Hakeem Jeffries becomes the first African American party leader in the House of Representatives

Hakeem Jeffries (c) forms with Katherine Clark (l) and Pete Aguilar (d) the new triumvirate at the head of the Democratic party in the House.

AP - J. Scott Applewhite

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Hakeem Jeffries, 52, has been chosen by his peers to succeed Nancy Pelosi, 82, as leader of the Democratic Party in the US House of Representatives.

With his two lieutenants, he embodies the emergence of a new generation at the head of this party.

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With our correspondent in Miami,

They were elected by acclamation of their peers, without opposition.

The new trio at the head of the Democratic Party in the House of Representatives is not made up of any white men, notes the American press.

He replaces a triumvirate of octogenarians who had held these positions for almost 20 years.

By

, 39 years his senior, Hakeem Jeffries becomes at 52 the first African-American to lead a party in Congress.

In his early days in politics, Jeffries was dubbed "the Barack Obama of Brooklyn."

It was in this borough of New York that he was born.

Coming from a modest background, this trained lawyer has represented the 8th district since 2012, one of the poorest in the Big Apple, with an African-American majority. 

Hakeem Jeffries rose to prominence in 2019 during Donald Trump's first impeachment trial, and began to rise in the Democratic elite.

He was then one of the seven elected officials responsible for investigating the accusation of the former president.

At the head of the Democratic minority in the House, he will have a woman for his right arm: Katherine Clark, 59, elected from Massassuchets.

And for the first time, the position of number 3 goes to a Latino, Pete Aguilar, 43, elected from California.

All three will take office next January in the 118th United States Congress.

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