Jeffries Works With N.Y. Democrats to Weaken G.O.P. Control of the House

When Albany Democrats began discussing a rewrite of New York’s special election law in recent days, seemingly out of the blue, they framed it publicly as a matter of good governance.

But behind the scenes, their motivation was far more political, and was driven by Representative Hakeem Jeffries of New York, the top House Democrat, who saw an opportunity to manipulate the law to slow Republicans’ agenda in Washington.

In a series of phone calls and a private lunch on Friday at a Manhattan steakhouse with Gov. Kathy Hochul, he aggressively pushed for legislation that would give the governor far more time to call special elections for unoccupied legislative seats, according to several people familiar with the discussions.

Mr. Jeffries had one looming vacancy in particular in mind: the House seat that Representative Elise Stefanik would step down from if she is confirmed as President Trump’s U.N. ambassador.

Current law would require Ms. Hochul, a Democrat, to schedule a special election to fill the Republican-leaning seat within about three months of Ms. Stefanik’s resignation. But Democratic majorities in the State Legislature could soon grant the governor the ability to wait far longer to schedule the contest — potentially lining it up with the state’s regular June 26 primary date, or even the general election in November.

By doing so, they would deprive the Republicans’ already bare-bones House majority of a crucial vote for months as they try to fund the government and pass major tax and immigration legislation.