Who is Hakeem Jeffries?
Hakeem Jeffries (full name: Hakeem Sekou Jeffries) is an American politician serving as the U.S. Representative for New York’s 8th congressional district since 2013. He is a member of the Democratic Party and his district covers parts of Brooklyn and Queens. As a corporate lawyer by occupation, Jeffries worked for Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, then Viacom and CBS. This is before running for and serving in the New York State Assembly from 2007 to 2012. He represented the 57th Assembly district.
He defeated California Congresswoman Barbara Lee to become Chair of the House Democratic Caucus on November 28, 2018. Jeffries’ term began when the new congress was sworn in on January 3, 2019. He is also a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and the U.S.-Japan Caucus.
He was voted for both articles of impeachment against President Donald J. Trump. on December 18, 2019.
He was then selected as one of seven House managers on January 15, 2020, who will present the impeachment case against President Donald Trump during his trial before the United States Senate. Jeffries supports banning discrimination base on sexual orientation and gender equity. He further voted in favor of the Equality Act and urged Congress members to do the same in 2019.
Hakeem Jeffries Education
Jeffries attended Midwood High School and later studied at Binghamton University from where he graduated receiving a B.A. degree in political science from Binghamton University with honors. He is also a member of the Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity. He also received a J.D. degree from New York University School of Law. Jeffries obtained a Master of Public Policy degree from Georgetown University.
How Old is Hakeem Jeffries?
Jeffries is 49 years old as of 2019. He was born on August 4, 1970, in Brooklyn, New York City, New York, U.S.
Hakeem Jeffries Family
Jeffries was born to Laneda Jeffries, a social worker, and Marland Jeffries, a state substance-abuse counselor in Brooklyn Hospital. He was raised in Crown Heights, Brooklyn.
He is the nephew of Leonard Jeffries, a former professor at City College of New York.
Hakeem Jeffries Brother
His younger brother Hasan Kwame Jeffries is an associate professor of history at the Ohio State University in Columbus. He is also the author of Bloody Lowndes: Civil Rights and Black Power in Alabama’s Black Belt.
Hakeem Jeffries Wife
Jeffries is married to Kennisandra Arciniegas-Jeffries. Kennisandra is a social worker with 1199 SEIU’s Benefit Fund. Citing from a 2018 financial disclosure, she received an income that year from Worksite Medical Service PC.
Many of Jeffries supporters have called Hakeem and Kennisandra “the next Barack and Michelle Obama.”
Hakeem Jeffries Son
Jeffries and Kennisandra have two sons together. Their son Jeremiah was born in 2001 and Joshua in 2014. The whole family lives in Prospect Heights.
Hakeem Jeffries Law
Initially, he served as a clerk for Judge Harold Baer, Jr. of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. He later worked in the litigation department of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison. Jeffries then became an assistant litigator for Viacom and CBS, where he worked on litigation stemming from the Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show controversy.
During his tenure at Paul, Weiss, Jeffries served as director of intergovernmental affairs for the New York State Chapter of the National Association of Minority Contractors. He also served as the president of Black Attorneys for Progress.
Hakeem Jeffries Assembly
Jeffries served for six years in the New York State Assembly. In that capacity, he authored laws to protect the civil liberties of law-abiding New Yorkers during police encounters, encourage the transformation of vacant luxury condominiums into affordable homes for working families and improve the quality of justice in the civil court system.
During his tenure, he introduced over 70 bills. Jeffries introduced bill A02589, which would penalize retailers and wholesalers who knowingly sell to the public hazardous or dangerous toys that have been the subject of a recall.
The Stop-and-Frisk database bill was signed into law by Governor Paterson. The bill banned police from compiling names and addresses of those stopped but not arrested during street searches.
Hakeem Jeffries Congress
In January 2012, Hakeem announced he would give up his Assembly seat to run in New York’s 8th congressional district. He was touted the “Barack Obama of Brooklyn”. However, he said he doesn’t see the Obama comparison. “Other than the fact that we were both born on August 4, it’s not clear to me that there’s much of a professional resemblance.”
He defeated the city’s councilman Charles Barron in the Democratic primary on June 26, 2012, 72 to 28 percent. Jeffries went on to defeat Beavan and Republican Alan Bellone in the November general election with 71 percent of the vote. He was sworn into the 113th Congress on January 3, 2013.
From his service in the State Assembly, Jeffries has introduced innovative practices such as Operation Preserve,[58] a legal housing clinic for displaced residents in the community; Summer at the Subway, now known as “Congress on Your Corner.” He has also introduced
outdoor evening office hours from June through August near subway stations that allows him to connect and hear constituents’ concerns first- hand, and his annual “State of the District” address.
He has also introduced a community event in January that reviews important milestones achieved in the past year and previews the Congressman’s goals for the year ahead.
Hakeem Jeffries Israel
Jeffries is pro-Israel. During a 2014 rally, Jeffries said that “Israel should not be made to apologize for its strength.” He cited his own childhood growing up in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. He then added that he knew from experience that “the only thing that neighbors respect in a tough neighborhood is strength.”
Hakeem Jeffries Salary
Jeffries receives his income from his legislative duties. However, his salary is not yet revealed.
Hakeem Jeffries Net Worth
Jeffries has assets in mutual funds, brokerage IRAs, NY 529 Direct Plans for his dependent children, annuities, a federal credit union account, and real estate worth $15,000 to $50,000.
His net worth is estimated to be $567, 000.