Incoming DSA Members Hold Back Support for Jeffries' Speaker Bid

Democrats have won back the House, but Hakeem Jeffries may not have a clean path to the speaker's gavel. Several incoming socialist and Democratic Socialists of America-aligned members have declined to commit to backing him, according to Fox News.

Rep.-elect Darializa Avila Chevalier, who upset Congressional Hispanic Caucus Chairman Adriano Espaillat in New York's 13th District, told Vanity Fair she would need "commitments" on issues like Medicare for All before backing Jeffries. Claire Valdez, headed to Congress from New York's 7th, said she would not "negotiate in public" and would "see how the midterms shake out." Melat Kiros, a 29-year-old former attorney who defeated Rep. Diana DeGette of Colorado, also would not commit.

Not every new member is holding out. Brad Lander, the former New York City comptroller headed to Congress from New York's 10th, said he is inclined to support Jeffries. Lander beat Rep. Dan Goldman, whom Jeffries had backed, in a race seen as a proxy fight between establishment and socialist Democrats.

The incoming class also includes Donavan McKinney of Michigan's 13th, who defeated Rep. Shri Thanedar, and Pennsylvania state lawmaker Chris Rabb, whose campaign site calls for the U.S. to "immediately dismantle the military industrial complex." Fox reports Kiros has drawn criticism for describing the Oct. 7 attack as "inevitable" in comments reported by multiple outlets.

With a narrow majority, a handful of holdouts can matter. Jeffries' first test as speaker-designate may come from inside his own conference.