Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Hakeem Jeffries (8th District of New York)
Today, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries appeared on CBS’s Face the Nation, where he highlighted how House Democrats have remained consistent in standing up for the health, safety and economic well-being of the American people, while Republicans continue to focus on stunts and distractions that are hurting everyday Americans.
MARGARET BRENNAN: And we’re back with the top Democrat in the House, Leader Hakeem Jeffries. He joins us from his Brooklyn, New York district. Good morning.
LEADER JEFFRIES: Good morning. Great to be with you.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, Leader Jeffries, Treasury Secretary Bessent said the shutdown is starting to affect the economy, and by November 15, the troops will not be paid. Do you expect the shutdown to last that long?
LEADER JEFFRIES: I certainly hope not. This is day 26 of the Trump-Republican shutdown. And as Democrats, we have maintained from the very beginning, and continue to maintain, we will sit down anytime, any place, with anyone, either at the Capitol or back at the White House, to reopen the government to negotiate a bipartisan spending agreement that actually meets the needs of the American people and to decisively address the Republican healthcare crisis, particularly as it relates to the urgent need to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits so we can prevent tens of millions of Americans from experiencing dramatically increased health insurance premiums that will make access to a doctor unaffordable.
MARGARET BRENNAN: I want to come back to healthcare in a moment, but the Treasury Secretary accused you of playing politics, personally. And I know that your Democratic Whip, Katherine Clark, said on Fox this past week that shutdowns are terrible, but as she put it, it’s one of the few leverage items Democrats have. Do you think Democrats are gaining from this fight?
LEADER JEFFRIES: No, our focus continues to be on driving down the high cost of living for everyday Americans. Donald Trump and Republicans promised that they would lower costs on day one. We know costs haven’t gone down. They’re going up. Inflation is moving in the wrong direction. The Trump tariffs have made life more expensive for the American people to the tune of thousands of additional dollars per year. We know that electricity bills are through the roof. Housing costs are too high, childcare costs are too high, groceries too expensive. And now tens of millions of Americans are at risk of having their premiums explode, in some cases by 1000 to 2000 dollars per year. That’s what this fight for us is all about. Republicans have come up with a new conspiracy theory every week for the last six weeks. The Democratic position, Margaret, has been clear. Cancel the cuts, lower the cost, save healthcare.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, that was the quote from the Whip herself when she said leverage. But I hear you on rising healthcare costs. But the immediate term, people aren’t getting paid. 750,000 federal workers are on unpaid leave. Eighty percent of the folks who work on our nuclear program are included in that figure. The Agriculture Secretary said there will be delays in food stamps for many of the 41 million people who rely on SNAP. And then at airports across the country, half of the flight delays, according to the Transportation Secretary, are because of staffing shortages. This pain is real now. So is there a point at which it becomes too great to justify continuing the shutdown?
LEADER JEFFRIES: Well, there is an urgent need to reopen the government, which is why we continue to demand that Republicans sit at the negotiating table so we can enact a spending agreement that’s bipartisan in nature. That’s what we’ve called for from the very beginning.
MARGARET BRENNAN: But the Republicans are saying—
LEADER JEFFRIES: Unfortunately, Republicans have refused to sit down.
MARGARET BRENNAN: —they won’t do that until you pass the funding bill, the clean funding bill that already passed the House. Why can’t Democrats in the Senate get on board with that?
LEADER JEFFRIES: Well, we’ve made clear, and I’m thankful for the leadership of Chuck Schumer and Senate Democrats, that we were not going to support a partisan Republican spending bill that continues to gut the healthcare of the American people, in an environment where Republicans have already enacted the largest cut to Medicaid in American history. Hospitals, nursing homes and community-based health centers are closing all across the country. There is the possibility that Medicare could face a $536 billion cut, the largest cut to Medicare in history, if Congress doesn’t act by the end of this year, because of what Republican policies have done in their One Big Ugly Bill. And now they refuse to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits. That impacts working-class Americans, middle-class Americans and everyday Americans throughout the country, including in rural America.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, they haven’t refused. Leader Thune said he’d even put that up for a vote if you open the government first, but next Saturday is the beginning of Open Enrollment. I mean, people are going to see what that bill is going to look like. Practically speaking, aren’t you out of time here? Insurance companies have set these premiums in place. That’s how they’re already in the mail for people to open and see on Saturday. What becomes the strategy after November 1, if this shutdown lasts that long?
LEADER JEFFRIES: Well, listen, we want to reopen the government, and we need to stand by our hardworking federal employees who are doing all that they can to make sure that taxpayer dollars are spent effectively and efficiently, even under the most adverse circumstances. Remember, in terms of federal employees, the Trump administration has fired or dismissed more than 200,000 civil servants prior to them shutting the government down on October 1. We want to reopen the government now. In terms of healthcare, part of the reality is that tens of millions of people are already receiving notices in October that their premiums are about to skyrocket—
MARGARET BRENNAN: Exactly.
LEADER JEFFRIES: —because of the Republican refusal to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credit. And by the way, they have had the opportunity, both House Republicans and Senate Republicans, repeatedly throughout the year, to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits. And they’ve consistently voted against it. That’s why we need action, not simply words, a wing and a prayer promise from people who have tried to repeal the Affordable Care Act more than 70 different times since 2010.
MARGARET BRENNAN: But aren’t the premiums already locked in here? Or are you saying Republicans are right when you can make up for it at the end of the year with the tax credit?
LEADER JEFFRIES: The premiums are not locked in in terms of the reality that if we can act legislatively and act now. We can extend the Open Enrollment period. We can push it back. And we can intervene as a Congress in order to actually protect the affordability of health insurance for tens of millions of people.
MARGARET BRENNAN: All right. Leader, stay with us. I have to take a quick commercial break.
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MARGARET BRENNAN: Leader Jeffries, I want to ask you about some other matters as well. In New York City, a city of more than 8 million people, there’s about to be an election of a new mayor. You waited until this Friday, the day before early voting began, to endorse the Democratic Socialist candidate Zohran Mamdani. Why did you wait so long?
LEADER JEFFRIES: Well, as I indicated, last several weeks, we’ve been immersed in the intensity around the government shutdown and the run-up to that in advance of September 30 and the expiration of the fiscal year. But I support the Democratic nominee, as I indicated, and we’re in alignment in terms of the issue related to affordability and the need to address it decisively for the city of New York. And of course, affordability is an issue for people all across the country. From a public safety standpoint, I supported the notion that he would retain Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch to continue to lead the NYPD forward. That’s incredibly important, from a public safety standpoint for every community, including as a high priority, the safety and security of the Jewish community. And in terms of the moment that we find ourselves in, Donald Trump represents an existential threat to the city of New York and beyond, because of the extreme assault that has taken place throughout this year on the economy, on healthcare, on farmers, on veterans, on law-abiding immigrant communities, on due process, on the rule of Law, and, of course, on the American way of life itself, and we all as Americans are going to have to be aligned and pushing back so we can end this national nightmare that Donald Trump has visited upon the American people.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, you still waited until Friday, and the election is upon us, but you’re leaving room in your answer there for understanding that you don’t agree with the candidate on some other issues, though you agree with him on affordability. Since Democrats are running for re-election in the midterm races—you want to retake the House—would you recommend they mimic some of Mamdani’s messages as a progressive model for the party?
LEADER JEFFRIES: No, what we’ve said from the very beginning is that we have to decisively address the affordability crisis that Donald Trump and Republican policies have made worse in the United States of America. We need to lower the high cost of living. We need to fix our broken healthcare system—
MARGARET BRENNAN: So no?
LEADER JEFFRIES: —and we need to, of course, clean up corruption in the United States of America. No, what we’re going to mimic is our own views as it relates to the need to make life more affordable. Here in America, when you work hard and play by the rules, in this country, you should be able to live a comfortable life, live the good life, good paying job, good housing, good healthcare, good education for your children and a good retirement but far too many people are struggling to live paycheck to paycheck and can barely get by. That’s unacceptable in the wealthiest country in the history of the world.
MARGARET BRENNAN: I want to ask you about something you said. You said, Democrats—there are no election deniers on our side of the aisle. You said that back in January. But recently, you’ve been using the term ‘rigged elections’ in reference to the upcoming midterms. Democrats were appalled when President Trump used language like that. How do you justify using that now? Doesn’t that undermine faith for voters you need to show up?
LEADER JEFFRIES: No, I’ve been using that term in the context of Donald Trump’s unprecedented effort to gerrymander congressional maps in a partisan fashion all across the country in order to rig the midterm elections and deny the ability of the American people to actually decide who should be in the majority as it relates to the House of Representatives.
MARGARET BRENNAN: You know Democrats are also going through—
LEADER JEFFRIES: The framers of the Constitution were very clear—
MARGARET BRENNAN: —through gerrymandering and redistricting.
LEADER JEFFRIES: No, no, no. Well, Democrats are going to push back aggressively to make sure that we have fair maps across the country, not partisan gerrymandering, which Republicans have initiated in state after state after state.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Leader Jeffries, thank you for your time this morning.
Full interview can be watched here.
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