At the opening of the 119th Congress on Friday, after Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA) was re-elected Speaker of the House (218-215), his opponent Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) addressed his fellow Representatives.
At the podium, Jeffries said: “Two months ago, the American people elected Donald Trump as the 47th President of the United States.” The comment provoked Republicans to literally hoot and holler, applaud and stand, including Johnson who applauded in the front row.
There are no election deniers on our side of the aisle. pic.twitter.com/2gmBIymaZF
— Hakeem Jeffries (@RepJeffries) January 3, 2025
When Jeffries replied to the loud response and said “Thank you for that very generous applause,” the crowd laughed. As seen in the video below, even Johnson cracked a smile.
Jeffries got the last laugh when he added: “It’s okay, there are no election deniers on our side of the aisle,” which got the Democrats equally loud and riled up and on their feet.
Jeffries added: “One should love America, when you win and when you lose. That’s the patriotic thing to do, and that’s the America that House Democrats will fight hard to preserve because we love this country.”
As seen below, House Democrats also got loud when former Democratic Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi cast her vote on the floor for Jeffries.
BREAKING: In an extraordinarily powerful moment, former Speaker, Nancy Pelosi, votes for Hakeem Jeffries as leader. This is remarkable. pic.twitter.com/pHy9ytwwiE
— Democratic Wins Media (@DemocraticWins) January 3, 2025
