House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries was repeatedly interrupted by protesters as he spoke at a Democratic conference in Denver on Friday, with hecklers pressing him over climate and health care policy during a panel event.
Jeffries, the New York Democrat presumed to be the next House speaker, was taking part in a discussion moderated by political consultant Jessica Tarlov at the What's Next conference when protesters began shouting at him from the audience.
"When is it time for a Green New Deal?" the protesters shouted at Jeffries. "When is it time for Medicare-for-all?"
Various videos from the conference posted to social media showed the heckling from different viewpoints, with protesters continuing to call out as the panel proceeded. In one clip, a protester yelled a profanity at Jeffries and called him a liar, while another shouted traitor at the New York Democrat.
"Hakeem Jeffries, I'm a young person, and I am scared for my future," one protester yelled during the panel discussion.
Jeffries' office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital on Friday.
The What's Next conference bills itself as a "major post-election gathering of the Democratic Party, where the leaders, ideas and debates that will shape the party through 2028 and beyond take center stage," according to a statement on the conference's website.
"Together, we'll absorb what happened in 2026 and chart where the party goes next," the statement said, describing the event, presented by Majority Democrats and sponsored by MD PAC, as "the defining convening of the post-election season, bringing together the people who will write the party's next chapter."
The gathering comes after the Democratic Party made major gains in the Nov. 3 midterm elections. In a post Thursday on X, Jeffries said House Democrats "will clean up the mess in Washington, get big money out of politics and ban members of Congress from trading stocks."
House Democrats are scheduled to vote on their leadership slate Nov. 18, and Jeffries is running unopposed for the party's nomination for speaker.
