By Richard Cowan

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Democrat Hakeem Jeffries could wield more power than a typical minority leader in the U.S. House of Representatives, with President-elect Donald Trump’s fractious Republicans holding a thin majority.

Republican Speaker Mike Johnson turned to Jeffries over a dozen times during the 2023-2024 session to secure Democratic votes for critical legislation. Notably, in May, Jeffries helped Johnson fend off hardline Republicans seeking to end his speakership.

During the recent vote to re-elect Johnson, all 215 Democrats supported their 54-year-old leader from New York. Johnson was re-elected, albeit after a prolonged vote to persuade two of the three Republicans who opposed him to change their votes.

Initially, Republicans will hold a 219-215 majority.

Democratic Representative Don Beyer noted, “I think we have a lot more leverage than we had” in 2017, when Trump’s Republicans also controlled the House, but by a 40-seat margin.

Jeffries’ and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s powers will be limited as Republicans attempt to push Trump’s legislative agenda through party-line votes, avoiding the Senate’s 60-vote rule on most legislation.

In the House, Jeffries can exploit divisions within the Republican ranks to secure Democratic votes.

This strategy has been used by Jeffries since January 2023 on various bills, including government funding and an $895 billion military aid package supporting Ukraine’s war against Russia.

Upcoming discussions on renewing Trump’s expiring tax cuts, primarily benefiting corporations and the wealthy, offer Democrats hope for negotiations, potentially securing concessions like an expanded child tax credit for low-income families and repealing limits on state and local tax deductions.

Acknowledging the electorate’s concerns about rising prices under Biden, Jeffries stated, “For far too long… the cost of living has gone up but the size of the middle class has come down,” referencing escalating housing, grocery, and childcare costs.

While asserting a readiness for bipartisan collaboration with Republicans, Jeffries cautioned against “far-right extremism,” emphasizing the need to protect Social Security and Medicare.

He and his team have identified additional areas for potential bipartisan compromise, such as safeguarding young undocumented individuals from deportation, reforming U.S. asylum laws, and updating immigration processes for farm workers.

‘CAN’T BE STEAMROLLED’

The key question is whether Jeffries can establish a working rapport with Trump. The two New York natives previously collaborated on criminal justice reforms during Trump’s earlier term. However, Washington’s partisanship has intensified since then, particularly following Nancy Pelosi’s contentious interactions with Trump.

When Trump attempted to pass a controversial debt limit increase within a restructured stopgap funding bill last month, Democrats resisted alongside several dissatisfied Republicans.

Veteran Democratic Representative Debbie Dingell remarked, “We showed that we can’t be steamrolled.”

This chaos leads to questions about whether Trump eroded his influence before even starting his presidency and if he may need to adjust his expectations.

However, Republican Representative Tim Burchett of Tennessee maintained, “I don’t think so. He’s still strong. People still love him back home. That’s all that really matters.”