House Democrats "pass the torch": But Hakeem Jeffries is no upgrade on Nancy Pelosi

Images of passing the torch can be stirring. When outgoing Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced two weeks ago that she would step back from the leadership of House Democrats, she said: "The hour has come for a new generation to lead." NBC News offered the common media frame: "Pelosi made history as the first female speaker of the House, while Jeffries, the current Democratic Caucus chairman, would become the first Black leader of a congressional caucus and highest-ranking Black lawmaker on Capitol Hill." Its priority — to protect the party's incumbents against Squad-like primary challengers from the left — was summed up last winter in a Rolling Stone headline over an article about Jeffries' initiative: "Top House Democrat Unveils Plan to Beat Back Progressive Rebellion." Last year, The American Prospect reported, Jeffries was conspicuously absent from efforts to support public housing in his home city: "When all New York City House Democrats sent a letter to Pelosi urging her to protect all $80 billion for public housing in the BBB, Jeffries was the only member not to sign that missive, especially surprising given that New York Dems are known to act as a bloc."