House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., records a welcome message for an upcoming conference of preachers at Cornerstone Baptist Church in New York, Thursday, Jan. 25, 2024. For Jeffries, 53, his leadership in the House traces back to his formative days growing up and serving at Cornerstone, a historically Black congregation which he still attends. It certainly was an important part of my mothers life, and therefore my younger brothers and myself, he said during an interview. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)FILE - House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of N.Y., hands the gavel to speaker-elect Rep. Mike Johnson, R-La., at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2023. The two Baptists work side-by-side in the House but are miles apart politically and theologically. Jeffries, whose faith is rooted in the Black social gospel, has not been shy just not as outspoken as Johnson regarding the role faith plays in his political duties. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., left, talks with Rev. Lawrence E. Aker, III, at Cornerstone Baptist Church in New York, Thursday, Jan. 25, 2024. The church has long been part of the National Baptist Convention, the largest Black denomination in the U.S. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., center, greets seniors at Cornerstone Baptist Church in New York, Thursday, Jan. 25, 2024. Cornerstone in its heyday was the spiritual home for many grandchildren and great-grandchildren of enslaved African Americans who fled to Brooklyn from the South for better opportunities, including war-industry jobs. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., records a welcome message for an upcoming conference of preachers at Cornerstone Baptist Church in New York, Thursday, Jan. 25, 2024. In his youth, Jeffries became one of Cornerstones white-gloved, dues-paying ushers, tending to crying babies and handling neighborhood traffic issues during worship services. Hakeem said that being an usher taught me how to count, engage and serve. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)FILE - President Joe Biden, with from left, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., and House Speaker Mike Johnson of La., listen during the National Prayer Breakfast, Thursday, Feb. 1, 2024, at the Capitol in Washington. The differences are vast between Johnson, a staunchly conservative Republican, and Jeffries, a hero to liberal Democrats. But at the prayer breakfast earlier this month, they collegially took turns reading Scripture evoking how their shared Christianity confronts evil. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., right, talks with Rev, Lawrence E. Aker, III, as they walk around Cornerstone Baptist Church in New York, Thursday, Jan. 25, 2024. For Jeffries, 53, his leadership in the House traces back to his formative days growing up and serving at Cornerstone, a historically Black congregation which he still attends. It certainly was an important part of my mothers life, and therefore my younger brothers and myself, he said during an interview. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., left, leaves Cornerstone Baptist Church in New York, Thursday, Jan. 25, 2024. Jeffries said his maternal grandmother, a longtime Cornerstone member, often shared a prediction: I think one day youre going to be a preacher. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
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House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., records a welcome message for an upcoming conference of preachers at Cornerstone Baptist Church in New York, Thursday, Jan. 25, 2024. For Jeffries, 53, his leadership in the House traces back to his formative days growing up and serving at Cornerstone, a historically Black congregation which he still attends. It certainly was an important part of my mothers life, and therefore my younger brothers and myself, he said during an interview. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
