Don Leonard isn't a House member yet. He's already rocking Capitol Hill.
Rep.-elect Don Leonard (D-Ohio) hasn't been sworn in yet, but he's making a name for himself on Capitol Hill as one of the most outspoken anti-establishment progressives in the incoming freshman class.
Key points
- What they're saying: Leonard, in his interview with Axios later on Tuesday afternoon, characterized the conversation described in his video as a "friendly" and "well-intentioned" talk with "folks who have been on the Hill for a really long time." "They let me know that while we all agree on a lot of this stuff...
- "I hear people, even members of the Progressive Caucus, talking about, 'Maybe we just tax super PACs.' Y'all, we need a 28th Amendment." Between the lines: Leonard said he has also found himself irked by House Democrats' seniority system, which makes it difficult for freshman members to get onto some of the most coveted committees.
- He made an even bigger splash on Tuesday with a video he posted to social media saying he met with "senior members" who warned him his life would be a "living hell" and that he would lose reelection if he opposes Jeffries for speaker of the House.
Leonard is archetypal of a burgeoning breed of swing-district House Democrats — populist in style, receptive to left-wing policies and unbound by traditional political norms — that will be well-represented in the 120th Congress.
Additional details
- He told his local CBS affiliate the day after the election he will "be shopping for a new leader" unless House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) changes his pro-Israel positions.
- "I'm really vibing with my class," he told Axios in a Tuesday interview on Capitol Hill.
- "These are everyday citizens who heard the same call I heard and stood up." State of play: Leonard, a professor of city planning who defeated Republican Rep.
- Aguilar predicted Jeffries will be "overwhelmingly selected" as speaker and that he doesn't "lose any sleep over that." "Members could have ideas and interests and they could have asks along the way, but the outcome is not in question," he added.
- that raises questions for me." What's next: The Ohio Democrat said he got a chance to meet Jeffries for the first time on Tuesday and arrange for their staffers to work out a time to sit down and talk.
How this summary was made: extractive summary — built from the sources' own reporting. It is drawn only from the reporting of the sources listed below — read the originals for full detail. How we summarize →
Advertisement
Every article behind this summary — 1 article from 1 outlet
Get stories like this in your inbox.
Subscribe — it's freeOne free email at 6am — your topics, deduplicated, five minutes. No account, no paywall.