Hakeem Jeffries

The nuclear annihilation of an American city is no laughing matter.

End the reckless war of choice in Iran. Repeal the Trump Tariffs. Make life more affordable for the American people. https://t.co/362e6rUmLc

Regime change is coming to the United States Congress in just 30 days.

MAGA Republicans want us to believe the affordability crisis is a hoax. Get lost.

Why is Pete Hegseth still around? https://t.co/dRJ1Pz9NVR

Inflation is up, job creation is down and the reckless war of choice in Iran has been a disaster. Republicans have crashed the economy. We continue to fight for an Affordable America.

Republicans have broken the economy. The costs of housing, groceries, gas, child care and healthcare have all gone up dramatically. MAGA extremists want to deny reality. The American people know better. https://t.co/1FScHSqmyZ

Watch Live Today, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries held a press conference on the steps of the Capitol, where he highlighted the contrast between Republicans, who have done nothing to end the affordability crisis that is crushing the American people, and House Democrats, who are committed to fighting for an affordable America. LEADER JEFFRIES: Housing costs are up. Gas prices are up. Mortgage insurance rates are up. Inflation is up. Healthcare premiums are up. Donald Trump and Republicans have broken the economy, and the American people, unfortunately, are paying the price. Republicans have failed to lower the high cost of living in the United States of America. In fact, housing costs, grocery costs, utility costs, child care costs and healthcare costs have all gone in the wrong direction as a direct result of policies enacted by Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress.The American people have had enough, and our message to them is that help is on the way. House Democrats are committed to fighting for an affordable America, lowering the high cost of living, lowering the cost of groceries, lowering the cost of gas, lowering the cost of housing and fighting to make healthcare affordable for every single American.The American people have understandably had enough with failed Republican policies that actually hurt everyday Americans simply to benefit the wealthy, the well-off and the well-connected. It's time for Congress to put the American people first, and that's exactly what House Democrats intend to do.Full press conference can be watched here. Hakeem Jeffries (@hakeemjeffries) • Instagram photos and videos

Today, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries held a press conference on the steps of the Capitol, where he highlighted the contrast between Republicans, who have done nothing to end the affordability crisis that is crushing the American people, and House Democrats, who are committed to fighting for an affordable America. LEADER JEFFRIES: Housing costs are up. Gas prices are up. Mortgage insurance rates are up. Inflation is up. Healthcare premiums are up. Donald Trump and Republicans have broken the economy, and the American people, unfortunately, are paying the price. Republicans have failed to lower the high cost of living in the United States of America. In fact, housing costs, grocery costs, utility costs, child care costs and healthcare costs have all gone in the wrong direction as a direct result of policies enacted by Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress. The American people have had enough, and our message to them is that help is on the way. House Democrats are committed to fighting for an affordable America, lowering the high cost of living, lowering the cost of groceries, lowering the cost of gas, lowering the cost of housing and fighting to make healthcare affordable for every single American. The American people have understandably had enough with failed Republican policies that actually hurt everyday Americans simply to benefit the wealthy, the well-off and the well-connected. It’s time for Congress to put the American people first, and that’s exactly what House Democrats intend to do. Full press conference can be watched here. ###

House Democrats will disrupt business as usual in Washington. And hold the crooks accountable beginning on Day One. Republican leaders are promising more of the same. Wow.

Today, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries appeared on PBS News Hour, where he made clear that House Democrats are committed to fighting for an affordable America and holding the crooks accountable who are ripping off the American people. GEOFF BENNETT: The latest national polling shows Democrats with a solid shot of regaining control of the House of Representatives in the midterm elections. If they do, Congressman Hakeem Jeffries could go from Minority Leader to Speaker of the House, with debates over the economy, government funding and President Trump’s agenda all unfolding. House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries joins us now. Thanks for being with us. LEADER JEFFRIES: Great to be with you. GEOFF BENNETT: I want to start with AI, what with President Trump meeting with those tech leaders at the White House today. You have said that Congress needs to lean in on AI safety. What does that mean in practice? What guardrails should Congress put in place? LEADER JEFFRIES: Our fundamental responsibility as Members of Congress is to protect the general welfare, the health, the safety and the well-being of the American people. And you have industry stakeholders raising alarms that the pace of AI development is going so fast that the ability to make sure we ensure the safety of the American people is in question. And that, of course, in our view, means that congressional action that is decisive, working with all of the relevant parties involved, is important. Unfortunately, Donald Trump has come to the conclusion that self-policing is appropriate. It is not. This is a nation of laws, and Congress is here for a reason: to ensure, yes, of course, that science and innovation and technology can continue to develop at a pace that exceeds what’s going on in China with the Chinese Communist Party. At the same period of time, we also want to make sure we protect the American people from bad actors and harms that could befall them. GEOFF BENNETT: Let’s shift our focus to the economy because Democrats are making affordability central to the midterm argument. What would Democrats actually do with control of the House that would make life less expensive for the American public? LEADER JEFFRIES: Life is far too expensive for the American people, and everyday Americans need us to decisively act in order to make life more affordable. There are too many people—they’re working hard, they’re playing by the rules, they can’t thrive and can barely survive. People are drowning in this failed Trump economy and have had enough. There are a variety of different things that need to happen. One, we need to end the Trump Tariffs, which have cost everyday Americans thousands of dollars per year in additional expenses, particularly as it relates to groceries and goods. We need to stop this reckless war of choice in Iran, which has skyrocketed gas prices on the American people and also had an impact on increasing food prices because of the increase in fertilizer expenses, as well as the increase in diesel prices. And certainly, we need to reverse the Medicaid cuts, which have ripped healthcare away from more than 10 million Americans or is threatening to do so. And at the same period of time, we certainly need to restore the Affordable Care Act tax credits so we can reverse the increases in health insurance premiums that tens of millions of Americans are experiencing. GEOFF BENNETT: Another fight playing out in Washington right now is over Congress’s power of the purse. And I raise this because for the second year in a row, President Trump is trying to cancel money that Congress has already approved, this time more than $800 million. If this money expires before Congress or the courts can act, hasn’t the White House found a way around Congress’s power to appropriate funds? LEADER JEFFRIES: It has been incredibly unfortunate that my Republican colleagues have become nothing more than a reckless rubber stamp for Donald Trump’s extreme agenda and, as opposed to behaving like separate and co-equal parts of a branch of the federal government that is not subservient to Donald Trump but is co-equal to the executive branch, they continue to allow the President to try to get away with anything he wants to do, including changing the allocation of funds that Congress previously appropriated in a bipartisan way. And so, in connection with the upcoming spending debate and agreement that we’ll need to reach by December 11, certainly, I think it’s important for the American people that Congress reasserts its authority. GEOFF BENNETT: If the White House can simply refuse to spend parts of a bipartisan funding agreement, I’m sure people will ask the question: why should Democrats ever make another deal, another spending deal with Republicans? LEADER JEFFRIES: Certainly, it’s the case that we cannot proceed in entering into an agreement when it’s clear that the other side of the aisle is not going to, in good faith, adhere to that agreement. It’s going to be one of the things that certainly will be part of the discussion as we move forward, because when decisions are made to allocate taxpayer dollars in ways that are designed to uplift the health and the safety and the economic well-being of the American people, that money should be spent in a manner consistent with what the law says should happen. And when that doesn’t occur, of course, Congress is going to have to respond, in our view, and certainly the courts are going to have to respond as they’ve previously done in other instances. GEOFF BENNETT: If Democrats retake control of the House come November, what’s the first bill a Democratic House under your leadership would pass? LEADER JEFFRIES: We’ll have that discussion at the appropriate time. Right now, we are running through the finish line, but we’re going to make sure that dealing with the affordability crisis is a top priority. And we’ve established working groups in five different areas where we believe action needs to be taken on affordability. That’s housing. That’s healthcare. That’s gas and utilities and energy affordability. It’s groceries and goods. And it’s caregiving. We believe that decisive action needs to be taken at minimum in all five of these areas and that certainly will be our intention. GEOFF BENNETT: On accountability, there are some Democrats who are already talking about impeachment. Of course, as you well know, you were a former House impeachment manager. The President was impeached twice, acquitted twice in the Senate. How are you thinking about impeachment or, more broadly, accountability, if Democrats take control of the House? LEADER JEFFRIES: We certainly haven’t ruled anything in and we haven’t ruled anything out because our focus is going to be delivering accountability in areas where you have individuals who have stolen from the American people, are shortchanging the American people or have been screwing over the American people. And when you have people in high office who are so focused on enriching themselves, their family members, their friends or their donors, then what it means is that they’re not actually doing the job to make life more affordable, more comfortable and more livable for everyday Americans. And so, we’ve promised on the accountability front, beginning on day one, to make sure that we’re holding the crooks accountable. We will follow the facts, apply the law, be guided by the Constitution and then, of course, let the chips fall where they may in the best interest of the American people. GEOFF BENNETT: House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, thanks again for joining us this evening. LEADER JEFFRIES: Thank you. Full interview can be watched here. ###

Watch Live Today, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries appeared on PBS News Hour, where he made clear that House Democrats are committed to fighting for an affordable America and holding the crooks accountable who are ripping off the American people. GEOFF BENNETT: The latest national polling shows Democrats with a solid shot of regaining control of the House of Representatives in the midterm elections. If they do, Congressman Hakeem Jeffries could go from Minority Leader to Speaker of the House, with debates over the economy, government funding and President Trump's agenda all unfolding. House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries joins us now. Thanks for being with us.LEADER JEFFRIES: Great to be with you.GEOFF BENNETT: I want to start with AI, what with President Trump meeting with those tech leaders at the White House today. You have said that Congress needs to lean in on AI safety. What does that mean in practice? What guardrails should Congress put in place?LEADER JEFFRIES: Our fundamental responsibility as Members of Congress is to protect the general welfare, the health, the safety and the well-being of the American people. And you have industry stakeholders raising alarms that the pace of AI development is going so fast that the ability to make sure we ensure the safety of the American people is in question. And that, of course, in our view, means that congressional action that is decisive, working with all of the relevant parties involved, is important. Unfortunately, Donald Trump has come to the conclusion that self-policing is appropriate. It is not. This is a nation of laws, and Congress is here for a reason: to ensure, yes, of course, that science and innovation and technology can continue to develop at a pace that exceeds what's going on in China with the Chinese Communist Party. At the same period of time, we also want to make sure we protect the American people from bad actors and harms that could befall them.GEOFF BENNETT: Let's shift our focus to the economy because Democrats are making affordability central to the midterm argument. What would Democrats actually do with control of the House that would make life less expensive for the American public?LEADER JEFFRIES: Life is far too expensive for the American people, and everyday Americans need us to decisively act in order to make life more affordable. There are too many people—they're working hard, they're playing by the rules, they can't thrive and can barely survive. People are drowning in this failed Trump economy and have had enough. There are a variety of different things that need to happen. One, we need to end the Trump Tariffs, which have cost everyday Americans thousands of dollars per year in additional expenses, particularly as it relates to groceries and goods. We need to stop this reckless war of choice in Iran, which has skyrocketed gas prices on the American people and also had an impact on increasing food prices because of the increase in fertilizer expenses, as well as the increase in diesel prices. And certainly, we need to reverse the Medicaid cuts, which have ripped healthcare away from more than 10 million Americans or is threatening to do so. And at the same period of time, we certainly need to restore the Affordable Care Act tax credits so we can reverse the increases in health insurance premiums that tens of millions of Americans are experiencing.GEOFF BENNETT: Another fight playing out in Washington right now is over Congress's power of the purse. And I raise this because for the second year in a row, President Trump is trying to cancel money that Congress has already approved, this time more than $800 million. If this money expires before Congress or the courts can act, hasn't the White House found a way around Congress's power to appropriate funds?LEADER JEFFRIES: It has been incredibly unfortunate that my Republican colleagues have become nothing more than a reckless rubber stamp for Donald Trump's extreme agenda and, as opposed to behaving like separate and co-equal parts of a branch of the federal government that is not subservient to Donald Trump but is co-equal to the executive branch, they continue to allow the President to try to get away with anything he wants to do, including changing the allocation of funds that Congress previously appropriated in a bipartisan way. And so, in connection with the upcoming spending debate and agreement that we'll need to reach by December 11, certainly, I think it's important for the American people that Congress reasserts its authority.GEOFF BENNETT: If the White House can simply refuse to spend parts of a bipartisan funding agreement, I'm sure people will ask the question: why should Democrats ever make another deal, another spending deal with Republicans?LEADER JEFFRIES: Certainly, it's the case that we cannot proceed in entering into an agreement when it's clear that the other side of the aisle is not going to, in good faith, adhere to that agreement. It's going to be one of the things that certainly will be part of the discussion as we move forward, because when decisions are made to allocate taxpayer dollars in ways that are designed to uplift the health and the safety and the economic well-being of the American people, that money should be spent in a manner consistent with what the law says should happen. And when that doesn't occur, of course, Congress is going to have to respond, in our view, and certainly the courts are going to have to respond as they've previously done in other instances.GEOFF BENNETT: If Democrats retake control of the House come November, what's the first bill a Democratic House under your leadership would pass?LEADER JEFFRIES: We'll have that discussion at the appropriate time. Right now, we are running through the finish line, but we're going to make sure that dealing with the affordability crisis is a top priority. And we've established working groups in five different areas where we believe action needs to be taken on affordability. That's housing. That's healthcare. That's gas and utilities and energy affordability. It's groceries and goods. And it's caregiving. We believe that decisive action needs to be taken at minimum in all five of these areas and that certainly will be our intention.GEOFF BENNETT: On accountability, there are some Democrats who are already talking about impeachment. Of course, as you well know, you were a former House impeachment manager. The President was impeached twice, acquitted twice in the Senate. How are you thinking about impeachment or, more broadly, accountability, if Democrats take control of the House?LEADER JEFFRIES: We certainly haven't ruled anything in and we haven't ruled anything out because our focus is going to be delivering accountability in areas where you have individuals who have stolen from the American people, are shortchanging the American people or have been screwing over the American people. And when you have people in high office who are so focused on enriching themselves, their family members, their friends or their donors, then what it means is that they're not actually doing the job to make life more affordable, more comfortable and more livable for everyday Americans. And so, we've promised on the accountability front, beginning on day one, to make sure that we're holding the crooks accountable. We will follow the facts, apply the law, be guided by the Constitution and then, of course, let the chips fall where they may in the best interest of the American people.GEOFF BENNETT: House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, thanks again for joining us this evening.LEADER JEFFRIES: Thank you.Full interview can be watched here. Hakeem Jeffries (@hakeemjeffries) • Instagram photos and videos

Republicans don’t give a damn that life is way too expensive. That’s why they’re spending your taxpayer dollars on TV ads to promote Donald Trump’s failed presidency. ENOUGH.

It’s been a rough couple of days for Missouri Republicans. First, the Supreme Court rejected their unlawfully gerrymandered congressional map three times. And now this. Watch Senator Eric Schmitt (R-MO) completely embarrass himself when questioning Jack Smith. This MAGA extremist doesn’t know the difference between the Iowa Hawkeyes and the Atlanta Hawks. Because he’s such a sycophantic conspiracy-peddling hack.

Watch Live Today, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries appeared on CNBC's Squawk Box, where he made clear that unlike Donald Trump and Republicans, House Democrats are committed to fiscally responsible behavior in the fight for an affordable America. ANDREW ROSS SORKIN: Welcome back to Squawk Box. We are just five weeks away now from the midterm elections. Joining us right now is House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries. Good morning to you. Really wanted to spend some time thinking about what you think the Democratic agenda would be if you do win the House and how things change or shift under those circumstances.LEADER JEFFRIES: Well, good morning, great to be with you. Our focus right now, of course, will be over the next 36 days making our case to the American people that we are committed to fighting for an affordable America. The cost of living in this country is way too high. Life is way too expensive. Donald Trump and Republicans promised to lower the high cost of living on day one. That's what they said. Of course, costs haven't gone down, costs have gone up. So we're committed to driving down the high cost of groceries, driving down the high cost of gas, driving down the high cost of housing and also fighting to make healthcare affordable for every single American.ANDREW ROSS SORKIN: Leader, how much of the next two years do you think, if you're to win in the House, would be a series of hearings effectively about Trump, about Trump's family, about business executives, about giving to ballrooms and all of that?LEADER JEFFRIES: We're committed to an affordability agenda. As I travel the country, speak to people whether that's in urban America, rural parts of America, the heartland of America, small-town America or Black and Brown communities throughout America, the one thing that is clear is that people are struggling. They are drowning in this failed Republican economy.They're working hard, they're playing by the rules, but they cannot thrive and can barely survive. It's an unacceptable situation. And so, when we say we're focused on affordability, we mean it. At the same period of time, we have seen unprecedented corruption unleashed on the American people. And if you have folks who are so focused on enriching themselves, their family members, their friends or their donors, then it means they're not focused on making life more affordable for the American people. And we have a responsibility to visit the type of accountability that is consistent with the House as a separate and co-equal branch of government.ANDREW ROSS SORKIN: The reason, Leader, I raised this question is because there is a question about just how much of this will be about recrimination versus affordability, and where the energy in the party comes from right now. I found—I don't know if you agree with this, you're talking about affordability now. One of the things that's been very interesting about watching some of the folks, maybe on the far left, considered sort of the DSA world is they rarely actually talk about Trump or talk about Republicans per se or the family or all of these things. They almost always simply talk about affordability or other kinds of sort of forward-looking issues. How do you think about that versus this accountability issue? Because I know that there are others in the Democratic Party that have a real, you know, thirst for both accountability—maybe it's a blood, but they want something.LEADER JEFFRIES: Well, in the new Congress, there are going to be progressives, there are going to be New Dems, moderate Democrats, centrist Democrats, Blue Dogs, more socially conservative Democrats. But what does unite everyone is this commitment to lowering the high cost of living, to making sure that we can actually bring the American dream back to life for people all across this country. When it comes to the accountability aspect of what needs to happen, cleaning up the rampant corruption that exists in Washington, D.C., wherever that may be, whether that's the Congress, the Supreme Court or certainly with the Trump cartel, our view is that we're going to follow the facts, apply the law, be guided by the Constitution and then let the chips fall where they may on behalf of the American people. We have a responsibility, of course, as a Congress, to serve as a check and balance on an out-of-control executive branch. That's not partisan, that's patriotic.ANDREW ROSS SORKIN: Where do you think AI and the debate around data centers, but increasingly—the conversation we were just having with Jensen Huang around regulation around some of these models, agentic models, getting out of sandboxes and the like—how much of that do you think is going to become a political football, not just in the midterms, but over the next two years?LEADER JEFFRIES: Well, Congress, pursuant to the Constitution, has a responsibility to provide for the common defense of the American people and protect the general welfare of the American people. So when it comes to AI safety, it certainly seems to me that we need to actually lean in boldly and responsibly now. That's why it was so extraordinary that, in light of pleas coming from people within the artificial intelligence industry itself that Congress needs to act, that Speaker Johnson, Republicans decided to get out of town and cancel votes for two weeks so they could save themselves on the campaign trail, as opposed to trying to save the American people from pending harm if this thing gets out of control with respect to AI safety.ANDREW ROSS SORKIN: Leader, I want to go back to the affordability issue because one of the big issues—we're watching the price of treasuries right now, which is also affecting mortgages and the like. One of the things that clearly, at least, the bond investor community is demanding, is that we get our fiscal house in order. And my question to you is whether you think Democrats have any plan to spend less money rather than more.LEADER JEFFRIES: Well, here's the thing. The American people have made clear throughout the last several months that they trust Democrats on the economy, trust us on fighting inflation, trust us on lowering the high cost of living, trust us on ending this reckless war of choice in Iran, trust us on immigration and trust us on the deficit because what they've seen from Republicans is fiscally irresponsible behavior. They ripped away, these Republicans, Medicaid from 14 million Americans in order to provide massive tax breaks to their billionaire donors and then skyrocket the debt and the deficit by trillions of dollars. You're not going to see that type of fiscally irresponsible behavior from Democrats. We're going to put the American people first.ANDREW ROSS SORKIN: Do you see or could you imagine over the next two years any kind of real fiscal responsibility, also Democrats and Republicans coming together to try to deal with this budget?LEADER JEFFRIES: Well, I don't want to get out ahead of what we'll talk about as Democrats in the new Congress, but what is clear is that we can't continue down this unsustainable path that Republicans have brought us along. I mean, when you think about a $40 trillion debt, 25% of that debt has basically been accumulated during the approximately six years that Donald Trump is President. That's extraordinary. It's unacceptable. It's hurting us. And, certainly, we've got to find a path forward to change course from what Republicans have done—ANDREW ROSS SORKIN: Leader, I think people want to understand what that path looks like. Obviously, a lot of Democrats have talked about taxes. They've talked about wealth taxes, raising money on one end. But I'm asking, is there a balanced approach where, and maybe it includes tax increases, but is there any effort in your mind, are there things that you could point to today that you can say to yourself, you know, we've got to cut this, it's the only way?LEADER JEFFRIES: What I'm saying, and of course, as Democrats, we've repeatedly made clear that we actually are authentically interested in dealing with waste, fraud or abuse where it exists. And we certainly have seen an unprecedented amount of waste, fraud, abuse and corruption unleashed on the American people by Donald Trump and the Trump cartel. But our focus has to be on lowering the high cost of living. That is what the American people want us to address decisively. Republicans have failed in that regard. Democrats will not.ANDREW ROSS SORKIN: Leader Jeffries, we're going to leave the conversation there. We appreciate it. Good to see you.LEADER JEFFRIES: Thank you.Full interview can be watched here. Hakeem Jeffries (@hakeemjeffries) • Instagram photos and videos

Congress must act as a check and balance on an out of control executive branch. That’s not partisan. It’s patriotic. https://t.co/cKF407bzjo

Today, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries appeared on CNBC’s Squawk Box, where he made clear that unlike Donald Trump and Republicans, House Democrats are committed to fiscally responsible behavior in the fight for an affordable America. ANDREW ROSS SORKIN: Welcome back to Squawk Box. We are just five weeks away now from the midterm elections. Joining us right now is House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries. Good morning to you. Really wanted to spend some time thinking about what you think the Democratic agenda would be if you do win the House and how things change or shift under those circumstances. LEADER JEFFRIES: Well, good morning, great to be with you. Our focus right now, of course, will be over the next 36 days making our case to the American people that we are committed to fighting for an affordable America. The cost of living in this country is way too high. Life is way too expensive. Donald Trump and Republicans promised to lower the high cost of living on day one. That’s what they said. Of course, costs haven’t gone down, costs have gone up. So we’re committed to driving down the high cost of groceries, driving down the high cost of gas, driving down the high cost of housing and also fighting to make healthcare affordable for every single American. ANDREW ROSS SORKIN: Leader, how much of the next two years do you think, if you’re to win in the House, would be a series of hearings effectively about Trump, about Trump’s family, about business executives, about giving to ballrooms and all of that? LEADER JEFFRIES: We’re committed to an affordability agenda. As I travel the country, speak to people whether that’s in urban America, rural parts of America, the heartland of America, small-town America or Black and Brown communities throughout America, the one thing that is clear is that people are struggling. They are drowning in this failed Republican economy.They’re working hard, they’re playing by the rules, but they cannot thrive and can barely survive. It’s an unacceptable situation. And so, when we say we’re focused on affordability, we mean it. At the same period of time, we have seen unprecedented corruption unleashed on the American people. And if you have folks who are so focused on enriching themselves, their family members, their friends or their donors, then it means they’re not focused on making life more affordable for the American people. And we have a responsibility to visit the type of accountability that is consistent with the House as a separate and co-equal branch of government. ANDREW ROSS SORKIN: The reason, Leader, I raised this question is because there is a question about just how much of this will be about recrimination versus affordability, and where the energy in the party comes from right now. I found—I don’t know if you agree with this, you’re talking about affordability now. One of the things that’s been very interesting about watching some of the folks, maybe on the far left, considered sort of the DSA world is they rarely actually talk about Trump or talk about Republicans per se or the family or all of these things. They almost always simply talk about affordability or other kinds of sort of forward-looking issues. How do you think about that versus this accountability issue? Because I know that there are others in the Democratic Party that have a real, you know, thirst for both accountability—maybe it’s a blood, but they want something. LEADER JEFFRIES: Well, in the new Congress, there are going to be progressives, there are going to be New Dems, moderate Democrats, centrist Democrats, Blue Dogs, more socially conservative Democrats. But what does unite everyone is this commitment to lowering the high cost of living, to making sure that we can actually bring the American dream back to life for people all across this country. When it comes to the accountability aspect of what needs to happen, cleaning up the rampant corruption that exists in Washington, D.C., wherever that may be, whether that’s the Congress, the Supreme Court or certainly with the Trump cartel, our view is that we’re going to follow the facts, apply the law, be guided by the Constitution and then let the chips fall where they may on behalf of the American people. We have a responsibility, of course, as a Congress, to serve as a check and balance on an out-of-control executive branch. That’s not partisan, that’s patriotic. ANDREW ROSS SORKIN: Where do you think AI and the debate around data centers, but increasingly—the conversation we were just having with Jensen Huang around regulation around some of these models, agentic models, getting out of sandboxes and the like—how much of that do you think is going to become a political football, not just in the midterms, but over the next two years? LEADER JEFFRIES: Well, Congress, pursuant to the Constitution, has a responsibility to provide for the common defense of the American people and protect the general welfare of the American people. So when it comes to AI safety, it certainly seems to me that we need to actually lean in boldly and responsibly now. That’s why it was so extraordinary that, in light of pleas coming from people within the artificial intelligence industry itself that Congress needs to act, that Speaker Johnson, Republicans decided to get out of town and cancel votes for two weeks so they could save themselves on the campaign trail, as opposed to trying to save the American people from pending harm if this thing gets out of control with respect to AI safety. ANDREW ROSS SORKIN: Leader, I want to go back to the affordability issue because one of the big issues—we’re watching the price of treasuries right now, which is also affecting mortgages and the like. One of the things that clearly, at least, the bond investor community is demanding, is that we get our fiscal house in order. And my question to you is whether you think Democrats have any plan to spend less money rather than more. LEADER JEFFRIES: Well, here’s the thing. The American people have made clear throughout the last several months that they trust Democrats on the economy, trust us on fighting inflation, trust us on lowering the high cost of living, trust us on ending this reckless war of choice in Iran, trust us on immigration and trust us on the deficit because what they’ve seen from Republicans is fiscally irresponsible behavior. They ripped away, these Republicans, Medicaid from 14 million Americans in order to provide massive tax breaks to their billionaire donors and then skyrocket the debt and the deficit by trillions of dollars. You’re not going to see that type of fiscally irresponsible behavior from Democrats. We’re going to put the American people first. ANDREW ROSS SORKIN: Do you see or could you imagine over the next two years any kind of real fiscal responsibility, also Democrats and Republicans coming together to try to deal with this budget? LEADER JEFFRIES: Well, I don’t want to get out ahead of what we’ll talk about as Democrats in the new Congress, but what is clear is that we can’t continue down this unsustainable path that Republicans have brought us along. I mean, when you think about a $40 trillion debt, 25% of that debt has basically been accumulated during the approximately six years that Donald Trump is President. That’s extraordinary. It’s unacceptable. It’s hurting us. And, certainly, we’ve got to find a path forward to change course from what Republicans have done— ANDREW ROSS SORKIN: Leader, I think people want to understand what that path looks like. Obviously, a lot of Democrats have talked about taxes. They’ve talked about wealth taxes, raising money on one end. But I’m asking, is there a balanced approach where, and maybe it includes tax increases, but is there any effort in your mind, are there things that you could point to today that you can say to yourself, you know, we’ve got to cut this, it’s the only way? LEADER JEFFRIES: What I’m saying, and of course, as Democrats, we’ve repeatedly made clear that we actually are authentically interested in dealing with waste, fraud or abuse where it exists. And we certainly have seen an unprecedented amount of waste, fraud, abuse and corruption unleashed on the American people by Donald Trump and the Trump cartel. But our focus has to be on lowering the high cost of living. That is what the American people want us to address decisively. Republicans have failed in that regard. Democrats will not. ANDREW ROSS SORKIN: Leader Jeffries, we’re going to leave the conversation there. We appreciate it. Good to see you. LEADER JEFFRIES: Thank you. Full interview can be watched here. ###

House Republicans have blindly supported Donald Trump’s reckless war of choice in Iran every step of the way. The extremists now claim they want the President to end Operation Epic Failure immediately. Phonies.

Republican policies have tanked the economy. And the American people know it. Time for dramatic change.

Watch Live Today, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries appeared on CNN This Morning Weekend, where he made clear that House Democrats are relentlessly focused on fighting for an affordable America. MANU RAJU: House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who wants to be the next Speaker of the House, he is joining me live now to talk about the midterm elections 38 days away. Mr. Jeffries, good morning to you and thanks for being here. As you know, Cook Political Report is now predicting that Democrats will take the House in November. You've actually been saying that for months, making that prediction. So right now, what are you exactly predicting? Are you—do you anticipate a Democratic wave or a narrow victory?LEADER JEFFRIES: We're going to work as hard as we can to get to 218, and then win as many seats on top of that as possible because we're focused on fighting for an affordable America. Life is way too expensive, Manu, here in the United States of America. There are too many people, millions of folks, working hard, playing by the rules, can't thrive and can barely survive. The Republican economic policies have been a disaster. They promised to lower costs on day one, costs haven't gone down, they've gone up. Democrats are determined to do something about that.MANU RAJU: Mr. Leader, are you worried about the amount of GOP spending that is coming in late from Trump's outside organization and GOP outside groups? They're really bombarding the airwaves and they're dwarfing Democrats by nearly $200 million in House and Senate races. How concerned are you about that?LEADER JEFFRIES: We always understood that MAGA Republicans were going to try to unload as much of their special interest money as possible. This is part of the problem with why Republicans have failed. They're not interested in promoting the public interest. They haven't done a damn thing to make life more affordable for the American people. Instead, they spend all their time raising money from their MAGA big donors, who they rewarded with a massive tax break in the One Big Ugly Bill, while at the same time ripping Medicaid, healthcare and nutritional assistance away from the American people. We're going to stay focused, continue to communicate our message. We know the most important issues in this election are not going to be about MAGA money. It's going to be about the economy, the high cost of living and combating inflation, which Donald Trump and Republican economic policies have dramatically worsened in this country.MANU RAJU: Mr. Leader, let's talk about the generic ballot. The CNN poll from this week has Democrats with an eight-point advantage when voters are asked which party should control Congress. But in 2018, that's when Democrats had picked up 41 seats, at this time, Democrats had a 12-point advantage in the generic ballot. Now, given how bad the environment is for Republicans, why aren't Democrats holding an even bigger advantage now?LEADER JEFFRIES: The plus-eight advantage is incredibly strong, and we're going to continue to run through the finish line. And remember, Manu, in 2018 we needed to flip 24 seats. We were at 194, we needed to get to 218. Right now we're at 215. It's one of the reasons why Republicans are running scared all across the country because we only need to flip a handful of seats to take back control of the majority, and that's exactly what we're going to do at minimum.MANU RAJU: But does the fact that your advantage isn't even higher have anything to do with your own approval ratings, Mr. Leader? In that same poll, the approval of Democratic leaders is abysmal. It stands at 26%. And that is just two points better than GOP leaders. So why are the approval ratings of Democratic leaders still so low?LEADER JEFFRIES: We're not running a popularity contest. We're working hard to run Republicans out of power because they've done so much damage to the American people. And the American people clearly deserve better. They clearly deserve a party—House and Senate Democrats—which are going to focus on making life better for the American people, Manu. Those are the stakes at this moment.MANU RAJU: But do you think the public is not sold yet on Democrats leading Congress?LEADER JEFFRIES: I think that we'll cross that bridge when we get to it. Right now, we have to accomplish the mission. And the mission is to make sure that we take back control of the House, which we've maintained we were on track to do now for months. In fact, we were very confident about our ability to change direction in January 2025 and began to say so publicly. And we've had two goals: push back against the Republican extremism that has been unleashed on the American people and chart a better course forward, so that the American people actually can live a comfortable life, an affordable life and a good life.MANU RAJU: I want to drill down to one critical district that you know very well: New York's 17th congressional district. That's where the incumbent Republican Mike Lawler—one of the top Democratic targets in the country—he's one of three Republicans who sit in districts that Kamala Harris won last cycle. You need to flip that seat. And just last week, a member of your Caucus, Jared Golden, Democrat of Maine, issued an endorsement of Lawler. Are you okay with that?LEADER JEFFRIES: I issued a statement making clear that I thought the endorsement effort by Mike Lawler was a desperate attempt to head off what's coming on November 3, which is that Cait Conley, a decorated combat veteran, a patriotic hero, is about to flip that seat. In fact, I was with Cait last evening. I'll be spending some time with her in the district at some point soon. We're all in to make sure that she wins. Mike Lawler is an unmitigated fraud. He voted to cut Medicaid of his own constituents. He's consistently voted to rubber-stamp Donald Trump's reckless and costly war of choice in Iran, which has skyrocketed gas prices—MANU RAJU: What about the fact that you have a member of your Caucus endorsing him?LEADER JEFFRIES: You have to talk to Jared Golden about that. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, House Democrats, leadership, the members of the New York congressional delegation across the ideological spectrum—we all stand behind Cait Conley. And mark my words, she's going to win.MANU RAJU: Okay, I want to ask you about something many people saw last night when watching the Northwestern-Indiana college football game. There's a taxpayer-funded ad from the White House. Watch this.RECORDING OF AD: And nothing was going to stop him from fighting so hard for the country he loves.MANU RAJU: Mr. Leader, the administration says that these are public service announcements with the goal of educating Americans and to ensure they are unapologetically patriotic. Any issue with that?LEADER JEFFRIES: These aren't public service announcements. These are ads designed to elevate Donald Trump because he has record-low approval ratings across the board. Certainly, the American people are disgusted with the performance of Donald Trump and Republicans in the House, who are nothing more than reckless rubber stamps for his extreme agenda. And this is another example of how taxpayer dollars are being misused by the Trump cartel to try to elevate themselves or enrich themselves, their family members, their friends and their donors, as opposed to actually doing what Democrats will be focused on, which is spending taxpayer dollars to make life more affordable for hardworking American taxpayers.MANU RAJU: Trump is also saying that he wants this election to be about him. He said, 'Vote like I'm on the ballot.' He is suggesting he could be in a few dozen battleground districts as well. Do you want Trump on the campaign trail?LEADER JEFFRIES: Yes. And the reality is, Donald Trump is effectively on the ballot. His failed economic policies are on the ballot. The Trump Tariffs, which have increased costs on everyday Americans by thousands of dollars per year, on the ballot. His One Big Ugly Bill that ripped Medicaid away from about 14 million Americans—that's on the ballot. The Epstein cover-up is on the ballot. The failure of this administration to actually keep its promise not to start wars in the Middle East, but to stop them, is on the ballot because they turned around and did the exact opposite with the reckless war of choice in Iran. So certainly, Republican policies are on the ballot. The Democratic vision to make life more affordable for the American people, that's on the ballot as well.MANU RAJU: I do want to ask you about the Wall Street Journal. It's reporting that President Trump has told aides he expects to resume bombing Iran after the midterm election. So if you become Speaker, will you vow to end the Iran war?LEADER JEFFRIES: Absolutely. In fact, we've made that clear. We've now successfully on the House Floor passed three different War Powers Resolutions to end this reckless and costly war of choice in Iran. That's in the best interest of the American people—MANU RAJU: You would cut off all funding?LEADER JEFFRIES: Listen, we'll deal with the appropriations process when we deal with the appropriations process. Right now, the mechanism that is in front of us will be to aggressively move War Powers Resolutions until we end this war in the best interest of the American people.MANU RAJU: Alright, we're going to have to leave it there. Leader Hakeem Jeffries, thank you so much for joining me this morning. Really appreciate it.LEADER JEFFRIES: Thank you, Manu.Full interview can be watched here. Hakeem Jeffries (@hakeemjeffries) • Instagram photos and videos

Today, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries appeared on CNN This Morning Weekend, where he made clear that House Democrats are relentlessly focused on fighting for an affordable America. MANU RAJU: House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who wants to be the next Speaker of the House, he is joining me live now to talk about the midterm elections 38 days away. Mr. Jeffries, good morning to you and thanks for being here. As you know, Cook Political Report is now predicting that Democrats will take the House in November. You’ve actually been saying that for months, making that prediction. So right now, what are you exactly predicting? Are you—do you anticipate a Democratic wave or a narrow victory? LEADER JEFFRIES: We’re going to work as hard as we can to get to 218, and then win as many seats on top of that as possible because we’re focused on fighting for an affordable America. Life is way too expensive, Manu, here in the United States of America. There are too many people, millions of folks, working hard, playing by the rules, can’t thrive and can barely survive. The Republican economic policies have been a disaster. They promised to lower costs on day one, costs haven’t gone down, they’ve gone up. Democrats are determined to do something about that. MANU RAJU: Mr. Leader, are you worried about the amount of GOP spending that is coming in late from Trump’s outside organization and GOP outside groups? They’re really bombarding the airwaves and they’re dwarfing Democrats by nearly $200 million in House and Senate races. How concerned are you about that? LEADER JEFFRIES: We always understood that MAGA Republicans were going to try to unload as much of their special interest money as possible. This is part of the problem with why Republicans have failed. They’re not interested in promoting the public interest. They haven’t done a damn thing to make life more affordable for the American people. Instead, they spend all their time raising money from their MAGA big donors, who they rewarded with a massive tax break in the One Big Ugly Bill, while at the same time ripping Medicaid, healthcare and nutritional assistance away from the American people. We’re going to stay focused, continue to communicate our message. We know the most important issues in this election are not going to be about MAGA money. It’s going to be about the economy, the high cost of living and combating inflation, which Donald Trump and Republican economic policies have dramatically worsened in this country. MANU RAJU: Mr. Leader, let’s talk about the generic ballot. The CNN poll from this week has Democrats with an eight-point advantage when voters are asked which party should control Congress. But in 2018, that’s when Democrats had picked up 41 seats, at this time, Democrats had a 12-point advantage in the generic ballot. Now, given how bad the environment is for Republicans, why aren’t Democrats holding an even bigger advantage now? LEADER JEFFRIES: The plus-eight advantage is incredibly strong, and we’re going to continue to run through the finish line. And remember, Manu, in 2018 we needed to flip 24 seats. We were at 194, we needed to get to 218. Right now we’re at 215. It’s one of the reasons why Republicans are running scared all across the country because we only need to flip a handful of seats to take back control of the majority, and that’s exactly what we’re going to do at minimum. MANU RAJU: But does the fact that your advantage isn’t even higher have anything to do with your own approval ratings, Mr. Leader? In that same poll, the approval of Democratic leaders is abysmal. It stands at 26%. And that is just two points better than GOP leaders. So why are the approval ratings of Democratic leaders still so low? LEADER JEFFRIES: We’re not running a popularity contest. We’re working hard to run Republicans out of power because they’ve done so much damage to the American people. And the American people clearly deserve better. They clearly deserve a party—House and Senate Democrats—which are going to focus on making life better for the American people, Manu. Those are the stakes at this moment. MANU RAJU: But do you think the public is not sold yet on Democrats leading Congress? LEADER JEFFRIES: I think that we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it. Right now, we have to accomplish the mission. And the mission is to make sure that we take back control of the House, which we’ve maintained we were on track to do now for months. In fact, we were very confident about our ability to change direction in January 2025 and began to say so publicly. And we’ve had two goals: push back against the Republican extremism that has been unleashed on the American people and chart a better course forward, so that the American people actually can live a comfortable life, an affordable life and a good life. MANU RAJU: I want to drill down to one critical district that you know very well: New York’s 17th congressional district. That’s where the incumbent Republican Mike Lawler—one of the top Democratic targets in the country—he’s one of three Republicans who sit in districts that Kamala Harris won last cycle. You need to flip that seat. And just last week, a member of your Caucus, Jared Golden, Democrat of Maine, issued an endorsement of Lawler. Are you okay with that? LEADER JEFFRIES: I issued a statement making clear that I thought the endorsement effort by Mike Lawler was a desperate attempt to head off what’s coming on November 3, which is that Cait Conley, a decorated combat veteran, a patriotic hero, is about to flip that seat. In fact, I was with Cait last evening. I’ll be spending some time with her in the district at some point soon. We’re all in to make sure that she wins. Mike Lawler is an unmitigated fraud. He voted to cut Medicaid of his own constituents. He’s consistently voted to rubber-stamp Donald Trump’s reckless and costly war of choice in Iran, which has skyrocketed gas prices— MANU RAJU: What about the fact that you have a member of your Caucus endorsing him? LEADER JEFFRIES: You have to talk to Jared Golden about that. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, House Democrats, leadership, the members of the New York congressional delegation across the ideological spectrum—we all stand behind Cait Conley. And mark my words, she’s going to win. MANU RAJU: Okay, I want to ask you about something many people saw last night when watching the Northwestern-Indiana college football game. There’s a taxpayer-funded ad from the White House. Watch this. RECORDING OF AD: And nothing was going to stop him from fighting so hard for the country he loves. MANU RAJU: Mr. Leader, the administration says that these are public service announcements with the goal of educating Americans and to ensure they are unapologetically patriotic. Any issue with that? LEADER JEFFRIES: These aren’t public service announcements. These are ads designed to elevate Donald Trump because he has record-low approval ratings across the board. Certainly, the American people are disgusted with the performance of Donald Trump and Republicans in the House, who are nothing more than reckless rubber stamps for his extreme agenda. And this is another example of how taxpayer dollars are being misused by the Trump cartel to try to elevate themselves or enrich themselves, their family members, their friends and their donors, as opposed to actually doing what Democrats will be focused on, which is spending taxpayer dollars to make life more affordable for hardworking American taxpayers. MANU RAJU: Trump is also saying that he wants this election to be about him. He said, ‘Vote like I’m on the ballot.’ He is suggesting he could be in a few dozen battleground districts as well. Do you want Trump on the campaign trail? LEADER JEFFRIES: Yes. And the reality is, Donald Trump is effectively on the ballot. His failed economic policies are on the ballot. The Trump Tariffs, which have increased costs on everyday Americans by thousands of dollars per year, on the ballot. His One Big Ugly Bill that ripped Medicaid away from about 14 million Americans—that’s on the ballot. The Epstein cover-up is on the ballot. The failure of this administration to actually keep its promise not to start wars in the Middle East, but to stop them, is on the ballot because they turned around and did the exact opposite with the reckless war of choice in Iran. So certainly, Republican policies are on the ballot. The Democratic vision to make life more affordable for the American people, that’s on the ballot as well. MANU RAJU: I do want to ask you about the Wall Street Journal. It’s reporting that President Trump has told aides he expects to resume bombing Iran after the midterm election. So if you become Speaker, will you vow to end the Iran war? LEADER JEFFRIES: Absolutely. In fact, we’ve made that clear. We’ve now successfully on the House Floor passed three different War Powers Resolutions to end this reckless and costly war of choice in Iran. That’s in the best interest of the American people— MANU RAJU: You would cut off all funding? LEADER JEFFRIES: Listen, we’ll deal with the appropriations process when we deal with the appropriations process. Right now, the mechanism that is in front of us will be to aggressively move War Powers Resolutions until we end this war in the best interest of the American people. MANU RAJU: Alright, we’re going to have to leave it there. Leader Hakeem Jeffries, thank you so much for joining me this morning. Really appreciate it. LEADER JEFFRIES: Thank you, Manu. Full interview can be watched here. ###

Why did House Republicans cancel votes, pack up and leave Washington? They don’t give a damn about making your life more affordable. These extremists are all unfit to govern.

The White House has just been ordered by a Federal Judge to restore press access. Donald Trump and the extremists have lost in Court. Again.

Leader Jeffries on Republicans Leaving Town as Trump's War in Iran Drives Up Costs https://t.co/hbyPELkaRu

The President just invited Vladimir Putin to the G-20 summit in Miami. But we’re supposed to believe Trump will sanction Russia for its brutal war against Ukraine. Get real.