House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) on Friday shrugged off Axios' reporting that New York City Council member Chi Ossé is considering a primary challenge against him.
What they're saying: "If you ask me a serious question, I'll give you a serious answer," Jeffries told Axios when asked about Ossé during a brief interview at the U.S. Capitol.
- "And you know that's not a serious question based on everything coming out of Brooklyn," he added, referring to the New York City borough he represents.
- "You know that's not a serious question."
- Ossé did not respond to a request for comment on Jeffries' remarks.
State of play: Ossé, a close ally of Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, has privately discussed a run against Jeffries, Axios' Holly Otterbein and Alex Thompson reported earlier this month.
- Ossé said after the story's publication that "it would take a very dire situation in order for me to even consider spending the rest of my 20s in dc," adding later, "Just to be clear, I'm not running for Congress."
- An internal poll reported by City & State NY found Jeffries leading Ossé in a hypothetical matchup, 72% to 21%, with half of voters saying they had never heard of Ossé.
Zoom out: Jeffries' comments to Axios came just before he endorsed Mamdani on Friday.
- Progressive lawmakers and candidates have told Axios that Jeffries' months-long delay in backing Mamdani has created a serious rift between the Democratic leader and his left flank.
- Jeffries dismissed the notion that his delay in supporting Mamdani has divided the party, saying at a Friday press conference he has "traveled throughout the country, and the Democratic Party is as unified as I've seen us throughout the entire year."
