“You Are a F*cking Liar!”: Protesters Interrupt Hakeem Jeffries

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, in line to be Speaker of the House, was heckled by multiple protesters in Denver Friday, calling on him to support the Green New Deal and Medicare for All. Jeffries was being interviewed by Fox News’s Jessica Tarlov at the What’s Next conference, hosted by the Majority Democrats organization. In the middle of the conversation, Jeffries was called out by people in the crowd, calling him a “fucking liar” and “traitor” and attacking his record as minority leader. yikes -- Jeffries's talk in Denver is being disrupted by a string of protesters, one of whom screams obscenities at him pic.twitter.com/zyiYkgdSIj— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) November 13, 2026 The protesters called on Jeffries for not supporting Medicare for All and the Green New Deal, as well as his meeting with Jared Kushner, President Trump’s son-in-law over the summer. “The American people demanded impeachment!” one protester yelled. “Your version of accountability is shaking hands with the Trump family!”Another told Jeffries that he “better not let a single Democrat vote for BAAJA,” referring to the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act, which critics say is a giveaway to Big Oil. “Why should we trust you when you’re in the pocket of corporations?” the heckler yelled as he was escorted from the room. “When you take money from private equity, you don’t fight for the people.” Jeffries ignored all the protesters. “Remember, ya’ll, I grew up in Brooklyn,” he said.Jeffries and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer each faced calls to step down from their leadership roles following the midterm elections, but only Schumer has a declared challenger in Senator Chris Van Hollen right now. No challenger has stepped up to take on Jeffries, even though House Democrats have been bombarded with phone calls and online petitions opposing him for speaker. If Jeffries’s opposition can’t coalesce behind an alternative, he will very likely be the next Speaker of the House.On the other side of Congress:Texas Representative Chip Roy ripped into his own party during a half-hour rant on the House floor Thursday, slamming Republicans for failing to prioritize the American public over their own political interests.“Somebody tell me why Republicans lost last Tuesday? I’ll say it’s because they were focused on themselves and the ruling class and not the people,” Roy declared.Roy rejected the idea that conservative candidates lost because of the ongoing war in Iran, instead insisting that voters are tired of “corporate crony government interests” and Republican-led redistricting efforts that ran roughshod over local electorates. He celebrated the fact that Republicans passed Donald Trump’s “Big, Beautiful Bill” in 2025, but lamented that they “didn’t campaign on it.” “Spent our time trying to focus on political power rather than focusing on the people who sent us here to represent them,” he said, noting that the culmination of his party’s midterm failures “pisses [him] off.”“The arrogance! The arrogance of the powers that be, the masters of the universe, who tell you that that’s what you have to do,” Roy continued. “And when you pursue political power over the people, you lose, and that’s what happened. That’s what happened.”The 54-year-old Texas lawmaker did not run for reelection during the 2026 midterm cycle. Instead, he cast his hat in the race for Texas attorney general and lost. He will leave Congress on January 3.Republicans suffered historic losses last week, losing control of both the House and the Senate by a spectacular margin. Even historically deep-red states such as Kansas, Iowa, and Texas ideologically flipped, ushering in a new wave of Democratic leadership.In Texas, the conservative caucus even lost four of the five supposedly GOP-friendly seats it had created through recent gerrymandering efforts, initiated at the president’s behest.Read more about the midterms:Conservative Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito thinks that many of the lower court judges were “unjustified” in blocking President Trump’s policies.Alito made the comments at a Federalist Society panel on Thursday.“They are dedicated and they are skillful, but they’re not perfect and they make mistakes,” Alito said. “And in some instances, I think they have gone far astray in abuse of their powers.”Alito made no mention of Trump’s attacks on the judges who rule against him or which rulings exactly he believed were an abuse of power.Lower courts have blocked Trump’s attempts to limit mail-in voting, end birthright citizenship, and build his White House ballroom, among other things. For Alito to suggest that those orders were “unjustified” is highly questionable but unsurprising from one of the court’s most right-leaning justices.Alito also warned that a new Democratic Congress could “defund” or “turn off the lights” at the Supreme Court—a claim that seems hyperbolic on its face. The race for Senate majority leader is heating up.Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen has emerged as the leading alternative to New York Senator Chuck Schumer in a sign of the incoming Democratic majority’s preference for change and an aversion to establishment politics.Maryland Senator Chris Van HollenVermont Senator Bernie SandersMichigan Senator-elect Abdul El-SayedMinnesota Senator-elect Peggy FlanaganOther lawmakers not supporting Schumer or who want new leadership:Illinois Senator Juliana StrattonKansas Senator Adam HamiltonMaine Senator-elect Troy JacksonNew Hampshire Senator-elect Chris PappasTexas Senator-elect James TalaricoAnother 16 senators or senators-elect have not yet committed as to whether they will support Schumer, according to an analysis published Friday by Primary Democrats. Fifteen have yet to take a public stance on the issue. Altogether, 25 Democrats have veered away from Schumer—nearly half of the at least 55 Democratic seats that will dominate the upper chamber come January.This story has been updated.Read more about Van Hollen:Newly elected Democratic Senator Scott Colom is pushing back after Senator Chuck Schumer took credit for his win, refusing to commit to backing him for Senate majority leader next year.Colom told MS NOW’s Symone Sanders-Townsend Thursday that he spoke to Schumer after his victory the day before and “thanked him for his part in making this happen.” Colom made sure to stress that it was the people of Mississippi who chose him to be a senator, not Schumer.“He did initially understand that our party has to look south for future leadership. It’s not accurate to say he recruited me, though, because the people of Mississippi recruited me,” Colom said. “You think I was listening to somebody that lives in Brooklyn when I was deciding to run for United States Senate? No, I listened to the people of Mississippi.”In a New York Times interview last week, Schumer said he recruited Colom to take on Mississippi’s incumbent Republican, Senator Cindy-Hyde Smith. When Townsend asked Colom if he would support Schumer to lead the Senate next year, Colom wouldn’t commit.“I gotta know my options, and I’m not trying to be cute,” Colom said. He said he didn’t think it was “a good thing” that Schumer and Representative Hakeem Jeffries, who is currently in line to be the next speaker of the House, “both live in the same borough” of New York City.“I’m looking for a person that’s going to be committed to Mississippi and rural voices,” Colom added. “If you’re able to listen to those voices and make sure that you understand their needs and putting them in position to be successful, then that’s the type of leadership I want.”It’s telling that arguably the most surprising Senate victor from the midterms won’t immediately back Schumer. Colom joins several other senators and senators-elect in refusing to support Schumer becoming majority leader, and Senator Chris Van Hollen announced Thursday that he will be challenging him for the position.Major labor unions, Senators-elect Abdul El-Sayed and Peggy Flanagan, and Senator Bernie Sanders are now throwing their support behind Van Hollen. Who will Colom support when the choice comes to a vote?