08] leadership in Congress, and they're going to get it. And while the rebuke against the two years [1:20] of Republican rule has been heard, we won the majority district by district with amazing [1:27] candidates. And our candidates are really the secret to our success. I like to call them our [1:33] secret sauce. This majority was one because of an incredible cast class of candidates who [1:41] volunteered to serve and fight to improve the lives of their neighbors. We know running for office is [1:47] not an easy thing. But they stepped up because families across our country were suffering too [1:53] long for under Republican rule. Incredible candidates like in Florida, Florida, Pia Dandia [2:01] won in Florida, 22. In Western North Carolina, Jamie Ager, a farmer. In Pennsylvania, Bob Brooks, [2:13] firefighter won. The people of New Jersey elected Rebecca Bennett. I could go on and on, and you [2:24] know, I might do that, but I won't right now. But our class of candidates was nothing short of [2:29] exceptional. And they ran outstanding campaigns. They built broad, bipartisan coalitions. And they [2:37] had messages that resonated with voters. And they understand that their job title is representative, [2:43] not rubber stamp. And there are also our incumbents, our front liners, who stood up. Republicans [2:54] overestimated their narrow majority as a mandate. And they underestimated our front liners, like [3:01] Kathy Castor, and Shamari Figures in Alabama, and Jared Moskowitz, much more who are returning to Congress, despite their [3:18] attempt to rig the system, because they thought they would gerrymander their way to a permanent [3:26] majority. And that was only one part of their scheme. They knew from day one that they were going to lose [3:32] the majority. And since they couldn't win, they weren't interested in winning the hearts and minds of the [3:36] American people, they figured that they would rig the system. And their scheme included executive orders and [3:43] legal maneuvers to attack vote by mail, change campaign finance laws, intimidate local election [3:49] officials, even throw legal, legal voters off the rolls. And we fought back every time, every step of the [3:57] way, in the courthouse, in the state house. And this week, the American people fought back at the ballot box. And we [4:11] succeeded. And now in the next Congress, under the leadership of Speaker Hakeem Jeffries, I think, I'm excited. I'm the [4:26] first one who got to say that here. We get to work on an affordability agenda and root out the culture of [4:33] corruption that is festered in Washington, DC and this administration for too long. I'm eager to see our incredible new and [4:40] returning members of the House Democratic caucus come together united under Speaker Jeffries and get to work. And [4:48] while I have traveled across the country, I couldn't have done this job without the incredible leadership of our [4:56] entire caucus, in particular, our future majority leader, Catherine Clark. She has helped us in the minority. Imagine what [5:12] she is going to do now leading us in the majority. Please give it up for the future majority leader, [5:20] Catherine Clark. I just said to the last crowd, the majority looks good on you. You are a sight to see. I am so [5:46] grateful to each and every one of you. And I want to start by thanking Susan Delbeni, our amazing, amazing chair of [5:58] D triple C for four years. She has worked for this moment, never gave up hope, never gave up faith. And she [6:07] has brought us here and we are so grateful. So one more time for Susan Delbeni to be here to be [6:21] representing my colleagues and my district and the people of this country. And John Lewis, and I never got [6:31] over the privilege of serving with John Lewis. He told us that freedom is not a state. It's an act. And [6:39] the American people tonight, they have acted. They have told us with their vote that they appreciate what [6:48] our candidates said, that they saw their families and they knew if they sent them to Washington, they were [6:56] going to fight for them. And I can tell you that as we have traveled this country throughout my district, [7:05] throughout, you know, so many of these districts, it's the stories of the American people. It's the [7:13] stories of the families who use the metaphors of drowning, drowning in bills, not being able to keep their head [7:22] above water. Their stories are what are going to propel us forward. And we are proud of the Democrats [7:30] who have won tonight. But we are so proud when we are going to be able on January 3rd to get to work for [7:39] them. And we are going to show them that this was not just campaign rhetoric, that every single day, we are [7:53] going to work for them. Every single day, we are going to put the people back in the people's house. And we are [8:05] going to make sure that we bring to life those ideals that we talk about in this country, that liberty and justice for all, can [8:17] not only just be something far off that we talked about and dreamed about when this country was founded. But let's [8:25] bring it to life with this majority. And let's make sure that every family can get a foothold in this economy, that [8:34] every family can have health care when and where they need it. And for those who have tried to exploit and enrich [8:42] themselves, we are going to hold them accountable. So we're about to make a lot of history. And this is a good [8:59] night. It's a good night for the American people who have taken back their government and said we demand that [9:08] this government works for us. And we are going to be led by an incredible leader, come January 3rd, a man who has a [9:19] vision for this country, who has led us with integrity, a keen intelligence. And when they said we're going to [9:26] cheat, he said not so fast. He led us through redistricting through legal battles, always putting people first and [9:36] bringing us even in the minority together. Hakeem Jeffries is the right person in this moment. And he is the [9:46] right leader. And we are going to be so very proud in just a few weeks when we get to say Hakeem Jeffries is the [9:57] Speaker of the House. Please welcome him. Thank you. Thank you. America is back in a working class [11:03] neighborhood in Brooklyn, union household raised in the Cornerstone Baptist Church. I learned very early [11:12] on that a setback was nothing more than a setup for a comeback. Today begins the great American [11:26] comeback. American people have spoken all across the land, in the north, in the south, in the east, in the west, in the [11:44] Midwest. From sea to shining sea, the American people have spoken and made clear they've had enough of the [11:55] extremism, enough of the corruption. They want a Congress that's going to deliver for the American people. And that is [12:06] exactly what House Democrats will do as soon as we get into office in January. We understand as House Democrats that life is way too expensive in this great country of ours. [12:31] There are far too many people who are struggling to survive and certainly cannot thrive here in the United States of America. And we believe in this great country that when you work hard and play by the rules, [12:51] you should be able to live an affordable life, you should be able to live an affordable life, a comfortable life and a good life. That's a good paying job, good housing, good health care, a good education for your children. And then when it's all said and done, a good retirement. That's the American dream. And House Democrats will work hard to revive it for every single person in this land. We're gonna fight for small town America. We're gonna fight for urban America. [13:33] We're gonna fight for suburban America. We're gonna fight for suburban America. We're gonna fight for the heartland of America. We're gonna fight for black and brown communities all across America. We're gonna fight to make sure that we make this country affordable for every single American. This is a change election. And we understand as House Democrats that we need to deliver dramatic change. Things are broken. [13:39] We need a Congress that puts the American people first. [14:16] American people first. [14:20] The Americans. [14:22] Many people. [14:25] The wealthy. [14:26] The wealthy. [14:27] The well off and the well connected. [14:28] Tried. [14:29] To buy this. [14:30] Election. [14:32] The American people have responded in a resounding way. [14:34] And made clear. [14:45] America is not for sale. [14:47] We will deliver a Congress that puts everyday Americans first. [14:52] Working class Americans. [14:53] First. [14:54] those who aspire to be part of the middle class house democrats are committed to fighting for an [15:01] affordable america we will fight hard to lower the high cost of housing and groceries and gas [15:11] we're going to fight hard to make sure that we can ensure that every single american can afford [15:20] to go see a doctor when they need one we will fight for your hospitals we will fight for your [15:32] nursing homes we will fight for your community-based health clinics and we're going to fight to reverse [15:38] these painful medicaid cuts we also understand that in addition to fighting to make this country [15:51] affordable we're going to bring accountability to those who have visited unprecedented corruption [16:01] on this country because if you have people in high office who are so focused on enriching themselves [16:09] their family members their friends or their donors then they're not focused on making life better for [16:16] the american people but house democrats will put the american people first we understand that this [16:22] election a dramatic change election means that the american people are crying out for transformational [16:30] change we hear you we see you we feel you and house democrats are committed to making life better [16:39] for you beginning on day one this is not a partisan moment this is a patriotic one this is not a blue [16:59] moment or a red moment it's a red white and blue moment because america has won tonight [17:07] and so i thank all of you for your extraordinary efforts and for the confidence that the american people [17:17] have placed in us i want to thank every single member of the house democratic caucus [17:24] including our extraordinary leaders katherine clark the next majority leader of the united states house [17:31] of representatives and susan del bene our amazing field general who led the charge to take back the [17:46] house of representatives thank the american people for the confidence that you have placed in us and we're [17:57] going to work hard to deliver on the dramatic change that you deserve and we understand that trust has [18:08] been broken between the congress and the american people and we're going to work hard to restore it you [18:16] will have a congress that recognizes we don't work for the president we don't work for the vice president we [18:25] don't work for the supreme court we work for all of you the american people and that is what house [18:34] democrats will deliver and so let me just simply say to the communities that raised me back at home [18:52] we made it brooklyn we made it house democrats have taken back control of the united states congress fight for [19:14] an affordable america we're going to end this national nightmare and we're going to continue america's [19:20] long necessary and majestic march toward a more perfect union god bless all of you god bless our amazing [19:29] candidates god bless the united states of america