rep. hakeem jeffries. | ap photo/j. scott applewhite by azi paybarah 11/29/16 12:16 pm est rep. hakeem jeffries of brooklyn today argued for a policy of limited engagement with donald trump, saying democrats should work with the president-elect on policies that would "without question" serve the middle class, seniors, and the disadvantaged. but, jeffries said in an interview on wnyc, <u+201c>that public good should be clear, decisive and irrefutable. anything short of that should be met with fierce opposition and resistance.<u+201d> story continued below jeffries, who has been nominated for a leadership position in the house , said democrats <u+201c>have the better ideas,<u+201d> and should not <u+201c>water down those ideas in order to accommodate a president who lost the popular vote and is ushering in a new era of hatred.<u+201d> the comments echoed jeffries' letter to colleagues seeking support for his nomination as co-chair of the democratic policy and communications committee, which said democrats should do a better job of communicating their policies through headlines, and not simply the fine print. "there should be bright line around a clear, decisive public good," he told wnyc's brian lehrer today. jeffries also expressed support for house democratic leader, rep. nancy pelosi, who nominated him for the post as part of an effort to include newer members on her leadership team, after concerns from within the conference. the leadership elections, scheduled for wednesday, come after another disappointing election cycle for house democrats, who must now consider whether to reflexively oppose trump <u+2014> in order to underscore their opposition <u+2014> or work with him selectively, to show the public their party is not "the party of no" like republicans were under president obama. the party is also considering who should lead the democratic national committee. jeffries expressed doubts about the ability of his colleague, rep. keith ellison, to serve as the full-time chairman of the dnc while he serves in the house. though jeffries acknowledged he doesn<u+2019>t have a vote in the matter, he said ellison is <u+201c>going to have to convince folks like myself<u+201d> that <u+201c>he can do the job while serving as a member of congress.<u+201d> he said the next dnc chair has to <u+201c>completely<u+201d> devote themselves to the job, calling it a <u+201c>threshold question<u+201d> ellison will have to address. jeffries could face questions about his own commitment, if he wins a leadership post in washington but decides to challenge mayor bill de blasio for re-election <u+2014> something the congressman has yet to decisively rule out. lehrer started to end the interview this morning, before interrupting himself to ask jeffries about that possibility. <u+201c>oh,<u+201d> said lehrer, <u+201c>are you going to run for mayor next year? are you willing to rule that out today?<u+201d> <u+201c>i continue to be strongly inclined to remain in the house of representatives," jeffries said, echoing comments he made to politico new york shortly after the election . <u+201c>i<u+2019>m not prepared to declare any candidacy for mayor right now," he said. "it<u+2019>s not something i<u+2019>m thinking about.<u+201d> a free synopsis of our pro morning email about new york education policy and politics a free synopsis of our pro morning email about new york energy policy and politics a free synopsis of our pro morning email about new york health care policy and politics a free synopsis of our pro morning email about new york real estate policy and politics our morning email with must-read analysis and breaking news on state news and politics a morning email with must-read analysis and breaking news on city news and politics. a weekly round-up of legislation in city council for politics and policy professionals. a reported briefing on money in politics, executive moves, and trends in communications, lobbying and consulting. our twice-a-week digest of news on courts and the law in new york azi paybarah and jimmy vielkind's must-read briefing informing the daily conversation among knowledgeable new yorkers.
jeffries outlines a litmus test for working with trump
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