Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur (OH-09)
Toledo, Ohio — Today, Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur (OH-09), Co-Founder and Co-Chair of the bipartisan Congressional Ukraine Caucus released the following statement after President Trump announced the resumption of Military Aid to Ukraine.
“I support the President’s recent announcement of renewed critical defensive weapons shipments to Ukraine—including lifesaving air defensive systems. The harmful pause in shipments should have never happened in the first place. Last week’s revelation of the unexpected Department of Defense halt came just days after the single largest Russian barrage against Ukraine in which Putin launched over 500 drones and missiles against its cities and civilian populations. Russia has only continued to escalate its devastating strikes.
“US-made air defense systems, including Patriot batteries, are the centerpiece of Ukraine’s defenses against Russian strikes. They save lives every day. There are no parallel defense alternatives for Ukraine if the US stops supplying these vital munitions. By halting these shipments, leaders in the Department of Defense have risked the imminent deaths of many Ukrainian military servicemembers as well as civilians.
“Supplying Ukraine with these weapons ensures increased demand that enables our own defense industrial base to grow so that we can produce the quantities of munitions needed to defend both ourselves and our Allies. Ukraine’s use of these weapons in its defensive war also allows our military to better test and improve these systems to keep American forces safer.
“As Co-Founder and Co-Chair of the bipartisan Congressional Ukraine Caucus, I want to applaud the work of our nearly 100 Caucus Members for their tireless support for Ukraine in Congress. The unified message our Caucus has sent since before the start of this unprovoked war continues to ensure that any pro-Putin actors, even potentially within the Administration, remain isolated and are made known to the public which continues to back Ukraine’s decade long fight to restore its Liberty.
“As a Caucus, we call upon the Department of Defense to expeditiously and fully renew the shipments of these munitions and demand full accountability from the Administration as to how this important decision was delayed but now restored.”
Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Mike Quigley (IL-05)
Today, U.S. Representative Mike Quigley (IL-05) released the following statement after voting no on the Trump-Republican Big Ugly Bill:
“There is nothing beautiful about this bill. No American will be untouched by the damage it will do to our communities. Seventeen million Americans will lose access to healthcare. Nine rural hospitals in Illinois are at risk of closing. Over 200,000 Illinois residents will lose access to SNAP food benefits. Illinois families will pay $400 more a year for energy. All of this, while ballooning our national debt by at least $3 trillion.
“Disturbingly, Republicans seem to know exactly how harmful this bill is because dozens of them pledged to oppose it. Just yesterday, the House came to a standstill for over eight hours because the House Freedom Caucus attempted to negotiate changes to the bill. They failed. Today, those members voted for the unchanged bill anyway.
“The bottom line is that Republicans are willing to sacrifice their constituents to keep Donald Trump happy. But I am laser-focused on protecting the residents of Illinois’ Fifth District and doing everything I can to safeguard Medicaid, SNAP, and every benefit that keeps Americans safe and healthy.
“I firmly believe that years from now, we will look back in disbelief and shame at the United States Congress for passing such a harmful bill.”
Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Mike Quigley (IL-05)
This week, U.S. Representative Mike Quigley (IL-05), Co-Chair of the Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition (SEEC), concluded his tenth Climate Change Tour of Great Smoky Mountains National Park and announced the re-introduction of his National Parks protection legislation, the Reducing Waste in National Parks Act.
“For a decade, my National Park Climate Change Tours have allowed us a firsthand look at how climate change damages our parks’ plants, wildlife, and waterways. During our visit to Great Smoky Mountains National Park, I visited places like Chilhowee Lake and learned about habitat restoration efforts to protect endangered fish populations and ensure ecological diversity,” said Quigley. “This year, we also spent time visiting with nearby towns that were hit by Hurricane Helene, where we discussed the importance of federal services to rebuilding and fighting severe weather. The Great Smoky Mountains are ultimately just one of the many national treasures threatened by extreme weather, rising carbon emissions, and plastic pollution. We all have to work together to fight that threat.”
Last month, Trump’s Secretary of the Interior, Doug Bergum, reversed the Interior Department’s policy to phase out single-use plastics across national parks and other public lands. The Biden policy, modeled after Obama-era guidelines, banned the sale and distribution of unnecessary single-use plastic products, like bottles and plastic foam foodware, in protected areas.
The Reducing Waste in National Parks Actwould restore Biden’s policy, codifying a call for the National Park Service to decrease the availability of single-use plastics in parks. U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR) has introduced companion legislation in the Senate.
“Oregonians and Americans love our national parks, but instead of protecting them from dangerous plastic pollution, Secretary Burgum is dead set on reopening the floodgates to plastic in our parks,” said Senator Merkley, Ranking Member of the Interior-Environment Appropriations Subcommittee. “Single-use plastics threaten our natural treasures and the ability of folks to enjoy their beauty. As the Trump Administration continues to recklessly endanger natural wonders and wildlife nationwide—just like during the first administration—I’ll keep fighting to protect and preserve our parks and public lands so they can be enjoyed for generations to come.”
“Our national parks should be full of scenic views and free of plastic pollution,” said Christy Leavitt, Campaign Director at Oceana. “Reducing single-use plastics in our national parks is a win for wildlife and the millions of visitors who come to enjoy these remarkable places. Plastics can persist in our oceans and environment for years and years, fouling the landscape and harming fragile ecosystems. We applaud Sen. Merkley and Rep. Quigley for closing the floodgates of plastic pollution and standing up for plastic-free parks.”
“We greatly appreciate Rep. Quigley’s enduring leadership in helping to ensure that the National Park Service takes action to reduce plastic disposable waste in our parks, ” said Madeleine Foote, Healthy Communities Program Director at the League of Conservation Voters. “The Park Service had made considerable progress towards their goal of eliminating single-use plastics by 2032, and it’s incredibly disappointing to see this new administration reversing course. We commend Rep. Quigley, and other members like him, who are working to protect our public lands, waters, and special places for generations to come.”
During his Climate Change Tour of the Great Smoky Mountains, Quigley and U.S. Representatives Sean Casten (IL-06), Jared Huffman (CA-02), and Maxine Dexter (OR-03) saw the impacts of climate change on our National Parks firsthand. They also learned from subject matter experts about the tactics deployed to combat the effects of climate change and the measures that could be implemented going forward to help adapt to coming climate impacts. The Reducing Waste in National Parks Actis just one federal initiative that will help these experts in their mission to preserve our nation’s precious natural treasures.
“Our national parks are among our most important American treasures,” said Representative Casten. “I was honored to join my colleagues this past week in Great Smoky Mountains National Park to see local efforts to preserve crucial ecosystems and ensure that our parks will be around for our children and grandchildren to enjoy. I also appreciated hearing directly from folks managing the recovery and rehabilitation efforts following Hurricane Helene and look forward to taking what we learned back to Washington to help mitigate the next climate-driven extreme weather disaster.”
“Visiting Great Smoky Mountains National Park made one thing clear: our national parks represent the best of America — clean air, clear water, thriving wildlife, and shared spaces for all of us to enjoy. But Trump’s Interior Department would rather flood them with single-use plastics than protect these national treasures. We should be investing in resilience, restoration, and partnerships that strengthen these lands—not selling them out to polluters,” said Representative Huffman, Ranking Member of the House Natural Resources Committee. “I’m proud to back Rep. Quigley’s Reducing Waste in National Parks Act to keep plastics out of our parks and ensure future generations inherit public lands that are healthy and thriving.”
The Reducing Waste in National Parks Act would:
Restore the previous Interior Department policy of phasing out single-use plastic products across national parks and other public lands.
Decrease the availability of single-use plastic products, like bottles and plastic foam foodware, in protected areas by banning their sale and distribution.
Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Hakeem Jeffries (8th District of New York)
Today, Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries appeared on CNN’s The Situation Room where he emphasized that House Democrats will continue pushing back against the extremism that has been unleashed on the American people by the Trump administration and Rubber Stamp Republicans in Congress.
WOLF BLITZER: Leader Jeffries, thanks so much for joining us. What do you think? What does this say about the relationship between President Trump and the Defense Secretary?
LEADER JEFFRIES:Pete Hegseth is the most unqualified Defense Secretary in American history, undermines the ability of the Department of Defense to keep the American people safe and Donald Trump should fire him, or Pete Hegseth should tender his resignation. That’s been clear and apparent for months. And it’s shocking to me that this charade continues to go on. Ukraine is an ally. Russia is a sworn enemy of the United States of America. And when you limit Ukraine’s ability to be successful in the war of aggression that Russia has launched against a sovereign country, you undermine America’s national security interests. And that’s highly problematic.
WOLF BLITZER: Very strong words. Very strong words, I should just say. Trump says he’s now considering supporting a bill in the Senate that would impose punishing sanctions on Russia. Leader Jeffries, what do you make of the President’s change in tone against Russia and Vladimir Putin for that matter? And do you expect that these sanctions, this sanctions bill will ultimately come up for a vote?
LEADER JEFFRIES: There’s strong and bipartisan support for sanctions against Vladimir Putin and Russia, and it’s unfortunate that the Trump administration has spent months playing footsie with Vladimir Putin and some would suggest bending the knee to an enemy of this country. This war of aggression that Russia has launched against Ukraine is clear. It’s not just about territorial integrity. It’s a battle between democracy and autocracy, between freedom and tyranny, between truth and propaganda. And the United States of America should always stand on the side of democracy and freedom and truth. That means standing on the side of Ukraine until victory is won.
WOLF BLITZER: So you would support these sanctions if, in fact, they’re passed?
LEADER JEFFRIES: Certainly need to take a look at the specifics of the sanctions, but I am a strong supporter of continuing to escalate and intensify the sanctions that have been previously put into place relative to Russia until they back down and, you know, withdraw from Ukraine and create a situation where Ukraine’s sovereignty can be restored and the killing of innocent civilians stops, including the killing of Ukrainian children that have been targeted by Russia and Vladimir Putin.
WOLF BLITZER: And the Russians are now launching a record number of drones and other missiles against various civilian targets in Ukraine as we speak right now. I want to turn while I have you, Leader Jeffries, to the President’s major policy bill that he signed into law on July 4. All Congressional Democrats, of course, voted against it. What’s your biggest concern right now about the impact this legislation, which is now the law—he signed it into law—will have?
LEADER JEFFRIES:Donald Trump’s One Big Ugly Law hurts everyday Americans all across the country and rewards billionaires. It’s an unprecedented assault on the healthcare of the American people. Hospitals will close, including in rural America. Nursing homes will shut down. Community-based health clinics will no longer be able to operate. And as a result of so many people losing coverage in different ways, people are going to die all across this country. This bill also rips food away from the mouths of children. And all of this is being done to reward their billionaire donors. And by the way, it’s also going to set us on a course toward possibly bankrupting the nation by adding trillions of dollars to America’s debt, which is already far too high. We’re going to tattoo this law on the foreheads of every single House Republican who voted against the best interests of the people that they represent in doing the bidding of supporting this bill and continuing to rubber stamp Donald Trump’s extreme agenda.
WOLF BLITZER: Your fellow Democrats have signaled they intend to make the Medicaid cuts—and there are enormous Medicaid cuts in this new law—a key issue in next year’s midterm elections. But the bill was designed so that those cuts won’t actually happen until after the midterm elections. Given that, Leader Jeffries, will this bill really have as big of an impact on the midterms as some Democrats are saying?
LEADER JEFFRIES: Well, this is not about politics. It’s about policy. And Republicans have supported a policy which involves the largest cut to Medicaid in American history. And by setting this massive cut into motion, it lays the conditions for the collapse of the Medicaid system in many ways. So this is a big challenge. And also, Wolf, it’s important to recognize that this bill also will rip coverage away from millions of Americans because of changes that were made to the Affordable Care Act. It also goes after Medicare, possibly a cut that could be set into motion by more than $500 billion and it also represents an attack on the Children’s Health Insurance Program and on Planned Parenthood. So it’s an all-out assault on healthcare and it is going to have real consequences for the American people, and that will be felt, in many ways, immediately.
WOLF BLITZER: Many of your Democratic colleagues are facing angry voters back in their districts. According to Axios, some are even being told they need to be more willing to go out there and get shot when fighting—that was a direct quote, get shot—when fighting back against some of Trump’s policies. One House Democrat saying, quote, and I’ll read it to you, ‘Our own base is telling us that what we’re doing is not good enough. There needs to be blood to grab the attention of the press and the public.’ How do you respond to that, Leader Jeffries? Are Democrats not meeting the moment, not doing enough to fight these developments?
LEADER JEFFRIES: Well, we are in a more is more environment in terms of the unprecedented assault on the American way of life and our country that has been launched by Donald Trump and compliant House Republicans—more speeches, more rallies, more protests, more sit-ins, more press conferences, more town hall meetings in Democratic districts and Republican districts. We’re in a more is more environment and we’ll continue to lean in aggressively. At the same period of time, we also are going to span out across the country and talk to the American people about our affirmative vision of making their life better. Imagine a country where everyone can afford to live the good life—a good-paying job, good healthcare, good housing, good education for your children and a good retirement. That’s what Democrats are working hard to bring about. When you work hard in America and when you play by the rules, you should be able to afford to live the good life. And far too many people are struggling to live paycheck to paycheck. That’s unacceptable in the wealthiest country in the history of the world.
WOLF BLITZER: Leader Jeffries, I also want to talk to you about Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic nominee for Mayor in New York City. CNN has new reporting that some progressives who empowered Mamdani to victory now want to primary you and other Democrats in New York City. The co-chair of New York City’s Democratic Socialists of America says he thinks you’re picking fights, quote, ‘with the left,’ instead of focusing ‘on fighting the right.’ His words. Asked whether Mamdani thinks those incumbent challenges should happen, his Press Secretary told CNN he was declining to comment, at least for now. How do you respond?
LEADER JEFFRIES: I have no idea what these people are talking about. We are going to continue to focus our efforts, as we did on the House Floor, in connection with Donald Trump’s One Big Ugly Bill, on pushing back against the extremism that has been unleashed on the American people. It’s clear to us, as House Democrats, it’s clear to us as Members of the New York City delegation, that the problem is Donald Trump and House Republicans who have launched this unprecedented assault on the American way of life, an assault on healthcare. They’re ripping food out of the mouths of children, veterans and seniors. They’re exploding the national debt. They’re unleashing masked agents on law-abiding immigrant communities. It shouldn’t be too difficult for some people to figure out who the problem is in the United States of America.
WOLF BLITZER: The Democratic Leader, the Minority Leader, Hakeem Jeffries. Thanks, as usual, for joining us.
Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Aumua Amata (Western Samoa)
Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman Uifa’atali Amata is expressing support for the bipartisan resolution sponsored by the Minnesota delegation to Congress deploring political violence in the wake of the recent shocking attack on two state legislators and their spouses.
Led by Rep. Kelly Morrison (D-MN-03) with the bipartisan support of the other seven Members of the delegation, including House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-MN-06), H. Res. 519 condemns the attacks on Minnesota lawmakers in Brooklyn Park and Champlin, Minnesota, and calls for unity and the rejection of political violence in Minnesota and across the United States.
“I was grieved to hear of this terrible attack while I was home in American Samoa. I support my Minnesota colleagues in this, and I appreciate the bipartisan spirit of this Resolution to express the sense of the full House of Representatives,” said Congresswoman Amata. “Americans reject political violence. Instead, we embrace constitutionally protected free dialogue, and advancing change through voting, advocacy, representation, and lawmaking.”
She continued, “I will never forget the shock of the news of the 2017 attack on Republican Members of Congress preparing for the yearly charitable congressional baseball game, about this time of year that June, where my friend Majority Leader Steve Scalise was severely wounded and Capitol Police officers performed their duties admirably to save lives. Every time I drive to the Capitol, I pass right by that park, a reminder of that terrible event, but also a reminder of courage and resilience in the face of violence.”
“I support our leadership’s important efforts on stepping up and reviewing security measures, as congressional security is an ongoing concern, and I appreciate our Capitol Police who train to keep Members, staff and visitors to the Capitol safe,” Amata concluded.
Congresswoman Amata’s father, the late Governor Uifa’atali Peter T. Coleman, served on the Capitol Police force, between his World War II service and his years in leadership in the Pacific.
Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Aumua Amata (Western Samoa)
Pago Pago – Congresswoman Uifa’atali Amata is highlighting Juneteenth, which became an official national holiday through bipartisan votes by Congress in 2021, and released the following statement:
“On Juneteenth, we celebrate shared ideals of freedom that can give us powerful unity as a country. Freedom is a cherished value that America’s founders declared a God-given right, but those blessings of freedom were not yet available to all. That freedom became the life’s mission and calling for many American abolitionists, but it did not become a nationwide reality until after hundreds of thousands of lives were lost in a long and bloody Civil War.
“The cause of freedom prevailed then, and has been defended since. Our great nation, including our own Toa o Samoa, lifts up the enduring cause of freedom today throughout the world.
“On Juneteenth, we send our love and goodwill to African American countrymen and women that descend from that Civil War history. We celebrate ‘life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness’ together, and our dedication to a strong, united country for the generations ahead.”
History: Juneteenth is a celebration of freedom. The date is in commemoration of June 19, 1865, when news of freedom finally reached the last known place practicing slavery in the United States — two and a half years after President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on New Year’s Day, 1863. The two largest Confederate armies had surrendered to Union forces in April of that same year, ending all major fighting of the Civil War.
Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Aumua Amata (Western Samoa)
Washington, D.C. – On behalf of Congresswoman Uifa’atali Amata, Chief of Staff Leafaina Tavai welcomed the 2025 winner of the Malofie Congressional Art Competition, Deborah Vaiotu of Tafuna High School and Malaeloa Village, to the U.S. Capitol for the opening of her artwork last week, accompanied by her sister Evoline. Deborah’s outstanding artwork titled “Motherhood” is now on display for the next year.
Judges
American Samoa’s competition was judged in March with over 25 strong entries from local students. The winners from congressional districts all over the nation are invited yearly to the Capitol to see their artwork on display, attend a national reception, and other activities.
Motherhood
“Congratulations to Deborah for her beautiful and especially heartwarming artwork, which represents American Samoa so well,” said Congresswoman Amata. “Everyone exclaims over her lovely depiction of a strong Samoan mother with a baby.”
“Thank you to all of the competition participants, and I know this year had so many good entries, which is a credit to these creative students and their excellent art teachers,” she continued.
The winning artwork is displayed where thousands of Capitol tour groups each year will see the rows of work by skilled young people all over the country. Members of Congress will walk by the display wall many times over the year ahead.
“As I return to Washington, it will be wonderful to see all the new art in place showcasing originality and cultural influences from all over the country,” concluded Amata. “Thank you again to this year’s generous sponsors making this opportunity available to our students.”
Congresswoman Amata’s office works in partnership with the American Samoa Department of Education to hold the competition, select several standouts, and determine one to represent American Samoa in Washington. American Samoa’s public and private high schools are invited to send entries for the competition.
Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Aumua Amata (Western Samoa)
Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman Uifa’atali Amata is sending greetings and well-wishes to all the fathers over this Father’s Day weekend:
“Happy Father’s Day to all the dads and grandfathers in American Samoa and everywhere. You have an important role in guiding our young people and being great examples for each generation, often quietly but with great impact. I speak from time to time of how my own father influenced me, including the field of public service, and the admiration that our fathers inspire in us. Thank you to all fathers throughout our islands for your hard work and support in the lives of your families. You are loved, respected and honored. Enjoy this weekend and the lifelong blessings of being fathers.”
‘Grandchildren are the crown of the aged, and the glory of children are their fathers.’ Proverbs 17:6
‘The righteous man walks in his integrity; his children are blessed after him.’ Proverbs 20:7
Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Jared Golden (ME-02)
Applications are due by October 30.
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King, Jr., and U.S. Representatives Chellie Pingree and Jared Golden announced that they are accepting nomination applications from Maine high school students for appointments to the United States service academies operated by the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Merchant Marine. No nomination is required to apply to the United States Coast Guard Academy.
Students should apply for a nomination in the spring and summer of their junior year. Senators Collins and King and Representatives Pingree and Golden began accepting nomination applications as of May 15, 2025, from students for admission to the academies in the summer of 2026.
Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Hakeem Jeffries (8th District of New York)
Today, Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries appeared on MSNBC’s The Beat with Ari Melber where he emphasized that the Republicans’ Big Ugly Bill will gut healthcare and nutritional assistance for millions of hardworking Americans in order to pay for tax breaks for billionaires.
ARI MELBER: The Democratic Minority Leader, Hakeem Jeffries, joins us now. Good evening, and thanks for joining us at this very busy time.
LEADER JEFFRIES: Good evening. Great to be with you.
ARI MELBER: Great to have you. I want to just begin, before we get to any of the Washington politics, with this tragedy down in, of course, Kerr County, Texas. Death toll is over 100. As of tonight, we have the latest reporting, which is 161 people are still missing, including a lot of individuals that, of course, have not been accounted for and the worst is feared in terms of what we’re hearing. What is your response to this ongoing, unfolding tragedy that’s affecting so many? You know, what else can the federal government do?
LEADER JEFFRIES: Our thoughts and prayers are certainly with all of the families who’ve been impacted by this terrible tragedy, and we’ll continue to stand with them and do everything that we can to try to be there for them as a federal government in terms of the recovery and the rebuilding that will necessarily have to take place. Right now, we’re also appreciative, of course, of the fact that we have first responders who are still engaged in a search and rescue effort to try to hopefully find folks who have not been currently located. I think there will also be a moment where, as a Congress, we need to aggressively ask some questions about what happened? Why did it happen? How do we prevent this type of tragedy from ever happening again? There’s real concern, Ari, with the fact that, you know, the National Weather Service has been decimated by the Trump administration. There’s real concern that Donald Trump and his Homeland Security Secretary have threatened to defund FEMA. And there’s real concern that the Texas State Government may not have necessarily done everything that they could have done in advance of the flooding to protect those communities.
ARI MELBER: Is this, since you mentioned, an area where you think that defunding at the state or federal level could have played a part in an avoidable level of tragedy?
LEADER JEFFRIES: That remains to be seen, but certainly we have to ask those questions, and we’re going to have to get those answers, and we’re prepared as Democrats to aggressively do just that.
ARI MELBER: Yeah. Understood. We showed you speaking on the floor there fighting the budget, I guess you and Cory Booker, I don’t know if you guys trade tips in the hallway about how you go that many hours. And I want to ask you about this, you know. We try to call it straight here and follow the facts, the evidence on all these issues here on this program. And it seems like on this one, Democrats have lost a lot of public skirmishes. It seems like Democrats won the messaging battle, but still didn’t have the votes. So I want to get your response to that, but I’ll put up on the screen the numbers here. Just top line—you have a lot more debt, kicking off over 11 million people from their current health coverage, going after popular programs like Medicaid and, overwhelmingly, as you know, as people learned about this bill, the more they learned, the more they didn’t like it. It’s overwhelmingly opposed. Before I get your answer, I just want to show again. Let’s get out of the coastal national news, let’s get out of the television news of coming out of these, you know, folks who might follow politics every day. We checked the polling. This was going underwater 18 points. And local coverage has actually echoed some of the facts Democrats have mentioned against the bill. Take a look.
VIDEO 1: It’s going to be a big, beautiful challenge for hospitals.
VIDEO 2: Rural hospitals could face a loss of medical care and services. Millions of Americans who have Medicaid face losing their healthcare coverage.
VIDEO 3: They’re anticipating about 500,000 people will be cut, will have their Medicaid benefits cut from the Big Ugly Bill.
VIDEO 4: There is no spinning this as if there’s a positive thing.
ARI MELBER: Did you get your message out effectively? And if so, what do you say to people who are frustrated that the bill still passed?
LEADER JEFFRIES: Well, the One Big Ugly Bill represents the largest cut to Medicaid in American history. Hospitals will close, nursing homes will shut down, community-based health clinics will be unable to operate and people are going to die in community after community after community, including in rural America. I think it certainly has been the case that we have successfully communicated across the country the implications of this One Big Ugly Bill. It hurts everyday Americans in order to reward billionaires. And we’re going to continue that effort in state after state after state, in congressional district after congressional district after congressional district. The American people should understandably be frustrated that they clearly have rejected this bill, did not want it to be passed, but Republicans in the House of Representatives have decided to once again be nothing more than a rubber stamp for Donald Trump’s extreme agenda. All we needed were two additional Republicans to join us, and we could have stopped this bill, that’s out of 220.
ARI MELBER: And what does it mean that Republicans said out loud they oppose the bill, or big parts of it, and still voted for it?
LEADER JEFFRIES: I spent a lot of time on the House floor, going through a lot of the letters that had been written by my Republican colleagues complaining about the Medicaid cuts, complaining about the cuts to the clean energy tax credits, complaining about the cuts to nutritional assistance and the fact that this bill rips food out of the mouths of children and then they turned around and bent the knee to Donald Trump, because that’s what they do. They don’t work for the American people at this particular point in time. They work for Donald Trump. They act like a wholly owned subsidiary of the Trump administration. It’s an embarrassment. And now that embarrassment will actually result in the American people being hurt in devastating ways.
ARI MELBER: We also track culture. As you know, sometimes the punchlines give you a sense of where the story is. Here is Jon Stewart.
JON STEWART (VIDEO): Holly s*** you what? You somehow managed to severely cut the safety net and expand the deficit. That’s impressive. That’s one of those. ‘Hey man, how did you gain all that weight?’ ‘Ozempic.’ That’s something that’s hard to do.
ARI MELBER: Does this tag the GOP as the fiscally irresponsible party? And where do we go from here? I mean, you’re a pretty young guy by the standards of Washington. Are we going to hear from them when they’re out of power again in however many years that a Democratic White House is growing the deficit? Does that even make sense given their record right now?
LEADER JEFFRIES:Republicans are complete phonies when it comes to be claiming to be the party of fiscal responsibility. All they have done, administration after administration after administration—they did this during the administration of George W Bush. They did it during Ronald Reagan’s administration. And now, of course, they’re doing it again during Donald Trump’s second administration—is explode the debt and the deficit. Why? In order to provide massive tax cuts for the wealthy, the well-off and the well-connected and subsidize the lifestyles of the rich and shameless. Now you’ve got a bill where they actually have combined hurting everyday Americans, largest cut to Medicaid in American history, largest cut to nutritional assistance in American history, hurting veterans, hurting seniors, hurting children and at the same time, exploding the debt and the deficit. We are going to tattoo this disgusting abomination of a bill to the foreheads of every single Republican who voted for it.
ARI MELBER: Hardball tattoo politics there. All right. I want to ask you about the ongoing abuses of power alleged by Donald Trump. We’ve seen National Guard there in the streets. Democrats have sued over that. We have Marines used on a small basis, but seems like a test case. We have then, related, in the courts, although it might not get as much dramatic attention, certainly not the visuals like you see here. But this report about Trump claiming sweeping powers to literally nullify laws just passed by Congress, supported by Republicans, by the way. Legal experts telling The Times that Trump is claiming this power to immunize private parties to commit otherwise illegal acts and blatantly defying the recent TikTok rule, whether people agree with it or not, and I think you all know there’s some controversy about that TikTok ban. Since when does the President just say, well, we’ll enforce it later, or maybe not at all. And what specifically does your party do about that?
LEADER JEFFRIES: Well, Donald Trump has launched an all-out assault on the American way of life, on the rule of law and democracy itself. And this is going to require, of course, a Congress that actually functions as a separate and co-equal branch of government. We will not get that from the modern-day Republican Party, although we are still looking for some folks, just a handful, to show Liz Cheney or John McCain levels of courage to push back against the extremism that is coming from the Trump administration. We haven’t seen it so far, and that’s shameful, but we’ll continue to press them to try to achieve it on behalf of the American people. You know, the courts will need to function as a backstop. And unfortunately, we’ve seen, increasingly, an unwillingness by this Supreme Court to actually push back against Donald Trump and some of his executive overreach. At the end of the day, it was said during the founding of the Republic that when the people fear the government, there is tyranny. But when the government fears the people, there is liberty.
ARI MELBER: Yeah, of course. Yeah.
LEADER JEFFRIES: And at the end of the day, it’s going to be the people rising up, pushing back against this extremism, showing it in community after community after community and then, ultimately, when it’s time to go to the polls, to send a clear message that America is better than this.
ARI MELBER: So, let me take exactly where your answer goes. Someone listening might say, wow, that sounds good. I hope Hakeem Jeffries is right, but what if he’s wrong? What if we’re actually past the point where we can just count on free and fair elections when, as you know, and to be fair—you’ve spoken out about this, of course—the person in the office, he won lawfully, he won the Electoral College in what we know to be a free and fair election. But previously, when he lost, he tried to subvert that. We had a convicted sedition. He then freed the sedition convicts, as everybody knows. And so, there’s great concern about not a repeat of 2020, but a more effective version of it. And you’ve heard this concern. It’s not just random, sort of, activist or the most extreme sort of people worrying about it. James Carville, a longtime, sort of, centrist Democratic figure, said this about rigging the midterms.
JAMES CARVILLE(VIDEO): Actually, your concerns are legitimate. I would never tell anybody that’s worried that no, don’t you worry about that. He’s been trying to do anything that he can possibly to try to extricate himself from what is almost certain to be a humiliating loss in October, November of 2026. So, people should be worried, they should be vigilant, they should watch this.
ARI MELBER: Is this a legitimate concern? And if so, what are you doing about it?
LEADER JEFFRIES:We have to be incredibly vigilant to make sure that there are free and fair elections. I think we have to look at what’s in front of us. And this year, of course, there are off-year elections in New Jersey and in Virginia. We’ve got to make sure that the Democratic nominee, Mikie Sherrill, wins in New Jersey, the Democratic nominee, Abigail Spanberger, wins in Virginia. They’re both tremendous public servants, have served this country in a variety of different ways, including in the Congress. And then, of course, be prepared as it relates to the midterm elections. Now, the good news is—to the extent that there’s a silver lining in our electoral system—is that we don’t have a national election system. It’s state by state by state. And in many of the states where there will be competitive gubernatorial elections, and certainly in the overwhelming majority of the states where the House will be decided, there are Democratic Governors, Democratic Attorney Generals and Democratic Secretaries of State. I’d be far more concerned, honestly, Ari, if we were looking at a situation where the fate of the House would be determined in states where Republicans are in charge.
ARI MELBER: So, you’re saying—to be clear, because it’s a patchwork—you’re saying you’ve studied this, and if there are Republicans trying to play games, they’re not actually overseeing the races that you think would control the House outcome?
LEADER JEFFRIES: That’s absolutely correct. There are seats in New York, seats in New Jersey, seats in Michigan, seats in California, seats in Wisconsin, seats in Pennsylvania, seats in Arizona that, you know, by way of example, that are going to determine in large measure who controls the House in the aftermath of the midterm election. Every single one of those states have Democratic Governors, there are Democratic Attorney Generals, Democratic Secretaries of State. And so, that’s kind of the landscape that we find ourselves in. And I’ve got trust in those leaders to make sure that there are actual free and fair elections.