Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Hakeem Jeffries (8th District of New York)
Today, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries spoke at the Interfaith Rally and Vigil for Health Justice, where he underscored the vitality of protecting the healthcare of the American people in the face of the Republican healthcare crisis.
LEADER JEFFRIES: Are we here to save healthcare?
Are you ready to hold the line?
Are we in this fight until we win this fight on behalf of the American people?
What an honor and a privilege to be here with all of you. Certainly so thankful for all of our faith leaders for your support, for the leadership, the partnership, the friendship, for organizing this convening, organizing this vigil, lending your powerful moral voices to this existential struggle that we are waging on behalf of the American people. It’s also a blessing to be with all of you, joined by my colleagues in government, who you will hear from, including Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, the legendary Nancy Pelosi, a great woman of faith, and, of course, my good friend and colleague, the Democratic Whip, Katherine Clark.
Now, I grew up in the Cornerstone Baptist Church in Brooklyn, New York, and my mom would take my younger brother and I to Sunday school each and every week. In fact, we used to think growing up, every week, every week, every month, every year that we were mailmen for Christ. Because it didn’t matter if it was raining, snowing, sleeting or hailing. If it was Sunday morning, we were going to church. And that was the foundation that was laid for us from the very beginning. And I grew up in church learning, of course, that what the Bible teaches us is to stand up for the least amongst us—the lost, the left-behind, those whose station in life may not have always dealt them the best of hands. And unfortunately, what we’re dealing with right now in the United States Congress is a group of people who sometimes say they go to church and they pray on Sunday, but then they come to Washington, D.C., and they prey, P-R-E-Y, on the American people for the rest of the week. Prey on the poor, prey on the sick, prey on the afflicted. But we believe in an America of the people, by the people and for the people, which is why we’re standing up for the healthcare of the American people, today and at all times.
Scripture tells us in Second Corinthians, the fourth chapter. By the way, that’s Second Corinthians, not Two Corinthians. Mr. President, if you’re gonna sell the Bible, you should know the Bible. Second Corinthians, the fourth chapter, eighth verse, the Scripture tells us, the Apostle Paul writes, ‘We are troubled on every side, but not distressed. Perplexed, but never in despair.’
Certainly, I think it’s fair to say that we’ve got trouble all around us. A hater in the White House. Haters in the Congress. Haters throughout the Cabinet. Trouble all around us. But we’re not distressed. Because we believe in the resilience and the goodness of the American people. And that’s why we’re so thankful for all of you in this fight, standing with us Democrats in the House and the Senate, a separate and co-equal branch of government. We understand we don’t work for Donald Trump. We don’t work for JD Vance. We don’t work for Elon Musk. We don’t work for their billionaire donors. We work for all of you, the American people. And we’re determined to stand up to protect their healthcare, to stand up for Medicaid, stand up for our hospitals, stand up for our nursing homes, stand up for our community-based health clinics, stand up for the Affordable Care Act, stand up for the principle that in America, the wealthiest country in the history of the world, healthcare can’t simply be a privilege for the wealthy and the well-off. Healthcare is a right that should be available to every single American. And that’s what this fight is all about.
And so, as I close, let me simply lean into the words of a great man of God and great civil rights leader, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who led a great movement, interfaith religious movement, brought the American people together across the divides that may artificially be put upon us. And in those early days of the Civil Rights Movement, when people saw trouble on every side, concerned that it wouldn’t be possible to break the authoritarianism that was the Jim Crow South at the time. Dr. King gathered some folks in March of 1956, just a few months after Rosa Parks sat down so that everybody else could stand up. He gathered folks in the basement of the Concord Baptist Church in Brooklyn, New York, and others were concerned and anxious as to whether they could win the fight that they were involved in at the time. And he said, ‘No matter what the odds are, we have to press on and keep pressing.’ And what Dr. King said is that ‘If you can’t fly, run. If you can’t run, walk. If you can’t walk, crawl. But at all times, press on and keep pressing.’
So I just dropped by today to say, as Dr. King once echoed prophetically, that we’ve just got to press on in this fight. Press on for our children, press on for our seniors, press on for our veterans, press on for our unions, press on for people of faith, press on for the healthcare of the American people, press on for nutritional assistance, press on for the proposition that everybody should have a fair shot in this country to live the American dream, press on for working-class folk, press on for the middle class, press on for the poor, press on for the sick, press on for the afflicted, press on for the least, press on for the lost, press on for the left-behind, press on for social justice, press on for racial justice, press on for healthcare justice, press on for economic justice, press on for freedom, press on for liberty, press on for democracy, press on in this healthcare fight until victory is won.
Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Jimmy Gomez (CA-34)
Gomez was one of the first members of the US House to call for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza and has consistently advocated for the release of October 7th hostages and the surging of immediate delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza.WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Rep. Jimmy Gomez (CA-34) released the following statement following the announcement of a preliminary agreement between Israel and Hamas to implement the first stage of a peace plan in Gaza, including an imminent ceasefire, the return of hostages by Hamas, and swift delivery of humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza:
“I am deeply relieved by this breakthrough, and I urge all parties to implement the agreement as quickly as possible for the safety and well-being of millions in the region.
“From the beginning of this conflict two years ago, I have been unwavering in calling for a lasting peace that includes the return of the October 7th hostages, humanitarian relief for the people of Gaza, an ironclad commitment from all sides to protect civilians and a permanent ceasefire. This agreement appears to begin to meet those essential conditions. Ultimately, a permanent peace must ensure Israeli and Palestinian security through permanently disarming Hamas, and give the Palestinian people true international, democratic representation through the realization of a two-state solution.
“As this complex peace negotiation moves forward, I recognize the obstacles and challenges and will be closely monitoring the developments. The United States and our international partners must ensure that all parties continue to act in good faith in fully implementing their obligations.
Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Hakeem Jeffries (8th District of New York)
REPUBLICANS HAVE SHUT THE GOVERNMENT DOWN BECAUSE THEY DON’T WANT TO PROVIDE HEALTHCARE TO WORKING-CLASS AMERICANS
In the next few days, more than 20 million Americans are going to receive notices that will indicate that their premiums, co-pays and deductibles are about to skyrocket, which will bankrupt many Americans and prevent others from being able to access the healthcare they need. Democrats are united in our resolve to make sure that we cancel the cuts, lower the cost and save healthcare for the American people.
During the Republican shutdown, my offices in New York and Washington, D.C. will remain open to serve the people of the 8th congressional district. We can be reached at (202) 225-5936 (D.C.) or (718) 237-2211 (Brooklyn).
Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Hakeem Jeffries (8th District of New York)
Today, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries appeared on CNN’s News Central, Bloomberg’s Surveillance and CNBC’s Squawk Box to emphasize that, while Republicans refuse to negotiate an end to their reckless shutdown, Democrats are united and ready to find a bipartisan path forward that reopens the government and protects the healthcare of the American people.
LEADER JEFFRIES ON CNN’S NEWS CENTRAL:
JOHN BERMAN: With us now is the House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries. Leader Jeffries, thank you so much for being with us. We’ll get to you and your friend Mike Lawler in just a second. But first, I do want your reaction to the word that all the Israeli hostages could be home within days. Your reaction to that and what you think President Trump’s role was in brokering this deal.
LEADER JEFFRIES: Good morning. Great to be with you. It’s a very, very positive step in the right direction. We’re all hopeful that this agreement will be finalized, that the hostages will be released in a matter of days and returned home to their loved ones. Of course, that we can surge humanitarian assistance into Gaza to alleviate the pain and suffering that Palestinian civilians have been experiencing in a theater of war for the last two years and that we can achieve not just a ceasefire, but a pathway toward a just and lasting peace for both Israel and the Palestinian people.
JOHN BERMAN: So Leader Jeffries, let me ask you about the status of the shutdown and that confrontation with New York Congressman Mike Lawler. Among the many things that were exchanged back and forth there, he was asking you about the possibility of a one-year extension on the expiring Obamacare subsidies. Specifically, what is your opposition to that?
LEADER JEFFRIES: Well, MAGA Mike Lawler is an irrelevant individual.He doesn’t even have the support of the House Republican leadership who have refused to address the issue of extending the Affordable Care Act tax credits. The Democratic position has been clear. We will sit down with anyone, anytime, anyplace, one, to reopen the government, negotiate a bipartisan agreement that has to actually make life better for the American people, not hurt everyday Americans. And a meaningful part of that is to address the Republican healthcare crisis, which includes, but is not limited to, the largest cut to Medicaid in American history, the failure of Republicans to address the Affordable Care Act tax credits that are expiring, hospitals, nursing homes and community-based health clinics closing all across America, including in rural parts of the country, because of the One Big Ugly Bill. These are real issues affecting everyday Americans, working-class Americans. And our view is that we need a meaningful response to addressing the Republican healthcare crisis, not simply a band-aid solution that Republican leadership in the House and the Senate don’t even support right now.
JOHN BERMAN: Take Lawler out of it, Congressman Lawler, out of it for a second. I don’t think you guys will be having a beer anytime soon. But are you suggesting that when it comes to Obamacare subsidies, you are for permanence or broke? If they’re not made permanent, you won’t change your position on the shutdown.
LEADER JEFFRIES: No, what I’m suggesting is that we need to have a meaningful bipartisan discussion that our position, as articulated in the legislation that we’ve introduced, is a permanent extension of the Affordable Care Act tax credits. But we’re open to having a conversation in good faith to try to address this Republican healthcare crisis. It’s ironic, however, that Republicans just a few months ago passed their One Big Ugly Bill, which included permanent tax breaks for their billionaire donors, the wealthiest and the most well-off people in the United States of America. And so the question becomes, isn’t it reasonable for working-class Americans, for middle-class Americans, for everyday Americans who are facing the possibility of dramatically increased premiums, copays, and deductibles—we’re talking about thousands of dollars per year in additional healthcare costs. Isn’t it reasonable for them to have a similar level of certainty in their lives? And that’s what Democrats are fighting hard to achieve.
JOHN BERMAN: One of the things that has not happened in Congress is the swearing-in of Representative-elect Adelita Grijalva from Arizona. What do you think the holdup is there?
LEADER JEFFRIES: Well, it’s been weeks since Representative-elect Adelita Grijalva has been decisively elected. And so it’s very strange to us that House Republicans continue to delay her swearing-in. It could’ve happened last week. It could’ve happened this week. It’s not been scheduled for next week. And it does appear to many of us that part of the issue is that she will clearly become the 218th signature on the discharge petition that will trigger an up-or-down vote on the release of the Epstein files because we know that House Republicans and Senate Republicans and the Trump administration have been hiding the Epstein files from the American people for months now, even over the wishes of the brave survivors who want full transparency so there can be full accountability. And that’s what we support.
ANNMARIE HORDERN: The Speaker told us yesterday that Congress is having these talks when it comes to subsidies reform. Are you part of these talks? And just a quick condolences, because I know you, like me, were up late watching the Yankees lose, and I know that you’re a huge fan, Minority Leader Jeffries.
LEADER JEFFRIES: Well, thank you. They had a great season. Unfortunately, it didn’t end the way that we expected, but on to next year. With respect to what the Speaker has indicated, there’s been no conversation between House Republicans and House Democrats or between the Republican Party, Donald Trump, the administration and any of us on Capitol Hill, including conversations that should be taking place with Leader Schumer and Senate Democrats since that White House meeting that occurred last Monday. That’s unfortunate. And the behavior of Republicans since that point in time has been unserious and erratic. And we continue to urge them to find a path forward, to sit down, let’s talk, exercise common sense on behalf of the American people. But anything that’s done has to address this urgent need. You know, the open enrollment period starts on November 1st. Over the next few weeks, tens of millions of Americans are going to receive notices indicating that their premiums, co-pays and deductibles are about to skyrocket, in many instances by thousands of dollars per year. People are going go without health insurance, face medical bankruptcy and be jammed up in a situation where they need care for themselves, their children and their families, but will be unable to access it because they’ll be without health insurances.
ANNMARIE HORDERN: It was a Democratic policy, though. Your party voted for this temporary subsidy increase. Do you regret having an expiration date on this?
LEADER JEFFRIES: No, we were able to extend it through the end of this year in full anticipation that any reasonable Member of Congress will understand that you cannot kick tens of millions of Americans off of healthcare that’s become affordable for them as a result of the tax credits. Unfortunately, Republicans chose earlier this year to pass their One Big Ugly Bill. Largest cut to Medicaid in American history. Ripped food away from the mouths of hungry children and seniors and veterans, and they did all of this to pay for massive tax breaks that they made permanent for their billionaire donors, while at the same time refusing to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits which is why we find ourselves in this situation right now.
LISA ABRAMOWICZ: Leader Jeffries, some people would argue that what the Republicans are offering is to have a clean continuing resolution and to continue negotiating this, given the fact that at the same time there are going to be service members who are not going to paid. There’s going to be a question around food stamps and whether they’re going to be funded. Air traffic controllers are calling out sick because they’re not receiving paychecks. At what point do you just say, look, we need to keep people getting paid and we can keep talking?
LEADER JEFFRIES: We want to reopen the government and we want to reopen it immediately, but we also need to enact a spending agreement that actually improves the quality of life of the American people as opposed to hurting everyday Americans, which Republicans have been doing all throughout this year. And they’ve refused to negotiate at every step of the way throughout this year. They’ve taken a my way or the highway approach, they’ve gone it alone, and now we find ourselves dealing with this mess of this Republican healthcare crisis. And time has run out.
LISA ABRAMOWICZ: Leader Jeffries, do you think that you’ve gotten more leverage as this process has gone on or do you think that it’s actually waning?
LEADER JEFFRIES: Well, it’s actually not about leverage for us. It’s about the American people. That’s the fight that we’re waging, particularly in an environment where the cost of living is way too high. People are already paying too much for groceries, for housing, for their electricity bills. And now, of course, they’re confronting the very real possibility of being bankrupted by the rising cost of their health insurance. So we’re just asking Republicans to sit down and negotiate. That’s what should take place, not simply a my way or the highway approach, particularly when they’re asking Democrats to support a partisan Republican spending bill that continues to gut the healthcare of the American people.
ANNMARIE HORDERN: But right now, what Republicans are asking is to support a clean continuing resolution, a stopgap funding measure, which we’ve seen time and time again, that Democrats also wanted Republicans to support in the past. Why are Democrats choosing to keep the government shut?
LEADER JEFFRIES: That’s a Republican talking point, unfortunately, that they are putting into the public domain. It’s not a clean continuing resolution—
ANNMARIE HORDERN: Why isn’t it clean?
LEADER JEFFRIES: I’d be happy to explain that. In March, the Republicans passed a partisan bill in the House that Democrats strongly oppose. We opposed that spending bill because it hurt veterans, hurt children and families, it hurt housing affordability and it hurt healthcare because of the cuts that were included in it. There was actually a bipartisan spending agreement that we reached last December that passed overwhelmingly in the House and in the Senate. It was signed into law by President Joe Biden. And it had the support of then-President-elect Donald Trump. That would have been a clean spending agreement that could have been put before the Congress. Instead, they passed this partisan Republican spending bill in March that we strongly opposed, and now they want us to continue to sign off on that particular bill that also includes $500 million in cuts to law enforcement grants to support police officers all across the country. That’s just not something, for a variety of reasons, we can support at this particular point in time.
[…]
ANNMARIE HORDERN: Is there an opportunity for standalone legislation to make sure that the more than one million active duty service members get paid next week?
LEADER JEFFRIES: Certainly, our view in the House is that we should stand by our men and women in uniform and make sure that they do not miss a paycheck. Unfortunately, Speaker Johnson has ruled that out, saying it’s not really an issue that he’s prepared to deal with, in part because Republicans canceled votes last week, canceled votes this week. Apparently, they may not be coming back next week and what is that all for? Why are they on vacation in the middle of a government shutdown, particularly as it relates to the real possibility that our military families might miss a paycheck that they cannot afford to miss? We’re urging Republicans to get back into town, allow us to deal with the military pay issue, allow us to deal with the Republican healthcare crisis and allow us reopen the government so we can enact a spending agreement that meets the needs of the American people.
ANDREW ROSS SORKIN: I appreciate your position on the healthcare issue. The question I have is, there’s clearly a game of chicken going on here, and I think it was expressed in many ways by Senator Schumer in terms of how strategically there is a view among Democrats that the longer you can hold out, perhaps the better chance you have either to get what you want or to push the Republicans into some kind of other place. And my question to you is how you think about that given the trade-off, of course, which is all of the government workers which are currently being furloughed, and not being paid.
LEADER JEFFRIES: I think that Leader Schumer and Senate Democrats have taken a strong and principled position for all of the right reasons in the face of this Republican healthcare crisis. Remember, this is something that has been ongoing from the very beginning of this Congress. The largest cut to Medicaid in American history, forcing, we believe, 14 million people off of healthcare coverage. Hospitals and nursing homes and community-based health clinics are closing right now all throughout the country, including in rural America, because of what Republicans did in their One Big Ugly Bill. Medicare is facing a possible cut of $536 billion at the end of this year if Congress doesn’t act, connected to that toxic piece of legislation that Republicans enacted, which hurts everyday Americans in order to reward their billionaire donors with massive tax breaks. And by the way, those tax breaks were made permanent. And then now we’re facing the Republican refusal to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits in an environment where the cost of living is already too high and Donald Trump has broken his promise to lower costs on day one. And by the way, on top of all of that, medical research has been effectively ended in the United States of America. And in this Republican appropriations bill on the House side, they want to cut funding for the Centers for Disease Control by $1.7 billion and cut funding for the National Institute of Health by $500 million. This is extraordinary stuff. And we are simply not going to go along to get along the Republican effort to continue to gut the healthcare of the American people. This is a cost of living issue, and it’s a life or death issue for millions of Americans.
[…]
BECKY QUICK: Minority Leader, can you do that? Can you do those negotiations while the government is reopened? I think that’s the offer that’s been on the table. We did hear the House Speaker, Mike Johnson, talking about how, look, he passed a clean CR. There’s not really much for him to politic in because there’s nothing to take out. Any Republican pork that they pushed into this to take out of it to offer as a way of getting around this. Can you reopen the government and have these conversations if there is a willing party on the other side, which it sounds like there is if you talk to some of the Republicans who see this as an issue in their district as well?
LEADER JEFFRIES: Well, certainly Marjorie Taylor Greene has made clear that it’s a very real issue. It’s an issue that Republicans have ignored throughout this year, and it’s an issue that needs to be addressed right now. Mike Johnson has made the representation, including at that White House meeting that we had last week, after Chuck Schumer and I reached out to demand that we have the conversation. Unfortunately, it took place literally a day before the government shut down because Republicans have refused to engage in bipartisan negotiations or even conversations up until this point. And our view is, what Johnson said, is that healthcare is an irrelevant, extraneous issue. No, it’s not an extraneous issues, it is a central issue. And we need to deal with it right now. And we’re willing to sit down and have that conversation.
[…]
JOE KERNEN: But Leader Jeffries, we know that there are, you know, varying opinions on both sides of the aisle, sharply differing opinions on how to do everything. And you’ve just outlined a lot of things that Democrats, a lot problems they have with Republicans. Republicans have a laundry list of things that happened during the Biden administration that they feel the same way about. And I guarantee if they had shut down the government and said, we want a bipartisan talk on doing all this, but what Republicans went. Democrats, their hair would have been on fire. Democrats would have said that’s not the way to do it. You can’t do it through a government shutdown and now you’re employing that same tactic on what I’m sure you feel are very important issues, but it just looks like politics as usual to a lot of people.
LEADER JEFFRIES: I think this is very personal for the American people who are at risk of literally experiencing thousands of dollars in a potential increase in their health insurance in a manner that will bankrupt many folks or deprive them of access to healthcare. We’re talking about a married couple of two individuals, for instance, that makes $88,000 a year, currently receives tax credits from the Affordable Care Act and pays about $8,000 a year. Now this is a situation that’s already unaffordable. But their premiums may actually triple to $24,000 a year, unable to afford that. That’s what we’re talking about. Full CNBC interview can be watched here.
Source: United States House of Representatives – Reprepsentative Kathy Castor (FL14)
U.S. Rep. Castor Statement on Tentative Israel-Hamas Truce
Tampa, Fla., October 9, 2025
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor (FL-14) today issued the following statement on the first phase agreement between Israel and Hamas to end the ongoing hostilities and secure the return of all hostages:
“It is past time to end the war, release the hostages, flood humanitarian aid to the region and build a durable peace for the Israeli and Palestinian people. The horrific Hamas terrorist attack of October 7 and the subsequent suffering of innocent people in Gaza and the region demand a lasting resolution to avoid such trauma and harm in the future.
“I commend the mediators and parties who have labored to bring all sides to the table. But let me be clear: this deal must not be just a temporary pause in violence – it must mark the end of violence across the region. Too often, ceasefires have stopped and started, hostages have suffered in captivity and innocent civilians have borne the heaviest consequences of war.”
Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Glenn Grothman (R-Glenbeulah 6th District Wisconsin)
Grothman Commends President Trump for Advancing Peace and Stability in the Middle East
Congressman Glenn Grothman (R-WI) released the following statement applauding President Trump’s announcement of a landmark peace deal between Israel and Hamas:
“I’d like to congratulate President Trump for his leadership and can-do attitude in securing a historic peace agreement between Israel and Hamas,”said Congressman Grothman.“This breakthrough offers real hope for lasting stability in the Middle East and brings new countries to the table that have not traditionally been part of lasting peace efforts in the region.
“It’s especially meaningful that this agreement includes steps toward freeing hostages and ending Hamas’s reign of terror. It’s remarkable to see how much President Trump has accomplished in less than a year into his second term. His commitment to peace and strong American leadership continues to make the world a safer place.”
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U.S. Rep. Glenn Grothman (R-Glenbeulah) proudly serves the people of Wisconsin’s 6th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Don Beyer (D-VA)
Beyer Statement On Gaza Ceasefire Agreement
Washington, October 9, 2025
Congressman Don Beyer (D-VA) today issued the following statement today on the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas:
“Like many people around the world I was heartened to hear last night’s news of a long-overdue ceasefire agreement. It should be implemented without delay.
“It should not have taken this much time or this much suffering to end the killing and return the hostages. It is absolutely critical that, unlike in February, this agreement proceeds beyond an initial ceasefire into further phases which ensure that this becomes a lasting peace. U.S. pressure and policy must make that the paramount goal.
“The focus now should be on rebuilding shattered lives, homes and communities. We must ensure that aid reaches the needy, the sick and wounded receive treatment, and that orphans in Gaza are provided with care. None of this can occur on a necessary scale until the threat of imminent violence recedes not just from the Gaza Strip but from Israel, the West Bank and the wider region.
“This war has been an unparalleled catastrophe for Palestinians and Israelis alike. We cannot allow cynicism or hatred to triumph and conflict to resume.”
Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Hakeem Jeffries (8th District of New York)
Today, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries appeared on MSNBC’s The Briefing with Jen Psaki, where he highlighted that while Republicans still haven’t bothered to return to Washington to reopen the government and address the healthcare crisis they created, Democrats are united and ready to end the Republican shutdown.
JEN PSAKI: Joining me now is House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries. It’s great to see you. You’ve had quite a day on the Hill today. I just played some of that scrum. You could hear—I think people watching could hear some of it, but what exactly happened there when Mike Lawler came up to you and sort of accosted you outside of a room on the Hill today?
LEADER JEFFRIES: Well the streets are hot right now on Capitol Hill because the Republicans are just falling apart. They cannot justify their position having shut the government down. They cannot justify their position in terms of hiding the Epstein files from the American people. And they certainly cannot justify their position as it relates to the Republican healthcare crisis that is devastating people all across the country. So they’re unraveling right in front of the eyes of the American people in an unhinged fashion. Donald Trump’s unraveling. He’s posting deepfake videos, then he’s escaping to the golf course. Of course, the Speaker of the House is canceling votes last week, this week. Republicans are on vacation. And then Mike Lawler’s just embarrassing himself, behaving like a malignant clown.
JEN PSAKI: I mean, what he seemed to be talking about there was the healthcare subsidies. You have the overwhelming majority of the public on your side according to a range of polls. The majority of MAGA supporters, the majority of Republicans and Independents. It seems like, though, Mike Johnson is unwilling or incapable of setting up a negotiation or coming to the table. Do you think he will do that unless Donald Trump calls him and says go have a negotiation? Is that what we’re waiting for?
LEADER JEFFRIES: Yeah, that’s absolutely what we’re waiting for. And in fact, I made that clear in the Oval Office meeting. And Thune was there and Johnson was there and I said in front of them, listen, we know that there’s only one person at the end of the day who’s going to make the decisions here, and it’s you, Donald Trump. Because the House and the Senate Republicans, they’ve long since given up on pretending to be a separate and co-equal branch of government. All they do is they take orders from Donald Trump and rubber stamp his extreme agenda. And so the challenge that we face right now as Democrats, Leader Schumer, myself, House, Senate Democrats, we’ve consistently made clear, we’ll sit down with anyone, anytime, anyplace, on the Hill, back in the Oval Office, to find a bipartisan path toward reopening the government. But we have to enact a spending agreement that actually meets the needs of the American people and addresses the Republican healthcare crisis that is devastating people everywhere—working-class America, small-town America, suburban America, urban America, the heartland of America, and, of course, Black and brown communities throughout America along with rural America. Devastating people. They’re hurting their own constituents. And one of the reasons why they’re continuing to do it is because they’d just rather reward their billionaire donors, as opposed to extending tax credits connected to the Affordable Care Act that are actually for working-class, middle-class Americans and everyday Americans.
JEN PSAKI: There have been a range of studies that the majority of the people impacted, to your point, are people who live in states that voted for Trump. And 20 million people who would have their premiums go up. To your point, I mean, and I just want to keep restating, there have been many negotiations to reopen the government and negotiations to get bills done. You’ve been a part of a lot of them. The President has to play a pivotal role no matter who’s in the White House. So does the Speaker of the House, no matter who the Speaker of the House is. The Speaker of the House is waiting for a call from Trump. You’ve met with Trump, but you’ve also seen since then, he said that there were negotiations happening that weren’t happening. He seemed to suggest that furloughed workers weren’t going to be paid. Do you think he even has the capacity? Understanding of the issues? Ability to lead these negotiations to a conclusion?
LEADER JEFFRIES: Yeah, that remains to be seen. It’s all very unclear because the White House went radio silent after the meeting. Normally, what would occur, as you’ve indicated, as we’ve seen, is that the President would designate high-level members of his administration, his cabinet, to come down to Capitol Hill, negotiate with the opposition leaders, to try to find a path forward. That’s how it’s always been done. But for some reason, this group of extremists, they think that Democrats, we’re just going to cave. We’re not caving. We are standing up for the healthcare of the American people in the face of this relentless Republican attack on healthcare. Largest cut to Medicaid in American history. Hospitals, nursing homes, community-based health clinics closing because of what Republicans did in their One Big Ugly Bill. And now, they’re refusing to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits, which is going to result in more than 20 million Americans experiencing dramatically increased premiums, co-pays and deductibles. This is unacceptable. America is already too expensive. Donald Trump hasn’t lowered costs like he promised on day one. Costs are going up. And Democrats are fighting to address the cost of living crisis, and we’re fighting to protect the healthcare of the American people.
JEN PSAKI: There also seems to be a little confusion as to where the momentum is. I mean, I know where the momentum is. You know where it is. Marjorie Taylor Greene even, I mean you don’t agree with her on probably most things, but she seems to be concerned about the healthcare subsidies. Anyone who can read a poll, it’s obviously the moral thing, but anyone who can a poll should know that. Have you been in touch with Marjorie Taylor Greene, talk about it?
LEADER JEFFRIES: I have not, but, you know, I agree with Marjorie Taylor Greene. I mean, I never thought I’d make this statement as it relates to the fact that we have an affordability crisis in America, and it’s getting worse. And as she’s pointed out, Republican leadership seems clueless about the fact that something needs to be done to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits. By the way, addressing this issue doesn’t just impact people who are on the Affordable Care Act. It impacts everyone because premiums, co-pays and deductibles are about to skyrocket for everyone, particularly if these Affordable Care Act tax credits aren’t extended. […]
JEN PSAKI: There’s so much going on on the Hill right now, as you know better than anyone. I also played this exchange or this interview that Speaker Johnson did, and also an exchange, I should say, where he basically denies that not swearing in Adelita Grijalva, who won her election more than two weeks ago, has anything to do with the Epstein files. We all know she’s the 218th vote for the discharge petition. I assume you do not buy that at all.
LEADER JEFFRIES: We don’t buy it at all, and we all know this is about the Epstein files and the fact that Republicans on the Hill for months have been doing Donald Trump’s bidding and trying to hide these Epstein files from the American people, notwithstanding the fact that the victims have called for full transparency so there can be accountability. And we fully support these brave victims. And Mike Johnson and this group continue to cover up for the pedophiles. That’s crazy. And as you pointed out, Representative-elect Adelita Grijalva—who’s going to be a great Member, succeeding her legendary dad in the Congress, a progressive champion—she’s made clear, I’m going to be the 218th vote on the discharge petition to force an up-or-down vote, which will pass the House, forcing the Trump administration to release the Epstein files. That explains, in part, why Republicans have been on vacation for the last several weeks. Literally, we have not been in session since September 19th. The Republicans got out of town before sundown, and they’ve not come back ever since, because they cannot justify their position across the board. They continue to hurt everyday Americans as part of their effort to simply reward their billionaire donors.
JEN PSAKI: Again, there was so much news happened today. I mean, one of the things that happened this morning was Trump said the [Mayor] of Chicago, Brandon Johnson and the Governor of Illinois, J.B. Pritzker, should essentially be put in jail and jailed. When Mike Johnson was asked about it, he said, ‘I’m not the Attorney General. I’m not following the day-to-day on that.’ You may be the Speaker of the House in a year and a half. I assume if any President says they’re going to put a Governor in jail, you’d be following that closely, and you would have a view on it.
LEADER JEFFRIES: That would be correct, and the answer would be, that is wrong, and it’s not happening. This is not normal. And we continue to see this kind of extremism and extreme rhetoric coming from Donald Trump. All of this is unfolding, by the way, in the middle of a shutdown that they’ve caused, inflicting pain on the American people, and them continuing to refuse to address the assault on the healthcare of the American people that has been ongoing from the beginning of this presidency. But you know, unfortunately, and listen, Mike and I, we have a communicative relationship. We talk in a very forward-looking way. But at this particular point in time, the House Republican Conference is functioning like a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Trump administration. And that’s deeply inconsistent with the way that the People’s House should function, and it will definitely not function that way when Democrats take back control of the gavels, and it didn’t function that way under the legendary leadership of Nancy D’Alesandro Pelosi.
JEN PSAKI: Certainly it did not. She wouldn’t have tolerated that for one moment. Before I let you go, I mean earlier tonight Trump posted on Truth Social that Israel and Hamas have both signed off on the first phase of a peace plan which includes the release of hostages, which is, of course, a very—piece of good news and the withdrawal of Israel’s troops to an agreed-upon line. There’s a lot we don’t know. We don’t know what that agreed-upon line is. We don’t know more about how many troops will withdraw. Have you been briefed on it? And what do you think about what you know so far?
LEADER JEFFRIES: Yeah, we have not been briefed on it yet. but listen, all of the hostages need to be released. We need to end the devastation in Gaza, enough. We need to surge humanitarian assistance to those Palestinian civilians who have been in harm’s way through no fault of their own for the last two years because they’ve been in a theater of war. And we need to create a pathway toward a just and lasting peace. And so I’m hopeful that all the parties have gotten together, signed off on phase one. And that we can actually see some meaningful progress in the Middle East moving forward. Remember, Donald Trump inherited a ceasefire from President Joe Biden, and it was promptly broken in a matter of weeks. And so I’m hopeful that we could actually see a renewal of that agreement, a permanent ceasefire, an end to Hamas, the Gulf states and the moderate Arab states working with the Palestinian people to identify Palestinian leadership so we can have self-determination. And, of course, Israel living side by side in peace and security and prosperity.
JEN PSAKI: A lot of details we don’t know yet. I’m sure we’ll learn more in the next couple of days. Leader Jeffries, thank you so much for being here. We covered a range of things, but I really appreciate you being here with us on set.
Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Salud Carbajal (CA-24)
U.S. Representative Salud Carbajal (D-CA-24) joinedU.S. Representative Gabe Vasquez (D-NM-02) in urgingHouse Speaker Mike Johnson to pass legislation ensuring servicemembers are paid before the October 15th deadline. Starting October 15th, servicemembers will start missing paychecks if a bipartisan funding deal isn’t reached. California has the most active-duty military members, with about 157,500 working in the state.
“Our troops serve with honor and sacrifice. They shouldn’t have to worry about putting food on the table or making rent,”said Rep. Carbajal, a veteran and member of the House Armed Services Committee.“Donald Trump and congressional Republicans are in control of Congress and the White House – they can end this shutdown today. Instead, they are choosing to hold our troops, military families, and federal workers hostage for political gain. I will continue to stand up for our troops, and push Republicans to end this shutdown in a way that protects Americans’ healthcare.”
Carbajal, a veteran and member of the House Armed Services Committee, is also a cosponsor of H.R. 5401, the Pay Our Troops Act, a bipartisan bill to ensure that servicemembers, as well as civilian employees and contractors, are paid during the shutdown.
Democrats in both the House and Senate have argued that any deal to reopen the federal government needs to protect the expanded tax credit subsidies for health insurance purchased through Affordable Care Act (ACA) exchanges. Those tax credits and the eligibility for them were expanded by Democrats in 2021 under then-President Biden and are scheduled to expire at the end of December. If the tax credits are not protected in a stopgap bill, millions of Americans could lose their health insurance.
If Republicans allow these vital tax credits to expire, an estimated 35,000 Central Coast residents will face higher health care costs, and nearly 10,000 could lose coverage entirely.
Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Lois Frankel (FL-21)
Today, Rep. Lois Frankel (FL-22) released the following statement following reports that Israel and Hamas have signed off on the “first phase” of a Gaza peace plan.
“My heart is full of hope and joy that after more than two years of devastating war, the remaining hostages held by Hamas may finally return home and the fighting will end,” said Rep. Frankel. “May this moment lead to lasting peace, security, and long-awaited relief to all innocent people who have suffered since October 7.”