Jeffries indicates he will be running in the New York City mayoral race before early voting begins
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House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., is expected to weigh in in the upcoming New York City mayoral race after dodging the question for weeks.
The House’s top Democrat, who represents part of Brooklyn, has faced press scrutiny for repeatedly ignoring reporters when asked whether he would endorse fellow Democrat Zahran Mamdani, a self-described democratic socialist, for mayor.
When asked during his press conference on Monday if he would clarify his thoughts on the race before early voting begins in New York City on Saturday, October 25, Jeffries said: “Yes, that is my intention.”
That could mean Jeffries endorses Mamdani before Election Day comes — or he could avoid backing anyone in the race altogether.
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Hakeem Jeffries said he will weigh in in Zahran Mamdani’s New York City mayoral race this week. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images; Barry Williams/New York Daily News/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
The statement was similar to comments he made to Fox News Digital on Friday, the day after the mayoral debate. However, Jefferies said at the time that he had not yet seen the debate at that point.
When asked how long he would wait for ratification, he added: “I expect to speak with the Democratic candidate Zahran sometime before early voting.”
He also dodged the question of why he hasn’t endorsed Mamdani yet during an appearance on ABC News’ “This Week” on Sunday.
Instead, Jeffries said, “As I indicated, I expect to have a conversation with him sometime this week before early voting, which begins next weekend in New York City. And we will certainly have more to say about the mayor’s race and about our Democratic nominee before early voting begins.”
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Mamdani is currently the front-runner in the race against Republican Curtis Sliwa and independent candidate Andrew Cuomo, the former governor of New York.
Jeffries’ House counterpart, Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Los Angeles, has repeatedly denounced Mamdani as a “Marxist.”
Mamdani’s nomination has caused a rift among Democrats in Washington.
Independent candidate former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, left, speaks during a mayoral debate with Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa, center, and Democratic candidate Zahran Mamdani, Thursday, October 16, 2025, in New York City. (AP Photo/Angelina Katsanis, Swimming Pool)
He has been endorsed by progressive stars within the Democratic Party like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., but both Jeffries and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., have remained silent.
Reps. Laura Guillen, D-N.Y., and Tom Suozzi, D-N.Y., moderates who represent the suburbs outside New York City, have condemned Mamdani’s nomination.
It appears that Jeffries was deliberately unclear about his moves, but Republicans accused him and Schumer of prolonging the current government shutdown out of fear of a progressive revolt led by Democrats in New York like Mamdani.
Jeffries made his brief remarks Monday during a news conference on the 20th day of the shutdown, as Republicans and Democrats appeared no closer to agreeing on a path forward.
At another point in the press conference, Jeffries called on President Donald Trump to take a more active role in negotiations on ending the lockdown.
“Donald Trump definitely needs to get involved. He needs to get off the sidelines, get off the golf course and actually decide to end the shutdown that he created, that he allowed to happen,” Jeffries said.
“We know that Republicans in the House and Senate don’t do anything without getting permission from their president, Donald J. Trump, and that’s why there have been no negotiations, zero negotiations, since the Republicans shut down the government.”
President Donald Trump speaks at a Religious Liberty Commission hearing at the Museum of the Bible, Monday, September 8, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
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But Republican leaders in Congress have repeatedly insisted they have nothing to negotiate after offering a straightforward seven-week extension of federal funding levels for fiscal year 2025.
The measure, called a continuing resolution (CR), is intended to give congressional appropriators more time to reach a long-term agreement on fiscal year 2026 funding.
The House of Representatives passed the bill on September 19. But in the Senate, where at least eight Democrats are needed to break a filibuster if all GOP lawmakers support it, the bill failed to advance a dozen times.
Democratic leaders are demanding that any funding bill be paired with an extension of Covid-19-era Obamacare subsidies that are set to expire at the end of this year.