Mamdani's blank check support for Jeffries as House speaker mirrors AOC's 2020 refusal to force a vote on M4A as a condition for supporting Pelosi

NEW YORK, November 22 (C'est Vrai) — Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani (DSA-New York City) has provided a blank-check endorsement of U.S. Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y. 8) as House speaker should the Democrats retake control following the 2026 midterm elections. U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (DSA-N.Y. 14) did the same in 2020 before U.S. Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Cal. 11) was reëlected House speaker. Democrats' failure to pass Medicare for All is one reason the party's voting base is so disenchanted.

Further Reading :

• DSA group votes against backing Hakeem Jeffries’ primary challenger — as Mamdani flexes power in socialist party [The New York Post]
  Nov. 23, 2025 — A key group within the New York City’s Democratic Socialists of America chapter narrowly voted against endorsing City Councilman Chi Osse’s Dem primary challenge against House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.
• Mamdani pleads directly with NYC-DSA to not back Chi Osse’s run against Hakeem Jeffries [The New York Daily News]
  Nov. 19, 2025 — Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani appeared at a Democratic Socialists of America meeting Wednesday night to urge the group to not endorse his onetime campaign surrogate Chi Osse’s 2026 challenge against Brooklyn Congressman Hakeem Jeffries — a sticky situation that spotlights a power struggle unfolding inside the leftist organization.
• Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez rejects left-wing calls to force Pelosi to hold a 'Medicare for All' vote in exchange for her vote for the speaker [Business Insider]
  Dec. 15, 2020 — A handful of outspoken left-wing activists is pressuring progressive lawmakers to refuse to vote for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi unless she holds the first floor vote on single-payer healthcare. U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (DSA-N.Y. 14) is publicly rejecting those calls, saying that Democrats don't have the votes to pass "Medicare for All" in the House and there are other options the party has that would affect real change.

Key Words :

• Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
• Chi Ossé
• Nancy Pelosi
• New York City Democratic Socialists of America
• Zohran K. Mamdani