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2026-11-12 Home Front: Politix
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Hakeem Jeffries faces progressive holdouts but no rival as House speaker race takes shape
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[FOX] Members of 'The Bloc' say they are undecided and want legislative guarantees before backing the New York Democrat
Familiar faces populate the 110-plus new members of Congress.
A few "freshmen" are returning to the House. Even if they’ve been gone for a while.
There’s Rep.-elect Hilda Solis, D-Calif., who last served in Congress in 2009. She departed to become President Obama’s labor secretary.
Rep.-elect Jerry Carl, R-Ala., just left Capitol Hill early last year after losing a primary to Rep. Barry Moore, R-Ala., who is now moving to the Senate.
And then there’s Rep.-elect Melissa Bean, D-Ill. She first won a seat in the House in 2004 and lost in 2010. Now, Bean is back.
Her advice to the rookies?
"Make sure you get a really good scheduler and that they schedule eating because your staff will run you all day long," Bean said. "You're kind of like the football that they pass from one staff member to the other. The whole day goes by, and you’re starving."
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., is on track to become House speaker in January. But some progressives are holding out. Bean was a moderate when she served before. Yours truly asked about the natural unease between left-wing Democrats and centrists.
"It’s a pretty united majority," replied Bean.
"Do you think that’s overstated tension?" I followed up.
"I think it always is," Bean answered. "But that’s a media thing, right?"
So to recap for new members: Get a good scheduler? Check. Make sure you have time to eat? Check. And, blame the press.
Ha.
But, seriously, there are some progressives who aren’t willing to publicly commit to supporting Jeffries as speaker. Most of these incoming members comprise what’s now known as "The Bloc." It’s kind of like "The Squad" some years ago.
And they’re not tipping their hand about Jeffries.
They’re trying to squeeze the New York Democrat and others for legislative guarantees.
"We're not withholding votes. What we're doing is saying we're undecided. We're not going to rubber-stamp anything," said Rep.-elect Adam Hamawy, D-N.J.
"I don't think it's about the individual. It’s about the agenda and the agenda that actually reflects the priorities of the American people," said Rep.-elect Melat Kiros, D-Colo. "It's about what kind of priorities, what kind of floor votes, what kind of plan do we have to actually fight for the bold change the American people sent us here to do."
"I think we need to be talking about improving the lives of working people and helping them join unions," said Rep.-elect Claire Valdez, D-N.Y.
There’s nothing groundbreaking going on here. Progressive Democrats won. Democrats won big. The Bloc wants to flex its muscles and execute its agenda.
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Posted by Skidmark 2026-11-12 09:10||
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