Hakeem Jeffries Biography, Net Worth, Age, Wife, Children, Parents, Brother, Height, Family
Hakeem Jeffries is a famous American politician and attorney who has served as the U.S. representative for New York’s 8th congressional district since 2013.
Hakeem is also a member of the Democratic Party, he represents a district that covers parts of eastern Brooklyn and southwestern Queens in New York City.
The following information on Hakeem Jeffries’s Biography, Net Worth, Age, Family, Parents, Siblings, Children, Wife and Nationality is all you need to know.
Hakeem Jeffries Biography
Hakeem Sekou Jeffries (born August 4, 1970) is an American politician and attorney who has served as the U.S. representative for New York’s 8th congressional district since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, he represents a district that covers parts of eastern Brooklyn and southwestern Queens in New York City. A corporate lawyer, he worked for Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, then Viacom and CBS, before running for and serving in the New York State Assembly from 2007 to 2012, representing the 57th Assembly district. Jeffries has chaired the House Democratic Caucus since 2019.
Hakeem Jeffries Early Life
Jeffries was born in Brooklyn, New York, at Brooklyn Hospital Center to Laneda Jeffries, a social worker, and Marland Jeffries, a state substance-abuse counselor. He grew up in Crown Heights, Brooklyn.
Jeffries graduated from Midwood High School in 1988. He then studied political science at Binghamton University, graduating in 1992 with a Bachelor of Arts degree with honors. During his time at Binghamton he became a member of the Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity.
Jeffries did graduate study at Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy, earning a Master of Public Policy degree in 1994. He then attended New York University School of Law, where he was a member of the New York University Law Review. He graduated in 1997 with a Juris Doctor degree.
After graduating from law school, Jeffries spent one year as a law clerk for Judge Harold Baer Jr. of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. From 1998 to 2004, he was in private practice at the law firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison. In 2004, he became an in-house litigator for Viacom and CBS, where he worked on litigation stemming from the Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show controversy. During Jeffries’s time at Paul, Weiss, he also served as director of intergovernmental affairs for the New York State Chapter of the National Association of Minority Contractors and as the president of Black Attorneys for Progress.
Hakeem Jeffries Career
Jeffries is considered a more centrist Democrat in the House; he said he is willing to work with Republicans “whenever possible but we will also push back against extremism whenever necessary.” He also wants to have good and working relationships with more progressive Democrats. Since taking federal office, Jeffries has been called “a rising star”. He has been appointed to the House Judiciary Committee Task Force on Over Criminalization as well as appointed the whip of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC). He also plays in the infield on the Congressional Baseball Team
In 2007, while still in his first term in the State Assembly, Jeffries endorsed and supported Barack Obama, and was among Obama’s earliest supporters in Hillary Clinton’s home state. In one interview, he said, “When I first ran for office, some people suggested that someone with the name ‘Hakeem Jeffries’ could never get elected, and when I saw someone with the name ‘Barack Obama’ get elected to the U.S. Senate, it certainly inspired me.”
In 2015, Jeffries led the effort to pass The Slain Officer Family Support Act, which extended the tax deadline for people making donations to organizations supporting the families of deceased NYPD Detectives Wenjian Liu and Rafael Ramos. The families of the officers, who had been killed in their patrol car on December 20, 2014, in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Jeffries’s district, had been the recipients of charitable fundraising. Before the law’s enactment, people would have had to make those contributions by December 31, 2014, to qualify for a tax deduction in connection with taxes filed in 2015. With the change, contributions made until April 15, 2015, were deductible. President Obama signed the bill into law on April 1, 2015.
Jeffries supports banning discrimination based on s#xual orientation and gender identity. In 2019, he voted in favor of the Equality Act and urged Congress members to do the same. Jeffries alleged Russian collusion in the 2016 United States presidential election and repeatedly called former president Donald Trump an “illegitimate” president.
In June 2020, after 31-year incumbent Representative Eliot Engel faced backlash for “an inartful statement”, Jeffries threw his full support behind Engel 10 days before the 2020 New York Democratic primaries. Engel lost in the primaries to Jamaal Bowman. The same month, Jeffries endorsed New Jersey Representative Josh Gottheimer for reelection, as well as Mimi Rocah for Westchester District Attorney.
On November 30, 2022, Jeffries was elected to lead the Democratic Party caucus in the House of Representatives in 2023, succeeding Nancy Pelosi. If Kevin McCarthy is elected Speaker of the House, Jeffries is expected to become the minority leader.
Hakeem Jeffries Height
Hakeem Jeffries stands at a height of 5 feet 10 inches tall and weighs approximately 79kg.
Hakeem Jeffries Wife, Children
Jeffries is married to Kennisandra Arciniegas-Jeffries, a social worker with 1199 SEIU’s Benefit Fund. They have two sons and live in Prospect Heights.
Jeffries is a Baptist.
Jeffries’s younger brother, Hasan Kwame Jeffries, is an associate professor of history at The Ohio State University. He is the author of Bloody Lowndes: Civil Rights and Black Power in Alabama’s Black Belt. Jeffries is the nephew of Leonard Jeffries, a former professor at City College of New York.
Hakeem Jeffries Net Worth
Hakeem Jeffries has an estimated net worth of $1 million. He makes money as a politician.