Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Hakeem Jeffries (8th District of New York)
Today, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries spoke on the House Floor in opposition to legislation that would expand Donald Trump’s authority to impose tariffs and continue his failed global trade war that is making life far too expensive for everyday Americans.
LEADER JEFFRIES: I rise in strong support of the underlying bill to honor the heroic, brave, patriotic Tuskegee Airmen, part of the Greatest Generation, who stood up against fascism, authoritarianism and the forces that were trying to bring about totalitarianism all across Europe and to the rest of the world. We can learn and be inspired by the courage, the character and the conviction of the Tuskegee Airmen. And it’s unfortunate that some in this administration are trying to erase their history. But that history is not just Black history. It’s American history. We will never let it be erased. We must continue to be informed by it, encouraged by it and inspired by it.
As I was thinking about this on the way over—I’m certainly so thankful to Congressman Shomari Figures for his leadership in advancing this legislation and for continuing in every possible way to stand up for his constituents of every race in the great state of Alabama. As I was thinking about the Tuskegee Airmen and the greatest generation who rescued the world from Adolf Hitler, Nazi Germany and fascism, I thought how ironic it is that we’re on the Floor today debating legislation with respect to Russia, Vladimir Putin and their horrific invasion of Ukraine. Now, House Democrats, led by Speaker Pelosi and Leader Hoyer and many others, have been at the forefront of standing up for the people of Ukraine, pushing back against the effort to run them over, pushing back against tyranny and propaganda and the horrors that have been inflicted on them by Vladimir Putin and this war of aggression that Russia has launched.
We will continue to, at all times, stand behind the Ukrainian people, support their courage and their bravery in their fight, an existential one, against Vladimir Putin and Russia. We believe it’s a fight not just for their territorial integrity, but it’s also a battle between the forces of democracy versus the forces of autocracy, the forces of freedom versus the forces of tyranny, the forces of truth versus the forces of propaganda. And the United States of America has always stood on the side of democracy, freedom and truth, which is why we must always continue to stand on the side of the Ukrainian people. And that’s our pledge as House Democrats. We’ve been there with the Ukrainian people from the very beginning. But this legislation that will be before us today, unfortunately, in my view, does not accomplish the objectives that some may, in good faith, in this House or over in the Senate be trying to accomplish.
All of us, I believe, certainly as House Democrats, will continue to stand up for the Ukrainian people. But the manner in which this bill has been written doesn’t require the President of the United States to impose sanctions on Russia. In fact, there are so many loopholes written into the bill, I believe, that it’s very unlikely that the sanctions relief contemplated in the legislation will ever see the light of day. That’s particularly the case because President Trump has shown great reluctance over the 10 years that he’s been in our faces here in the United States of America to actually side with the Ukrainian people. He recently blamed Ukraine for the increase in diesel prices. No, Mr. President, diesel prices have increased because of your reckless and costly war of choice in Iran. He suggested that somehow President Zelenskyy, who has been a brave and courageous wartime leader, and the Ukrainian people have visited the horror, the terror, the war upon themselves. No, one person bears responsibility for it: Vladimir Putin.
Many of us wonder why the President has been so reluctant to aggressively confront the bully of Eastern Europe. One of the things we’ve learned from the Tuskegee Airmen, from the great leaders of that time, from the Greatest Generation, from FDR, from Churchill, is that you have to confront the bully, not appease the bully. So we find ourselves once again, in 2026, just like the Tuskegee Airmen found themselves in the early to mid-1940s in the FDR, Churchill versus Chamberlain moment: you either are going to confront the bully or appease the bully. That’s what Chamberlain did. And when you appease the bully, it doesn’t work out. We learned that lesson, or should have, in 1939. And yet we find ourselves at this moment in time, some, including the highest reaches of the federal government in the executive branch, seemingly more interested in appeasing Vladimir Putin, not confronting him. And that’s why I’ve got real concerns, and I’m not in a position to support this legislation, notwithstanding the fact that I’m proud to represent more Ukrainian Americans than any other Member of Congress in the country back home in South Brooklyn, in Coney Island and in Brighton Beach, an incredible patriotic community.
I say to my constituents: we will continue to stand with the Ukrainian people in Ukraine until victory is won, but this legislation does not provide a path to secure that. Worse yet, what this legislation will do is give Donald Trump perhaps unfettered authority to unleash tariffs on the American people in ways that have already cost everyday Americans thousands of dollars in additional expense per year. Why in the world, in the middle of an affordability crisis that is not a hoax, it’s very real—far too many people in this country, working hard, playing by the rules, can’t thrive, can barely survive in this failed economy. Life way too expensive in the United States of America. Why in the world would this Congress or the People’s House give this President unfettered authority to visit more tariffs on the world that will have an adverse economic impact on the American people? I can’t do it, because I’m standing up for everyday Americans who are suffering in this failed economy with a president who promised to lower costs on day one. Costs haven’t gone down in America. Costs have gone up. And one of the reasons they’ve gone up is because of the Trump Tariffs that have increased costs on everyday Americans. Thousands of additional dollars in expense per year on groceries, on goods, on cars, even on homeownership. And so why in the world would this Congress give this President additional authority to visit that kind of economic harm on the American people?
And so, respectfully, Mr. Speaker, I cannot support the bill…because, substantively, it will not accomplish the objective, which is to stand with the American people, stand with the Ukrainian people, stand with democracy, stand with freedom, stand with truth and push back against tyranny. And this bill at the same time could give the President an additional tool to visit economic harm on the American people. I thank you for yielding. I thank the distinguished gentleman from Alabama for bringing this legislation honoring the Tuskegee Airmen. And at this moment in time, when we see renewed tyranny coming out of Eastern Europe by Vladimir Putin and Russian aggression, let’s summon the courage, the character and the conviction that the Greatest Generation showed and not appease the bully, but confront the bully until victory is won.
Full Floor remarks can be watched here.