Who is Hakeem Jeffries’ wife Kennisandra?
US Representative, Hakeem Jeffries, is an advocate for affordable housing, criminal justice system reform, lower prescription drug prices, and equal access to high-quality education.
Throughout his political career, Jeffries has had his wife and children by his side.
Who is Hakeem Jeffries' wife Kennisandra?
Hakeem Jeffries is married to Kennisandra Arciniegas-Jeffries.
Although she tends to keep out of the spotlight, Kennisandra - much like Jeffries' mother and father - is a social worker with 1199 SEIU's Benefit Fund.
The pair share two sons together: Jeremiah and Joshua.
Jeremiah was born in 2001 and Joshua was born in 2004.
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What has Hakeem Jeffries said about his children's safety?
In 2014, Jeffries once told CNN anchor, Christiane Amanpour, in an interview that he worries for his children's safety growing up in today's political climate.
“I’ve got to worry every day about what can happen to him (his older son), not just from the robbers but from a bad apple on the police department…," he told Amanpour.
"The overwhelming majority of New York police officers are to be commended for the great work they’ve done… But there are bad apples on the police force, and when you unleash them without consequence, you see the type of tragedy that results."
Prior to his election to Congress, Jeffries spent years advocating for transformational police reform while serving in the New York State Assembly for six years.
According to his official bio: "In that capacity, he authored laws to protect the civil liberties of law-abiding New Yorkers during police encounters, encourage the transformation of vacant luxury condominiums into affordable homes for working families and improve the quality of justice in the civil court system."
Who is Hakeem Jeffries?
Hakeem Jeffries is an American politician who has served as the US representative for New York's 8th congressional district since 2013.
The 52-year-old attorney who graduated with a JD in 1997 from the New York University School of Law, is a member of the Democratic Party.
As a corporate lawyer, he worked for Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison and CBS before serving in the New York State Assembly from 2007 to 2012, representing the 57th Assembly district.
According to his bio: "Serving his fifth term in the United States Congress, Rep. Jeffries is also a member of the House Judiciary Committee and House Budget Committee.
"Rep. Jeffries is Chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, having been elected to that position by his colleagues in November 2018."
On November 30, 2022, House Democrats officially elected the New York Congressman to be the House minority leader in the 2023 Congress, taking over from Nancy Pelosi as the first Black lawmaker to lead a Congressional caucus.