LEADER JEFFRIES AT CNBC CEO SUMMIT: "THE ECONOMY IS A DISASTER, AND THE AMERICAN PEOPLE KNOW IT”
Today, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries joined CNBC's Emily Wilkins for a fireside interview at the CNBC CEO Summit, where he discussed the Democratic priorities of lowering the high cost of living, combating corruption in Congress and the Trump administration, protecting election security and achieving bipartisan AI regulation.
Leader Jeffries on priorities for House Democrats: "We have made clear from the very beginning as House Democrats that we needed to do two things at the same period of time. One, push back against the extremism, which very early on in the Trump administration, it was clear, Republicans and the administration were gonna try to unleash on the American people with their shock and awe strategy and flood the zone in ways that we believe would be harmful. But at the same period of time, try to get things done whenever and wherever possible when it makes sense for the American people in a bipartisan way, given the current construct. And then articulate a vision of making life better for the America people focused on driving down the high cost of living, because it's clear to anyone who's paying attention, anyone who's on the ground in communities all across the country, in the neighborhoods that I'm privileged to represent in Brooklyn, but as I travel the country as well, that the affordability crisis is real. It's not a hoax. It's very real, and it's impacting hardworking American taxpayers in ways that have to be addressed decisively. And particularly, the closer and closer that we get to that first Tuesday in November, I think, leaning into what that affirmative agenda will be to drive down costs in housing, in healthcare, as it relates to childcare, as it relates to gas, groceries and goods, utilities, is going to be critically important to us."
Leader Jeffries on the Trump administration: "Our view, certainly, is that the Trump presidency has been completely and totally out of control in a wide variety of areas in ways that have not enured to the benefit of the American people. From an affordability standpoint, the economy is a disaster, and the American people know it. And the President and his administration have completely and totally lost confidence as it relates to how hard-working American taxpayers view the improvement in their quality of life when they were promised that costs were going to go down. Costs haven't gone down. They've gone up. Part of the concern is that if you're spending a lot of time trying to enrich your family, your friends and your biggest donors in ways that I think are demonstrating some extraordinarily breathtaking corruption in real time in many instances, most recently exhibited by the $1.8 billion insurrectionist support slush fund, then at the end of the day, you're not focused on actually solving problems for the American people."
Leader Jeffries on AI regulation: "I think what has to happen is whatever is done has to be bipartisan and thoughtful and as comprehensive as possible. Certainly, we were on a bipartisan trajectory with the task force that Kevin McCarthy and I first put together, and he was a leader in that regard in wanting to be bipartisan and thoughtful. It continued initially when Johnson became the Speaker, but I believe that Republicans in the House were ordered to kill it this time around because Donald Trump wanted to dominate the issue. Why? Because he looked at the issue through a political lens and thought this could be the new crypto for him. But of course, what has happened is that the American people have dramatically turned against AI because of concerns around data centers, concerns around the job implications, concerns that it's moving so fast and they're unsure of the consequences. And so now, of course, what you see is there was a political decision not to do something thoughtful. They ended the bipartisan process that was underway, which will work hard to pick up in the next Congress. But now Donald Trump is issuing executive orders without even inviting cameras because he knows he's got a big problem as it relates to how the American people now view artificial intelligence. And even with the executive order that was issued today, it's incomplete, it's voluntary, it will have no credibility with the American people and this is going to be a congressional thing that will need to take hold."
Leader Jeffries on AI and election security: "I think we should use every tool that is available to us to be able to reach voters authentically and where they are. I do think the one thing that is clear is that since January of 2025, Democrats have won every single meaningful election in this country now for more than 16 months. And no one can argue that. So something's working, and obviously, there's a rejection of the extremism that's taking place coming out of the White House and with the administration and a far too compliant Congress that is just allowing this climate of mass uncertainty, which is not good for business, it's not good for consumers, it's good for the economy, it's not good for commerce, right, it's not good for anyone. And Republicans are allowing this to exist by basically being a reckless rubber stamp, in our view, to Donald Trump's extreme agenda. And we're leaning into the issue of affordability. So my point is, we're winning all across the board, right, up and down the ballot across the country, blue states, red states, purple states, like Virginia. At the same period of time, we should embrace all of the technology, including AI, available to us so that we can reach as many voters as authentically as possible in advance of the November election."
Leader Jeffries on corruption: "I think the House should [ban Members of Congress and staff from betting on prediction markets]. The House should prohibit Members of Congress from being able to trade stocks, and we've clearly expressed that as part of an anti-corruption agenda. We've got to make sure that we clean up our own institutions, while at the same time, doing what's necessary to deal with the Supreme Court, which has no ethical code of conduct, and you've got justices who are completely and totally out of control and have lost the confidence of the American people. And the same with the administration. And look, we're committed to, as I said during the start of this Congress, find[ing] bipartisan common ground whenever and wherever possible in order to get things done for the American people."
Full interview can be watched here.