Massachusetts Rep. Katherine Clark Seeks House Democrats' No. 2 Post as Longtime Leaders Step Aside

Rep. Katherine Clark of Massachusetts is set to announce on Friday that she will run for the second-highest position among House Democrats, a day after the party's three longtime top leaders said they would step down from their posts.

Clark's bid follows announcements from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer of Maryland and Majority Whip James Clyburn of South Carolina. The trio has led the caucus for 16 years. Hoyer, who has held the number two job since 2003 and has been in leadership for 36 years, said Thursday afternoon that he would not seek a leadership position in the next Congress, clearing a path for Clark. She plans to send colleagues a letter Friday morning, a copy of which was provided to The Washington Post.

In the letter, Clark wrote that Democrats had "defied expectations" by holding a "historically close margin" in the House. She added that the party must now be "tough, agile, and united to stop the Republican House Majority's dangerous agenda and take back the House." If elected, she would be the second woman, after Pelosi, to hold one of the top two House leadership positions.

Clark's move is part of a broader shift toward a younger generation. Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York is expected to announce Friday that he will run for Democratic leader, and Rep. Pete Aguilar of California is expected to seek the number three post. The three have positioned themselves with colleagues as the party's next generation of leaders. Some Democrats had urged the top trio to step aside for several Congresses, though only Pelosi had pledged, in 2018 and again in 2020, that her term would be her last.

Clark, 59, would take on the whip role, which involves counting votes and rallying support or opposition on key measures. The job is considerably easier in the minority, where the task is keeping Democrats united against a slim Republican majority expected to focus on investigating the Biden administration and blocking the president's agenda. Her deep blue district, which includes some Boston suburbs, returned her to office with 74 percent of the vote, freeing her to concentrate on colleagues' campaigns rather than her own.

She first won her seat in a 2013 special election to replace Edward Markey. Colleagues chose her as caucus vice chair in 2017, and she became assistant speaker, the number four slot, in 2020. Ahead of the midterms, she traveled to 19 states and raised $12 million for fellow Democrats, and on Wednesday night she co-hosted a party for the incoming freshman class with Jeffries and Aguilar. "I have the track record of bringing people and solutions together," Clark said in an interview.

Clark has emphasized women and families, drawing on her earlier work as a lawyer for the state's Office of Child Care Services. She has worked on abortion-access messaging, expanded fertility benefits and child care for federal workers, and federal aid to child care providers during the pandemic. She said the midterms showed women's voices are powerful, and she criticized treating abortion and the economy as separate issues: "Deciding when and if to have children is such a fundamental economic security issue."

Colleagues described her as skilled at bridging the caucus. She recruited candidates in Republican-leaning districts in 2018, building ties with at-risk moderates, while also belonging to the Congressional Progressive Caucus. Rep. Angie Craig of Minnesota said Clark does well at working toward consensus. Rep. Annie Kuster of New Hampshire, who rooms with Clark in Washington, said she knows about colleagues' families and personal circumstances. Rep. Jim McGovern of Massachusetts, one of her chief supporters, cited her work with the late Rep. John Lewis on a 2016 House floor sit-in over gun violence, saying she is "not afraid to take a stand."

Some members expressed mixed feelings about the transition. Rep. Colin Allred of Texas said it is time for generational change while thanking the current leaders for guiding what he called one of the most productive Congresses in modern history. No one has announced a challenge to Clark, and House Democrats will hold their leadership elections on Nov. 30.