By LISA MASCARO
AP Congressional Correspondent
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Emboldened House Democrats ushered in a new generation of leaders on Wednesday with Rep. Hakeem Jeffries elected to be the first Black American to head a major political party in Congress as long-serving Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her team step aside next year.
Showing rare party unity after their midterm election losses, the House Democrats moved seamlessly from one history-making leader to another, choosing the 52-year-old New Yorker, who has vowed to "get things done," even after Republicans won control of the chamber. The closed-door vote was unanimous, by acclamation.
"It's a solemn responsibility that we are all inheriting," Jeffries told reporters on the eve of the party meeting. "And the best thing that we can do as a result of the seriousness and solemnity of the moment is lean in hard and do the best damn job that we can for the people."
It's rare that a party that lost the midterm elections would so easily regroup and stands in stark contrast with the upheaval among Republicans, who are struggling to unite around GOP leader Kevin McCarthy as the new House speaker as they prepare to take control when the new Congress convenes in January.
Wednesday's internal Democratic caucus votes of Jeffries and the other top leaders came without challengers. Cheers broke out after the elections.
The trio led by Jeffries, who will become the Democratic minority leader in the new Congress, includes 59-year-old Rep. Katherine Clark of Massachusetts as the Democratic whip and 43-year-old Rep. Pete Aguilar of California as caucus chairman. The new team of Democratic leaders is expected to slide into the slots held by Pelosi and her top lieutenants -- Majority Leader Steny Hoyer of Maryland and Democratic Whip James Clyburn of South Carolina -- as the 80-something leaders make way for the next generation.
But in many ways, the trio has been transitioning in plain sight, as one aide put it -- Jeffries, Clark and Aguilar working with Pelosi's nod these past several years in lower-rung leadership roles as the first woman to have the speaker's gavel prepared to step down. Pelosi, of California, has led the House Democrats for the past 20 years, and colleagues late Tuesday granted her the honorific title of "speaker emerita."
"It an important moment for the caucus -- that there's a new generation of leadership," said Rep. Chris Pappas, D-N.H., ahead of voting.
Democratic Rep. Cori Bush of Missouri called the leadership election "historic" and a "time for change."
While Democrats will be relegated to the House minority in the new year for the 118th Congress, they will have a certain amount of leverage because the Republican majority is expected to be so slim and McCarthy's hold on his party fragile.
The House's two new potential leaders, Jeffries and McCarthy, are of the same generation but have almost no real relationship to speak of -- in fact the Democrat is known for leveling political barbs at the Republican from afar, particularly over the GOP's embrace of former President Donald Trump.
Jeffries said he hopes to find "common ground when possible" with Republicans but will "oppose their extremism when we must."
On the other side of the Capitol, Jeffries will have a partner in Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer as two New Yorkers are poised to helm the Democratic leadership in Congress. They live about a mile (1.6 kilometers) apart in Brooklyn.
Clark, in the No. 2 spot, is seen as a coalition builder on the leadership team, while Aguilar, as the third-ranking leader, is known as a behind-the-scenes conduit to centrists and even Republicans.
Clyburn, now the highest-ranking Black American in Congress, is seeking to become the assistant democratic leader, keeping a seat at the leadership table and helping the new generation to transition. The election for the assistant leader post and several others is expected to be held Thursday.