After being run by a trio of elderly party stalwarts for much of the last two decades, House Democrats are about to welcome a new generation of leaders in their forties and fifties. Here’s what you need to know about the new class expected to take over for Nancy Pelosi, Steny Hoyer, and James Clyburn.  REUTERS/Elizabeth FrantzHakeem Jeffries Jeffries is poised to be the first Black member of Congress to lead either party in the House. The 52-year-old Brooklynite worked at the powerhouse law firm Paul, Weiss and served in the New York State Assembly before winning his current seat in 2012. Legislatively, he has focused on criminal justice reform, helping to pass the bipartisan First Step Act that was signed by Donald Trump. Long considered Pelosi’s heir apparent, he’s been a close ally of the speaker’s during his time as Democratic Caucus Chair; he’s also been known to peruse biographies of previous House leaders, paying particular attention to the words they’ve used to address their caucuses. Perhaps relatedly, Jeffries likes to quote rap lyrics, and dropped a line from the Notorious B.I.G. into his closing speech during Trump’s Senate impeachment trial, in which he served as one of the House managers. The line: “And if you don’t know, now you know.” Where does he fit in the party? Jeffries is a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, but at the same time has very publicly clashed with the party’s left flank. Notable quotable “I’m a Black progressive Democrat concerned with addressing racial and social and economic injustice with the fierce urgency of now…There will never be a moment where I bend the knee to hard-left democratic socialism.” (source: The Atlantic)  Flickr/MPACKatherine Clark Clark, the 59-year old Massachusetts Congresswoman set to become minority whip, is the quiet one in the band. First elected in a 2013 special election, she previously served in a pair of lower-profile leadership roles working closely with freshmen members, and was once rumored to be a potential challenger to Jeffries. Where does she fit in the party? A member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, Clark isn’t known as a firebrand but has been quietly positioning herself for leadership by building close ties with powerful women across Washington. In 2015, she stopped dying her hair —now a signature gray— and has since championed women redefining so-called traditional standards of beauty and professionalism. Notable quotable “I think there is something about women’s leadership styles that are built on listening, building consensus and listening not just to people — our constituents — but also to my colleagues that come from different districts, have different concerns, different pressures than I do.” (source: Axios).  C-SPANPete Aguilar “A Latino working class kid makes good” is how one aide described 43-year old Rep. Peter Aguilar. The incoming Minority Caucus Chair has been pegged for years as a rising star well-liked across party factions. He was mayor of Redlands, California prior to winning his congressional bid in 2014 when he flipped a Republican-held seat. Under Trump, Aguilar led a failed bipartisan effort to craft an immigration bill combining new border security measures with protections for DACA recipients. He recently achieved some national prominence as a member of the Jan.6 panel investigating the Capitol riot. Where does he fit in the party? Aguilar is a member of the New Democrat Coalition, a group of Congressional lawmakers with a reputation as pro-business moderates. Notable quotable “I think that there’s benefit to being a relatively junior House member from California. From where I’m from, in the shadows of Los Angeles…nobody from my neck of the woods runs for statewide office, so that door has been closed.” (Source: Politico) | 
