House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries can’t get away from Zohran Mamdani.
It’s a huge week for House Democrats as they work to hone their messaging on the looming government shutdown. But the question of whether or not Democratic congressional leaders will back their party’s nominee for mayor in their native New York City remains a huge topic on Capitol Hill.
Consider what’s happened since Saturday.
First, Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) publicly chastised congressional Democratic leadership for failing to endorse Mamdani. Then New York Gov. Kathy Hochul endorsed him. Shortly after, Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-N.Y.), who represents a battleground district on Long Island, said he wouldn’t support Mamdani.
Jeffries only met Mamdani for the first time in mid-July, almost two months ago. They met a second time in August. Weeks later, there’s still no endorsement, or an announcement that one isn’t happening.
Through a spokesperson, Jeffries swiped back at Van Hollen for wading into the dispute. But Jeffries’ hesitation has kept the issue in the forefront. Will he or won’t he?
“People ask, but I guess he’s taking his time,” said Rep. Nydia Velázquez (D-N.Y.), an early Mamdani backer. “I think that they have been meeting and so on. I hope it happens before November.”
Most House Democrats, even progressives, have been giving Jeffries latitude. In interviews Monday evening, several declined to criticize him directly but urged all Democrats to unite behind Mamdani.
“He’s focused on what the Democratic response needs to be on stopping the shutdown,” Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) said of Jeffries.
Yet the endorsement question isn’t going away. Mamdani himself huddled with members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus over the weekend at their retreat, while House Republicans continue to hammer the controversy daily.
As we’ve said many times, Jeffries is extremely cautious. And he has to balance competing priorities, including his Brooklyn constituency and the battleground Democrats who need to run tough races to win the majority.
“We spent four or five years running away from the socialist label. It’s really hard to embrace it,” Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.) said. “We’re not gonna take back the House with the Mamdani message.”
