New Dem House leader Hakeem Jeffries labeled 'election denier' by Republicans, who call for media scrutiny

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Republicans called out Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., after he was elected to Democratic leadership on Wednesday and said he was an "election denier" for previously referring to the 2016 election as "illegitimate."

"Hakeem Jeffries called the 2016 election ILLEGITIMATE. Why are Democrats electing an ELECTION DENIER to lead their party? Where is the media outrage labeling Jeffries a THREAT to Democracy?" Rep. Ronny Jackson, R-Tenn., wrote on Twitter.

Jeffries was elected to replace House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Wednesday as Democratic leader. 

"Leadership is incredibly important," Jeffries said Wednesday. "When we get an opportunity as diverse leaders to serve in positions of consequence, the most meaningful thing we can do in that space is an incredibly good job."

Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., flanked by Rep. Pete Aguilar, D-Calif., and Rep. Katherine Clark, D-Mass., speaks to reporters after they were elected to House Democratic leadership for the 118th Congress at the U.S. Capitol Visitors Center in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

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Rep. Lance Gooden, R-Texas, congratulated House Democrats for electing Jeffries and said the media would "conveniently" leave out "election denier" from headlines.

The Republican National Committee also criticized Jeffries as an "election denier" and posted tweets Jeffries had posted in 2018.  

"The more we learn about the 2016 election the more ILLEGITIMATE it becomes," Jeffries said in a tweet from 2018. "America deserves to know whether we have a FAKE president in the oval office."

"The media spent the entire midterm election labeling certain Republicans ‘election deniers.' Will they now do the same to potential Pelosi successor Hakeem Jeffries?" Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., wrote in a Nov. 21 tweet, prior to the Democratic leadership elections. 

U.S. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., delivers remarks from the House Chambers of the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 17, 2022. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

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Pelosi announced she would not be seeking Democratic leadership re-election after Democrats had lost control of the House in the midterms. 

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell also took aim at Jeffries on Thursday and called him an "election denier."

"The newly-elected leader of House Democrats, a past election denier, basically said the 2016 election was, quote, ‘illegitimate,’ and suggested that we had a quote ‘fake president.’ He’s also mounted reckless attacks on our independent judiciary and said that justices he didn’t like had, quote, ‘zero legitimacy,’" McConnell said on the Senate floor.

Rep. Darrell Issa, D-Calif., posted a screenshot of one of Jeffries' tweets from 2018 and also called him an "election denier."

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Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., flanked by Rep. Pete Aguilar, D-Calif., and Rep. Katherine Clark, D-Mass., speaks to reporters after they were elected to House Democratic leadership for the 118th Congress at the U.S. Capitol Visitors Center in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

After Pelosi had stepped down, Jeffries said he was confident he could unite Democrats.

"The thing about us… is that while we can have some noisy conversations at times about how we can make progress for the American people, what we've seen is that under the leadership of Speaker Pelosi, Steny Hoyer, Jim Clyburn, we've constantly been able to come together," Jeffries said Nov. 20.