Petition Against Jeffries Nears 1 Million Signatures

The petition, titled “House Democrats: CHOOSE A NEW SPEAKER,” calls on members of the incoming 120th Congress to vote against Jeffries in January 2027. It argues that the speaker should represent Democratic voters rather than the party establishment and urges lawmakers to consider Jeffries’s record, policy positions, campaign donors and leadership before voting.

Democrats emerged from Tuesday’s elections with at least 254 seats in the next Congress, while Republicans are expected to hold 162 when new members are sworn in in January. Jeffries formally entered the leadership contest on Wednesday, sending a letter to all members. No challenger has stepped forward to oppose him directly.

Progressives have criticized Jeffries for not embracing policies including Medicare for All, confronting corporate power and restricting military assistance to Israel over its war in Gaza. Axios reported Friday that members of Congress had been “inundated” with calls against his election. The outlet said nearly half a dozen incoming Democrats from deeply Republican districts declined to say whether they would support him.

Corbin Trent, a former top aide to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez who now leads the progressive group A Fight Worth Having, wrote in Common Dreams on Friday that current Democratic leaders were “completely ill-suited for this moment.” He said voters had called for new leadership, but that too many people in Washington were not listening.

Jeffries remains the likely choice, given the size of the Democratic majority and the lack of a declared rival. The petition campaign and wider opposition could nevertheless add to pressure on him as the leadership vote approaches.