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House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said he will seek to ensure that all members of his Democratic caucus are heard after Midwestern representatives griped that they were overlooked by their coastal counterparts.
Mr. Jeffries said he spoke with Ohio Rep. Marcy Kaptur and Michigan Rep. Debbie Dingell, who spearheaded the Heartland Caucus to unite lawmakers from middle America.
“We’ve got some pretty strong Heartland representation at the leadership table that continues to be sensitive to these issues, but we look forward to lifting up all parts of America,” Mr. Jeffries said at his weekly press conference.
He noted that some Midwestern representatives are serving broadly in Democratic leadership.
Rep. Dan Kildee of Michigan co-chairs the Steering and Policy Committee, while Minnesota Rep. Dean Phillips and Illinois Rep. Lauren Underwood co-chair the Democratic Policy and Communications Committee.
“They really do authentically care about the Heartland communities that they respectively represent, and I think we have some strong representatives from the Heartland in our leadership,” Mr. Jeffries said.
The New York Democrat’s comments follow a press conference by the new caucus this week, where lawmakers talked about the need to amplify voices from the Midwest.
Ms. Kaptur called on Democratic leadership to give representatives from the Midwest a place at the table.
“They need someone from the Heartland,” Ms. Kaptur said. “Part of our challenge is we have no one from the leadership in any position from the Heartland, so this is one of the realities that we face over and over and over again.”
Ms. Dingell said she would continue to have talks with Mr. Jeffries as well as Caucus Chairman Pete Aguilar of California and Whip Katherine Clark of Massachusetts.
