- House Minority leader Hakeem Jeffries says he can have a better relationship with McCarthy than Pelosi.
- Kevin McCarthy was elected House Speaker early Saturday after five days of voting.
- McCarthy had a very contentious relationship with former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.
Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries says he can have a better relationship with Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy than Nancy Pelosi did.
“Clearly we are going to have strong disagreements at times but we can agree to disagree without being disagreeable,” Jeffries said during an interview on NBC News “Meet the Press.”
The House minority leader said he and McCarthy, who was elected speaker after five days of voting and 15 ballots early Saturday morning have had “some positive forward-looking conversations” in the past few weeks and he hopes to “build upon those” to do the “right thing for the American people.”
—Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) January 8, 2023
Jefferies said he’s looking forward to building upon the “Biden agenda” and accomplishments to “move the country forward” and if McCarthy “is willing to find common ground in that regard they will find willing partners amongst House Democrats.”
Former Speaker of the House Pelosi and McCarthy have publically taken jabs at each other during their time in the House. Insider previously reported that Pelosi called McCarthy a “moron” in July 2021, after he criticized a mask mandate for Congress. At a Republican fundraising event a few days later, McCarthy joked that it would be “hard not to hit” Pelosi with the speaker’s gavel if he became speaker.
