WASHINGTON – Top Republicans attacked the House Democratic leader Monday. Support for Hakeem Jeffries from Zoran Mamdani for mayor of New York City, naming the self-proclaimed democratic socialist the new face of the Democratic Party ahead of next year's midterm elections.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, called Jeffries' support a “seismic shift in policy.”
“We have seen the clearest sign yet that this radical insurgency in the Democratic Party is succeeding, and they are putting an end to what has always been known as the Democratic Party in America,” Johnson told reporters at the Capitol. “After months of pressure from the far left, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries has finally relented. He gave in and supported the Socialist candidacy for mayor of New York.”
The new comments are an attempt by GOP leaders to link all Democrats in Congress to Mamdani, hoping to portray the party as too left-wing ahead of next November's House and Senate elections. The popular Muslim-American legislator has energized the progressive base, but his calls to raise taxes on the rich and support the Palestinians have drawn criticism from Republicans and some moderate Democrats.
“House Democrats have chosen the side they were forced onto by the far left they fear so much,” the speaker said Monday. “And they showed the world what they really believe. There is no longer room for centrists and moderates in their party.”
Speaking alongside Johnson, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-Louisiana, also spoke out about Jeffries' support for Mamdani, saying it meant Democrats had “fully embraced socialism.”
“Hakeem Jeffries now fully supports Maddami's socialist agenda. He is now the head of their party,” Scalise said. “When he gets elected mayor of New York, he gives orders to the rest of the Democrats, and they want to raise taxes on everyone.”
Throughout the press conference, all three top leaders used the word “socialist” repeatedly. A Gallup poll Last month showed that 66% of Democrats now have a favorable view of socialism, up from about 50% in 2010. But the same poll found that only 39% of Americans overall have a positive view of socialism; over the past 15 years, this figure has remained approximately unchanged.
Some key Democrats, including Jeffries' colleague, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, have not backed Mamdani, whose campaign has created headaches for party leaders.
For months, Jeffries and Schumer, both Democrats from Brooklyn, refused to answer questions about whether they would support Mamdani, who upset former Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the Democratic primary this summer and is now the favorite to win the general election. Cuomo now works as an independent against Mamdani on November 4 along with Republican Curtis Sliwa.
Mamdani, just 34, appealed to a new generation of voters and made accessibility a central part of his campaign. But Republicans attacked him for promising to raise taxes on wealthy New Yorkers.
He also faced criticism for his decision not to condemn the phrase “Globalizing the Intifada,” which some Jewish leaders have called anti-Semitic. (Mamdani told NBC's Meet the Press that mayors should not “police talk”; but later said he would “discourage” use of the phrase, New York Times reported).
Jeffries hesitated for several months about Mamdani's candidacy. The Democratic leader needs to flip just a few GOP-controlled seats to reclaim the House majority — and the speaker's gavel. If he rejects Mamdani, it will alienate the energized progressive base and could dampen turnout in the midterm elections. But embracing Mamdani too closely would jeopardize moderate Democrats who are central to winning a majority.
Nearly a year after losing the 2024 election, Democrats are still emerging from political chaos as they try to revitalize the party and find a candidate who can retake the White House in 2028.
On Friday, the day before early voting began, Jeffries released a statement endorsing the entire slate of Democratic candidates in New York, including Mamdani.
“I deeply respect the will of the core voters and young people who were inspired to participate in the election process. Zoran Mamdani has tirelessly focused on solving the affordability crisis and has been vocal about his commitment to being a mayor for all New Yorkers, including those who do not support his candidacy,” Jeffries said in a statement Friday.
The House Democratic leader added that Mamdani pledged to prioritize the public safety of New Yorkers, “including the Jewish community, which has seen a startling increase in anti-Semitic incidents, and Black and Latino neighborhoods that have struggled for years with deadly gun violence.”
The Republican push to link Mamdani to the entire Democratic Party began almost immediately. “So-called 'leader' Hakeem Jeffries has officially surrendered to Zoran Mamdani and the socialist mob that now controls the Democratic Party,” Mike Marinella, spokesman for the House GOP campaign arm, said after Jeffries' endorsement. “Their rise to power of the far left has ignited Democrats' hopes of taking back the House and turned their agenda into pure electoral poison.”
Jeffries refused to paint the party with such a broad brush. Asked on CBS's “Face the Nation” on Sunday whether House Democrats should “imitate” Mamdani's populist message on affordability, Jeffries demurred and said Democrats were already focused on “the affordability crisis that Donald Trump and Republican policies have worsened in the United States of America.”
“No,” Jeffreys said decisively. “We're going to emulate our own views on the need to make life more affordable here in America.”
