Well, would you look at that—Democrats are eating their own again, and this time, the knives are coming out in Brooklyn.
You’d think House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries might be having a moment to breathe after months of dodging the Epstein landmines and trying to pretend Stacey Plaskett’s alleged text-a-thon with a convicted sex offender never happened. But no. Now he’s got another headache—and this one is coming straight from the far-left flank of his own backyard.
Enter Chi Ossé, a 20-something New York City Council member who, not long ago, swore up and down that he wouldn’t dream of running for Congress. In fact, his exact words last month were: “Just to be clear, I’m not running for Congress.” That’s the political version of “I’m not buying a new car,” right before they roll up to the dealership with a check in hand.
Well, it seems the situation has magically become “dire” enough—his words, not ours—to suddenly make DC look a little more appealing. You know, because nothing says humility and dedication to local politics like throwing your hat into the congressional ring five minutes after denying you’re interested. If the Gen Z political class has a signature move, it’s the dramatic pivot.
And let’s be clear: this isn’t just any congressional seat. This is Hakeem Jeffries we’re talking about—the current House Democratic Leader and the guy establishment Democrats are still hoping will be their ticket to revival once they finish licking their wounds from the Trump-Vance steamroll of 2024. But apparently, Jeffries just isn’t radical enough for the socialist upstarts running the show in New York City now.
That brings us to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the unofficial mascot of the far-left movement and an expert in saying just enough to stir the pot without actually taking ownership of the mess. When asked about the primary challenge, she played it coy at first, claiming she “wasn’t aware” of the effort. Uh-huh. Sure. A coordinated political maneuver coming from one of her ideological allies and she’s out of the loop? Please.
But wait—it gets better. After pretending to be blissfully unaware, she pivoted to adding that a primary challenge to the Democratic leader is “not a good idea right now.” Keyword: right now. That’s like telling someone not to rob a bank—today. Doesn’t exactly scream a full-throated defense of party unity.
NEW: I asked @AOC about Chi Ossé filing paperwork to run against Hakeem Jeffries.
“I certainly don’t think a primary challenge to the leader is a good idea right now,” she told @axios https://t.co/K5MyitIrF0
— Andrew Solender (@AndrewSolender) November 18, 2025
Even Zohran Mamdani, the newly elected mayor of New York City and a fellow Democratic Socialist, gave what can only be described as a “don’t-drag-me-into-this” answer when pressed about Ossé’s challenge. No denial. No endorsement. Just vague platitudes about “affordability agendas” and taking on the “authoritarian administration in the White House.” (Spoiler: That’s code for “we still hate Trump,” in case you missed the memo.)
But don’t let the weak statements fool you. The progressive wing sees blood in the water. They’re energized by Mamdani’s shocking mayoral win, they’ve tasted power in New Jersey and Virginia, and now they’re making moves—whether the party likes it or not.
The truth is, this entire circus shows just how fractured the Democratic Party really is. While Republicans are focused on cleaning up the mess left behind by the Biden administration and keeping the economy growing under Trump and Vance, Democrats are trying to figure out whether their biggest threat is coming from Republicans… or their own staffers.
Hakeem Jeffries, once heralded as “Brooklyn’s Barack,” is now being picked apart by the very movement that helped elevate his party in the first place. He took months to endorse Mamdani during the mayoral race, likely hoping to keep the radicals at arm’s length. Now? That arm’s getting shorter by the day.
The real question is, will the Democrats ever admit that their internal war is dragging them further and further from the average voter? Or will they continue letting 20-somethings with activist resumes and Twitter followings steer the ship into an iceberg?
Either way, pop the popcorn. The Brooklyn civil war is just getting started—and it’s going to be a show.
