House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) distanced himself on Sunday from the agenda of the Democratic Socialists of America, while making clear that any DSA-backed candidates who win their general elections would be welcomed into the House Democratic caucus.
DSA-backed and progressive candidates have gained momentum heading into the 2026 midterm elections, presenting a challenge for establishment Democrats seeking to accommodate the party’s increasingly progressive wing without a clear figurehead to unify it.
During an appearance on NBC’s Meet the Press, Jeffries was asked whether he supports DSA members within the Democratic Party. Jeffries pushed back on some of the organization’s positions, saying he does not support defunding the police or abolishing the Senate.
“We’re focused on actually solving the problems hard-working American taxpayers want us to solve, which is to lower the high cost of living in a situation where life is far too expensive in this country,” Jeffries said.
“That’s the Democratic agenda,” he said.
Still, Jeffries made clear that elected DSA-backed candidates would have a place within the Democratic caucus.
“It’s going to be a broad caucus,” Jeffries said. “There will be progressives. There will be New Dems. There will be Blue Dogs. What I’m excited about are the candidates who are running to flip seats in November, to deliver us a majority that pushes back against Donald Trump’s extremism and moves the country in the right direction.”
Jeffries said that agenda would include lowering the cost of groceries, gas, and housing, making healthcare more affordable, and “pushing back against the corruption that has been unleashed on the American people and holding the crooks accountable beginning on Day 1 in January of next year.”
The question of how the Democratic Party will accommodate its growing progressive wing has become increasingly prominent as candidates backed by the DSA and other progressive groups have scored notable victories across the country.
In New York, DSA-backed House candidates have ousted several incumbent and establishment-backed Democrats in primaries, with support from Mayor Zohran Mamdani helping energize the city’s progressive movement.
In deep-blue Colorado, former lawyer and barista Melat Kiros defeated 30-year incumbent Rep. Diana DeGette (D-CO) in the Denver-based 1st Congressional District.
The race for the Senate also underscores the growing divide between the party’s establishment and progressive wings. In the Michigan Democratic Senate primary, progressive Abdul el Sayed ran a campaign sharply critical of establishment-backed Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI), who was backed by more than $60 million in spending. Meanwhile, el Sayed declined to commit to supporting Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s (D-NY) position as party leader.
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“If you’re Chuck Schumer,” El-Sayed said in July, “I’m pretty damn dangerous.”
Despite initially backing his challenger, Schumer has since thrown his support behind el Sayed.