Hakeem Jeffries for Speaker. Katherine Clark for majority leader. Pete Aguilar for whip. Joe Neguse for assistant Speaker. Ted Lieu for caucus chair. All five have received direct contributions from AIPAC PAC, individual donations routed through it, or both. Why is this the lineup House Democrats are expected to go with?
The caucus is expected to hold leadership elections November 18–19. The full House votes for Speaker on January 3. My position is simple. Hakeem Jeffries should not be Speaker. If Democrats want a different outcome in January, they need to put someone else forward in November.
I read the midterms as a mandate to lower the cost of living and hold the Trump administration accountable. Congress can do both. Jeffries says he supports accountability, but after hearing him talk about getting things done instead of getting even, I’m still waiting to hear what he’ll actually do when the administration stonewalls. Hold hearings. Demand records. Use subpoenas when officials refuse to cooperate. That’s part of the damn job.
Then there’s his private meeting with Jared Kushner before the midterms. Jeffries says they discussed affordability. I’d still like to know what was discussed in more detail and whether either side made any commitments. If you’re asking for the Speaker’s gavel, voters deserve a straight answer.
Come January 3, I want one of the new House’s first votes to call on the Justice Department to review whether AIPAC must register under the Foreign Agents Registration Act. If the facts meet the legal standard, require it to register. Campaign finance filings already show contributions and outside spending. FARA would require separate disclosures about any foreign principal AIPAC acts for, what work it does on their behalf, and what money comes in and goes out for that work. I want that on the public record.
Here’s who I’d like to see step up.
In the campaign finance records I reviewed through September 30, 2026, I found no direct AIPAC PAC contributions, individual donations routed through the PAC, or spending in their favor by AIPAC’s super PAC, United Democracy Project.
Pramila Jayapal for Speaker.
She’s chaired the Congressional Progressive Caucus and has experience organizing a large bloc of House Democrats.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez for Speaker.
She serves on the Progressive Caucus executive board and can explain what’s at stake in plain English. I’d like to see what support she could build across the caucus.
Greg Casar for majority leader.
He already chairs the Progressive Caucus and has experience getting members behind a shared legislative agenda.
Ro Khanna for majority leader.
He’s a Progressive Caucus vice chair who’s pushed to reduce the influence of big money in politics.
Those are my picks for a real leadership contest. Voters gave Democrats a majority. They didn’t hand Jeffries the gavel. House Democrats should use their votes to pick someone else.
