Hakeem Sekou Jeffries is an American politician and attorney who has been House Minority Leader and leader of the House Democratic Caucus in the U.S. House of Representatives since 2023. Jeffries is in his sixth House term, having represented New York's 8th congressional district, anchored in southern and eastern Brooklyn, since 2013.

Before his election to Congress in 2012, Jeffries served three terms in the New York State Assembly, representing the 57th district, and worked as a corporate lawyer. He chaired the House Democratic Caucus from 2019 to 2023 and in November 2022 was elected caucus leader unopposed, succeeding Nancy Pelosi.

Jeffries was born in New York City, at Brooklyn Hospital Center to Laneda Jeffries, a social worker, and Marland Jeffries, a state substance-abuse counselor. He grew up in Crown Heights, Brooklyn and his heritage traces back to Virginia, Georgia, Maryland, and Cape Verde.

Jeffries graduated from Midwood High School in 1988. He then studied political science at Binghamton University, graduating in 1992 with a Bachelor of Arts degree with honors. During his time at Binghamton he became a member of the Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity.

Jeffries continued his education at Georgetown University's McCourt School of Public Policy, earning a Master of Public Policy degree in 1994. He then attended New York University School of Law, where he was a member of the New York University Law Review. He graduated in 1997 with a Juris Doctor degree.

After graduating from law school, Jeffries spent one year as a law clerk for Judge Harold Baer Jr. of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. From 1998 to 2004, he was in private practice at the law firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison. In 2004, he became an in-house litigator for Viacom and CBS, where he worked on litigation stemming from the Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show controversy. During Jeffries's time at Paul, Weiss, he also served as director of intergovernmental affairs for the New York State Chapter of the National Association of Minority Contractors and as the president of Black Attorneys for Progress.