Brooklyn's Hakeem Jeffries in line to be the first Black House speaker, with Chuck Schumer set to lead the Senate again

Brooklyn Rep. Hakeem Jeffries is in line to become the first Black speaker of the House after Democrats won enough seats Tuesday to take control of the chamber, CBS New York projected. Democrats also won the Senate, which puts Sen. Chuck Schumer, who lives blocks from Jeffries in Brooklyn, in position to serve as majority leader again, The City Reporter reported.

Jeffries, 56, has led House Democrats since January 2023. He would replace Republican Speaker Mike Johnson when the new Congress convenes in January, but he still has to win a formal House vote for the job, amNY reported.

"We made it, Brooklyn. We made it," Jeffries told supporters in Washington on Tuesday night. "We're going to fight for an affordable America," he said, according to amNY.

His own race

Jeffries won another term in the 8th Congressional District, which covers neighborhoods including Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brownsville, East New York, Canarsie and Coney Island, over Republican Lewis Mizrahi. He had 78.9% of the vote with 97.7% of scanners reported, according to unofficial results from the city Board of Elections.

What Democrats say they will do first

• Democrats have prepared an agenda for their first 100 days, with some votes planned in the first 100 hours. According to the Associated Press, as cited by amNY, those include restoring expired Affordable Care Act tax credits, reversing Medicaid cuts, challenging President Trump's tariffs and seeking an end to the U.S. war in Iran.
• Jeffries set up five working groups on the costs of health care, housing, groceries and other goods, gas and utilities, and caregiving. Each is co-led by a progressive and a more moderate Democrat; Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez co-chairs the health care group with Alabama Rep. Terri Sewell, amNY reported.
• House Judiciary and Oversight committees are expected to lead investigations of the Trump administration, amNY reported. Schumer said Democrats would focus first on high costs and then on what he called corruption in the administration. "Americans voted for change, and now Democrats must deliver," he said.

Other New York voices

Rep. Grace Meng of Queens, also reelected, told amNY that the new majority has "to tackle affordability first and foremost." Retiring Rep. Jerry Nadler called the result a repudiation of Trump and said he may teach at Columbia University after leaving office, amNY reported.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani had reaffirmed his support for Jeffries as speaker before Election Day. Last year he helped head off a possible primary challenge to Jeffries from Brooklyn Council Member Chi Ossé by urging the Democratic Socialists of America not to back it, amNY reported.

For every city race, see how New York City voted, borough by borough.