Speaker of the House Mike Johnson and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries talk while waiting to speak during the March for Israel on the National Mall in Washington, DC, on November 14, 2023. Drew Angerer/Getty Images/File

When Hakeem Jeffries handed Mike Johnson the speaker’s gavel on the House floor in October 2023, the pair hugged, marking the promise of a new era of bipartisanship.

In one of their first private meetings, the two party leaders agreed they would not launch personal attacks against each other, according to multiple sources familiar with the dynamic.

As two fathers with deeply held religious beliefs, the pair often discussed their faith, the sources said, and forged a working relationship that stemmed from serving together on the House Judiciary Committee early in t

See Full Page