Jeffries says Democrats ‘on the verge’ of winning the House. It puts speaker’s gavel in reach

TOLEDO, Ohio: US House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries listened from the front row at the old Ohio church as the Sunday congregation heard of scripture’s guidance for calming a gathering storm.

“Wind, hush!” the speaker advised, describing the power to bring about change.

Jeffries nodded along, the words resonating beyond the church’s soaring brick walls, days out from the midterm elections that will determine control of Congress for the remainder of President Donald Trump’s term in the White House.

“We’re on the verge of taking back control of the House,” Jeffries told The Associated Press in an interview afterward.

“When this storm has passed, and it will, those of us who have served in the Congress during this time will be part of bringing about a better chapter in the United States of America,” he said. “That’s the mission. And failure is not an option.”

Jeffries is on track to become House speaker, if Democrats sweep to power and elect him to the job, one of the most powerful positions in the US, second in line to the presidency. He has been campaigning across the country in more than 50 cities for House Democrats as they try to oust Republicans and win back majority control.

He would make history as the first Black American to hold the gavel.