House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) held his weekly press briefing on Thursday.
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00:00Good morning, everybody.
00:03Good morning.
00:05Trump's first 100 days have been a complete and total disaster, and House Republicans own all of it.
00:13Instead of functioning as a check and balance on an out-of-control executive branch,
00:20which was the intentions of the framers of the Constitution, including James Madison,
00:26who said that Congress at its best should be a rival to the executive branch,
00:34House Republicans have functioned as a rubber stamp for Donald Trump's extreme agenda, period, full stop.
00:45That extreme agenda has done nothing to lower the high cost of living in the United States of America,
00:52notwithstanding all of the big, bold promises that Donald Trump and Republicans made on the campaign trail
01:00that they were going to make life more affordable for the American people.
01:04What has happened is that life is getting more expensive for the American people.
01:11Donald Trump and House Republicans are crashing the economy in real time,
01:16and they are driving us toward a painful Republican recession.
01:22The whole thing is a complete and total disgrace,
01:26and the American people are paying attention, they see it, they know it,
01:32and House Republicans are going to be held accountable for it.
01:36Questions?
01:38Good morning, thank you.
01:40No mic today?
01:41No mic today.
01:42I feel like I believe you're short on Cruz.
01:46He's another guy there.
01:48In any event, obviously you guys are arguing against the reconciliation package.
01:53If you guys aren't able to convince voters to get to these Republicans, get to the President,
01:58say, you know, kill this bill, will you have failed in that mission?
02:03No.
02:03Why not?
02:03Our objective is to find four Republicans to do the right thing to stop the largest cut to Medicaid
02:14in American history, which will hurt families, hurt children, hurt seniors, hurt people with disabilities,
02:21hurt veterans, and hurt everyday Americans.
02:25And if Republicans are successful in jamming down an extreme budget into signature, into law,
02:37then they own that.
02:39It's on them.
02:40They're the ones that claim they have some big, bold, beautiful mandate.
02:43They have no mandate to end Social Security as we know it.
02:48They have no mandate to dramatically cut the health care of the American people.
02:53They have no mandate to take food out of the mouths of children.
02:58And at the end of the day, if they successfully jam this reckless budget down the throat to
03:03the American people, the voters will hold them accountable.
03:08Mr. Leader, can you just clarify your position with a simple yes or no?
03:12Do you support your members going to El Salvador, particularly in terms of the situation involving
03:19Kilmar Abrego Garcia?
03:21Just yes or no?
03:21Support what members?
03:22The members that went, I've had nothing.
03:24Any Democratic member going.
03:25Well, we'll cross that bridge when we get to it.
03:28In terms of the report that alleged that members of House Democratic leadership had some phantom
03:38conversation with either the members who took a trip to El Salvador or any other members,
03:44that is a complete and total fabrication.
03:47The only statement that was made to members who went to El Salvador was, welcome back.
03:57We are glad you have returned safely.
04:00Vice President Harris gave a big speech in San Francisco last night, reentering the political
04:10scene, want to get your reaction to that.
04:12You talk about a more and more environment.
04:15Do you welcome her back to the political scene?
04:18Do you think that she's going to help the Democratic cause?
04:21Yes.
04:22And she mentioned three of your members, Congressman Ocasio-Cortez, Jasmine Crockett, and Maxwell
04:27Frost as members who she has found inspiration from for their work leading the resistance.
04:32What is your reaction to that as well?
04:34I think she's an incredibly important voice, and we, of course, continue to welcome our thoughts
04:41and ideas.
04:42And on the members she mentioned as leaders of the resistance against Trump.
04:48Great shout out for them.
04:51Thank you, Mr. Leader.
04:53With Congressman Shri Thandandar recently introducing articles of impeachment, is it productive for
04:59Democrats to be focused on this right now, and why?
05:03I gave an entire speech that was about 25 minutes long, laying out the moment that we
05:11find ourselves in after the debacle of Trump's first 100 days, and also articulating our view
05:20about what needs to be done to make life better for the American people, focused on this principle
05:26that in America, when you work hard and play by the rules, you should be able to have an
05:32affordable home, educate your children, have access to high-quality health care, have a
05:38good-paying job, and be able to retire with grace and dignity.
05:42So I haven't had a conversation with Shri.
05:47You'll have to talk to Shri about his perspective as to what he believes to be the right thing
05:54to do at this moment.
05:56And until I have a conversation with Shri, there's really nothing further for me to add.
06:01Thank you, Mr. General Leader.
06:04This morning, the Colorado Sun reported a long, extensive story about the challenges facing
06:09Yadira Paraveo, one of your former members who's running again for the seat.
06:13Do you think she should drop out of the race, given what's been reported based off treatment
06:19of staff for mental health challenges, et cetera?
06:21I haven't read the story, and I haven't had a conversation with Yadira, so it'd be inappropriate
06:26for me to comment until I've given her the respect of both reading the story and having
06:33a direct conversation with her.
06:35She was a former colleague.
06:38Mr. Leader, I know you said you didn't want to speculate about the future of the Oversight
06:42Committee, but now you have several of your members that are openly jockeying for that
06:45ranking member position.
06:46At what point do you think your leadership team will make a path forward for the future
06:52of the leadership of the Oversight Committee, and are you entertaining the idea of allowing
06:56Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to have a waiver so that she can run for the ranking
07:02member of SLOC?
07:03I don't want to speculate about the future of the Oversight Committee.
07:06At what point will you?
07:07Well, the rules are pretty clear that when there's a vacancy, the caucus under the leadership
07:16of Chairman Pete Aguilar would have to call an election within 30 days.
07:22Leader Jeffries.
07:23Actually, I'm sorry.
07:23I don't want to go to the back.
07:24We'll come back to the front.
07:25I'll go to the back.
07:28CBS News is reporting that National Security Advisor Mike Waltz is going to step down.
07:33What are your thoughts on that, and should other people follow him?
07:36Yes.
07:36Leader Jeffries, thank you.
07:42House Republicans and the President's allies continue to blame DEI programs for staffing
07:48decisions at airports and air traffic control, calling instead for a return to what they call
07:52merit-based hiring.
07:54Stephen Miller actually talked about it at the White House this morning.
07:57How do you respond to the idea that diversity initiatives and merit are mutually exclusive,
08:02and what would you say to Americans who might be concerned about safety being compromised
08:07by these narratives?
08:08Safety has been compromised by the complete and total incompetence of Donald Trump and
08:14his administration, who are dismantling the safety architecture of the FAA and jeopardizing
08:22the well-being of the American people who fly across America and the world.
08:29From the very beginning of this administration, Donald Trump and his lackeys have been dismantling
08:37the FAA, jeopardizing flight safety and putting Americans in danger.
08:44This group right now is falling apart, despite all of the concerns that somehow Donald Trump and
08:51Republicans had Democrats on the run, and it was all inevitable, and they have some big
08:58mandate, and in record speed, they've fallen apart.
09:04No surprise to some of us who believe that all of the talk, that this was somehow the dawn
09:11of a new era, is actually what was going to occur in the United States of America.
09:17Donald Trump is the most unpopular president in his first 100 days in American history.
09:25What happened to that so-called mandate?
09:29It never existed, one, and to the extent it existed in their mind in some MAGA thought
09:37bubble, it has completely evaporated.
09:42Leader Jeffries, you recently came out and endorsed legislation to ban lawmakers from trading individual
09:49stocks.
09:50This idea has been out there for years.
09:52I'm wondering why you decided to come out in favor of it now, and since you're effectively
09:56the only leader of either party endorsing the ban, have you talked to your counterparts
10:02and leadership about moving forward with this?
10:04I have not had a conversation with my counterparts and leadership on this, but it is something
10:08that I've long supported, including previously as House Democratic leader and prior to that
10:13as chair of the House Democratic Caucus.
10:15So this has been a consistent position of mine for years, and I support the efforts led by
10:21Representative Ocasio-Cortez, Seth Magaziner, and others in the House Democratic Caucus to try
10:28to get this done.
10:33Leader Jeffries, so I know you talked about this earlier, but Al Green is planning on speaking
10:41in the House today about impeachment.
10:44Is there any point in the future when you plan on putting your foot down on this and giving
10:47a public statement of approval or disapproval?
10:51I spoke yesterday for about 25 minutes to the country about my vision for the future, a blueprint
11:01for a better America, and encapsulated what I believe has occurred for America over the
11:09first 100 days.
11:10I was also on the steps of the Capitol for 12 and a half hours, continuously talking to the
11:16American people, with Senator Booker and others, about what we believe to be important in the
11:22United States of America.
11:24So there's a lot of footage out there of our views on what is occurring in America, and
11:31all of that information actually really does speak for itself because it's how we feel.
11:36I want to ask about that blueprint.
11:42What form can we expect to see that in?
11:44Is there, who's going to be involved in drafting that if it is like a physical or a product?
11:49Stay tuned.
11:52There's this discussion going on right now along House Republicans about Medicaid work
11:56requirements.
11:57What are your issues with expanding Medicaid work requirements, and what constitutes as
12:02reasonable work requirements for Medicaid?
12:05House Republicans are not trying to impose work requirements.
12:10They're not trying to root out waste, fraud, and abuse.
12:14We all support making the federal government the most efficient that it can be.
12:19House Republicans have proposed up to $880 billion in Medicaid cuts.
12:25That's the largest Medicaid cut in American history.
12:29Hospitals will close.
12:30Nursing homes will shut down.
12:31Communities will be hurt.
12:33And Americans will die.
12:35These people are scrambling right now to try to explain to the American people the devastation
12:41that they've already voted to set in motion.
12:44Not once, but twice.
12:46And the American people aren't having it.
12:50And so they're trying to spin their way out of this box that they've gotten themselves
12:57in.
12:58But it's not going to work.
13:01$880 billion in cuts to Medicaid means you are taking health insurance away from children,
13:12families, seniors, women, veterans, people with disabilities, and everyday Americans.
13:18Period.
13:19Full stop.
13:20It's one of the reasons why the overwhelming majority of House Republicans aren't having
13:25town hall meetings.
13:26We're having town hall meetings in Democratic districts, and we're having town hall meetings
13:30in Republican districts because we're not afraid to talk to the American people.
13:35We work for the American people.
13:38House Republicans are a rubber stamp for Donald Trump's extreme agenda, and it's not working
13:43out for them.
13:45But they're already on record.
13:50No matter what lies and half-truths they try to tell to the American people, they're going
13:56to be held accountable for once again trying to take health care away from hard-working
14:05American taxpayers.
14:06This is nothing new.
14:09They attacked the Affordable Care Act for years because these people have some irrational obsession
14:19with taking health care away from the American people.
14:23This is why they find themselves in trouble right now, and we're going to keep the pressure
14:29on them, do everything we can to stop these reckless Medicaid cuts from taking effect, and
14:36if they jam their reckless budget down the throats of the American people, they will be held
14:41accountable next November.