Maryland Rep. Steny Hoyer held a top leadership role for more than a decade before Nancy Pelosi was elected in 2001 as minority whip, becoming the highest-ranking woman in either party. Rep. Jim Clyburn of South Carolina would join them in 2007 as the No. 3 leader.
The veteran trio of Democrats, for the most part, were viewed as three distinct leaders. Pelosi commanded the progressives. Hoyer wrangled the moderate flank of the caucus while Clyburn steered the Southern delegation and the powerful Congressional Black Caucus.
Now, as a new generation of untested leaders enters the spotlight with the prospects of taking back the majority, the distinctions between Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Minority Whip Katherine Clark and Pete Aguilar, chair of the House Democratic Caucus, are less obvious, as the trio rose to power in unison and positioned themselves as one team.
“Essentially, Hakeem, Clark and Aguilar ran together. Clyburn, myself and Nancy also got to the positions on our own,” Hoyer told The Washington Sun. “I think while we worked very closely together, we were not perceived — because we didn’t run together — as a unit.”
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But with the possibility of leading Congress with a tight majority next year, that unified front could be tested.
The three have already faced some fractures in the caucus after two moderate members, Reps. Jared Golden (D-Maine) and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-Washington), broke ranks twice to help Republicans move their priority bills forward.
So far, their united front has quelled the kind of intraleadership squabbling that defined other leadership teams: Pelosi and Hoyer were famously competitive, with Pelosi leapfrogging Hoyer in leadership positions. Former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-California) and Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-Louisiana) maintained their own hot-and-cold rivalry — with McCarthy often opting to deputize preferred allies for important jobs in lieu of his No. 2.
The three Democrats’ close ties helped stave off succession fights — Jeffries, Clark and Aguilar won their positions unanimously in 2022 without public discourse and with the blessing of their predecessors. They were reelected in 2024 without any challenges.
But the absence of public rivalries has not masked their differences. Fellow Democrats don’t believe they have finite lanes, even as there are clear differences based on their backgrounds and alliances.
“We have three distinct leaders in their own right that represent the broad array of the caucus,” said Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, adding “I think the thing is, every constituency cuts across many different axes.”
Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan told The Sun, referring to Clark and Jeffries, “I come from a big family, and so for me, depending on what the ask is or what the issue is, I decide whether or not I’m going to go to mom, who I’m sure will say yes, or to dad, who I’m sure will say yes,” adding, “It depends on the issue.”
Illinois Democratic Rep. Lauren Underwood did lay out some style differences, calling Clark “very polished” and “very aware. ... She’s always watching and always listening.” She characterized Aguilar as “laid back” and said he has an “ease” about him. As for Jeffries, she said he can be “kind of dry” and can be “very somber” when he’s handling business, but she also said he will “get very animated around certain things, and like he will light up.”Some clear lines are emerging among how rank and file view the top three leaders.
Progressives say they align with Clark the most. Her decision to break with Jeffries and Aguilar back in July on a vote to strip Israel of around $3 billion in security funding cemented her bona fides with many on the left-leaning side of the caucus.
Clark explained her decision as dealing with “stunts from congressional Republicans,” but she also added about Israel, “However, it is clear that the status quo is not tenable.”
“I mean she said ‘genocide’ in her town hall. Even if she later clarified it — she went there,” one chief of staff who works for a progressive Democrat in Congress told The Sun, “referring to Clark discussing the Israel-Gaza war in an event in her district.
The Massachusetts Democrat is known for advocating for women’s issues, including championing the “Child Care is Infrastructure Act,” her signature legislative proposal designed to provide much greater access or subsidies for working parents.
“I think that you know Clark will probably have to really work with our far left, maybe DSA members who are coming in, and work with the Progressive Caucus to bring them into the fold of the larger caucus,” said Rep. Andrea Salinas, a Democrat from Oregon.
One member characterized her whip style as sort of diplomatic.
“She is also someone who’s careful to make sure that when she has to push, she will do that, and when she needs to observe the situation and be thoughtful, she’ll back up,” Rep. Nellie Pou of New Jersey told The Sun.
Aguilar hails from a moderate district in California. His tenure has been rooted in his relationships with moderates and members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. He quickly eyed leadership posts, serving as whip of the New Democrat Coalition — a group of Democrats made up of center-left members — and the CHC.
And with Pelosi’s departure next year, Aguilar becomes the most powerful lawmaker in the 52-member California delegation, even as his and the former speaker’s politics are vastly different.
“He’s a bit more conservative, so I think that he’s got a unique lens from which, you know, folks will go and sort of bounce ideas off of,” Rep. Yvette Clarke of New York told The Sun.
For another member, Aguilar has helped navigate tough floor votes.
“So he’s been super supportive,” said Pou, a freshman in a competitive district, describing Aguilar as a resource. “There’s been times that, you know, I’ve had to take some very difficult votes and he helped to provide some clarification by discussing the pros and cons.”
When it comes to Jeffries, who is in line to become the first Black speaker, Democrats view him as the team’s “strategist” and “motivator.”
“Hakeem obviously is like the tip of the spear for all macros, but someone who really understands the challenges that larger, denser urban cities face because he’s from New York, and obviously, as a brother, you know the Black Caucus,” Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove of California said.
Jeffries has strong ties to the Congressional Black Caucus as the highest ranking member. Once viewed as an insurgent who tried unsuccessfully to oust a popular incumbent for a New York Assembly seat he eventually won, Jeffries has settled in as an establishment Democrat, earning the respect and support of his delegation in the 119th Congress.
The dozen or so members The Sun spoke with about this story all said Jeffries is an approachable leader who takes the time to speak to members. But leading a big tent means maintaining relationships across different ideologies, race and geographies rather than championing any single caucus constituency.
So far, these members say, he’s been able to navigate that space, but it has led to ambiguity among some members.
“I think we’ll see Jeffries doing both, like you know, two feet in different places, trying to build probably a little bit more trust,” said Salinas, who also described the caucus as being confused about where he stands on the ideological spectrum. “People were saying, ‘Oh, he’s actually a CPC member.’ Yes, but everybody’s like, ‘He seems so centrist.’”
That is particularly true of newcomers, especially those coming from New York, his hometown, where a band of Democratic Socialists bested two incumbents during the June primaries.
One progressive noted the anger around Jeffries meeting this summer with the president’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner. “Can I just tell you how annoyed people were that he met with Kushner? Come on, what are we doing? Who is that person? Relative to our party, relative to the leadership of this country. Why are you sitting in that meeting with them?” Rep. Adelita Grijalva (D-Arizona) told The Sun.
If Jeffries is successful and gains the gavel next year he will face a constant tug from the left of his caucus to be hard-line when it comes to the Trump administration, with centrists urging some degree of cooperation to govern.
“It is incumbent upon us to have a leadership team that is going to be able to work with someone like me and someone that’s a lot more moderate, like Cuellar,” Grijalva said, referring to Texas Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar.
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