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Seven dead and over 100 hurt as two trains collide south of Cairo
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Americas · Politics · United States Source-checked
Hakeem Jeffries is set to become House speaker, but a petition against him has nearly a million signatures
Democrats won both chambers of Congress on Tuesday. Jeffries could become the first Black speaker, but some progressives are not convinced.
Key facts
- Democrats won a majority in both the House and the Senate in the 3 November midterms, according to DW.
- Jeffries, 56, is on the verge of becoming the first Black speaker of the House, according to Al Jazeera.
- A Change.org petition against him had more than 980,000 signatures by Saturday morning, Al Jazeera reports.
Democrats’ decisive win in the United States midterm elections has put House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York on course to become speaker of the House, but not everyone in his party is behind him.
DW reports that Democrats took the majority from President Donald Trump’s Republicans in both the House and the Senate on 3 November, and also won governor races in former Republican strongholds such as Texas. Al Jazeera says Jeffries, who is 56 and has spent almost two decades in Congress, would be the first Black speaker in the history of the House.
Al Jazeera reports that some within the party doubt he is the right person for the moment. It describes him as cautious and a long-time supporter of Israel. An online petition on Change.org urging lawmakers to choose another speaker had gathered more than 980,000 signatures by Saturday morning. The petition says the speaker should represent Democratic voters and not only the party establishment, and that the outcome is not a foregone conclusion. Several newly elected progressive lawmakers have not said whether they will back him.
DW adds that the party still has to agree on how best to use its new power. The White House reminded Americans after the election that Trump is still president. Trump can veto legislation, and a veto can only be overridden by a two-thirds majority, which Democrats do not have in either chamber. A professor of public administration at American University told DW that Republicans in the House who survived may be less willing to tie themselves closely to Trump.
The speaker is chosen by a vote of the full House when the new Congress meets, so Jeffries needs enough support within his own party.
Why it matters
The choice of speaker will shape how hard Democrats push back against the president in his last two years in office.
What remains uncertain
The petition's signature count is unverified and comes from Al Jazeera's reading of the petition page. It is not known how many newly elected Democrats will back Jeffries. The vote for speaker has not happened.
Sources and references
- Al Jazeera: Who is Hakeem Jeffries, the Democrat poised to become House speaker? (2026-11-07)
- DW: After victory in the midterms, what next for US Democrats? (2026-11-07)
Each link goes to the specific article or document we used. Two articles carrying the same wire report count as one source.
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