WASHINGTON — An online petition calling for Massachusetts Rep. Ayanna Pressley to become speaker of the House, instead of Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York, had more than 5,000 verified signatures Wednesday morning, according to its Change.org page.

The petition, started Nov. 6 by a group calling itself the Coalition for Speaker Ayanna Pressley, drew wider attention after Saikat Chakrabarti, a former chief of staff to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, shared it on X.

"Ayanna is an incredible leader," Chakrabarti wrote. "She would be incredibly effective in this role."

Chakrabarti finished third in the June primary for the San Francisco seat held by former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. He told Axios last year that he would not vote for Jeffries as speaker.

Left-wing streamer Hasan Piker also backed Pressley for the job on his livestream. "Who would be a congressperson who truly deserves to be the first Black Speaker of the House? That's not even a question, Ayanna Pressley," Piker said, according to a clip of the stream posted on X.

Jeffries is in line to become speaker when Democrats take control of the House in January, Al Jazeera reported. He has said he is confident he will have his caucus's full support.

Pressley, a member of the progressive group of House Democrats known as "the Squad," was among the cosponsors of a resolution introduced by Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan on Nov. 13, 2025, "recognizing the genocide of the Palestinian people in Gaza."

In July, Pressley and the rest of the Massachusetts House delegation were among 103 Democrats who voted for an amendment from Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., to strip $3.3 billion in U.S. aid to Israel from a spending bill, Boston.com reported. The amendment failed. Jeffries voted against it, calling it "overly broad."

After last week's election, Pressley urged Democrats to use their new power. "Now, please don't tell me about a majority, show me a majority," she said, according to Fox News. The Signal reported Tuesday on her call for Democrats to push Medicare for All and abolishing ICE.