LEADER JEFFRIES: "DEMOCRATS ARE GOING TO MAKE SURE THAT WE DO NOT DEFAULT"
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries joined Bloomberg's Balance of Power with Joe Mathieu and Annmarie Hordern, where he discussed President Biden's commitment to protecting Democratic priorities and our economy from a devastating default.
MATHIEU: We're joined by House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York. Mr. Leader, thank you for joining us at this important moment on Bloomberg. Are you a yes vote on this bill?
JEFFRIES: As I've indicated, I strongly support both the president, the administration and the resolution that has been reached in terms of preventing a default that would be catastrophic, would crash the economy, would hurt millions of Americans. I applaud President Biden in finding a resolution that will prevent this dangerous default from happening, notwithstanding the fact that he was dealing with some very unreasonable extreme MAGA Republicans on the other side of the aisle, support the Biden administration's resolution in that it will extend the debt ceiling for an additional two years and avoid the country being in this kind of hostage-taking situation for the rest of this Congress. That's a good thing. The other important resolution that was brought about as a result of President Biden's leadership is that some very important Democratic priorities were protected. Social Security, protected. Medicare, protected. Medicaid, protected. Veterans, protected. And the American people were protected from the types of extreme cuts that the Republicans were trying to jam down the throats of the country as a result of the hostage-taking situation that has been underway for the last several months.
HORDERN: So, Mr. Leader, it sounds like you are a yes when the bill comes to the Floor and that's where you're going to vote. But how many other Democratic colleagues do you expect to also vote yes alongside you?
JEFFRIES: We're in the process of engagement right now. We had three hours of virtual meetings yesterday with the administration, three hours of virtual meetings are underway today with the administration. We'll also have a Caucus meeting tomorrow in person at the House where members of the administration will be able to continue to talk to members of the House Democratic Caucus. It's been a very collaborative and cooperative and communicative experience over the last few days. I think the more important question that everyone should be asking in terms of what's going to happen on the Floor of the House of Representatives, is how many votes will the Republicans produce? This is an agreement that at their insistence, they negotiated with the administration, and it's our full and complete expectation that they are going to produce at least 150 votes. We, as Democrats, are going to make sure that we do not default on our nation's debt. America should always pay our bills. But it's important for Republicans to keep the promises that they've made. No one seriously believes that 95% of House Republicans are going to support this agreement. That's a number that I believe had been floated in the public domain. But it's reasonable to expect that they will produce at least 150 votes on Wednesday.
MATHIEU: Well, I'll tell you, Mr. Leader, we've heard some blistering criticism today from members of the Freedom Caucus. They held a news conference a bit earlier outside the House. Here's what Republican Representative Andy Biggs of Arizona, for instance, had to say. And I'd love to get your reaction. Let's listen.
BIGGS [VIDEO]: When Republican leaders put out their talking points, you said that the Democrats got nothing in this deal. The question is, what did Republicans get in this deal? As progressive Democrat Pramila Jayapal stated, it doesn't cut spending and doesn't reduce the deficit. So what did Republicans get? I can't answer that.
MATHIEU: The essence, the message today, was that Speaker McCarthy got rolled by President Biden. He's hearing from his own, of course, the Speaker, his own conservative caucus. You criticize some members of the Freedom Caucus for a little palace intrigue today, referring to this motion to vacate that some have threatened. But if Speaker McCarthy cannot get the votes he promised, does he deserve to keep his job?
JEFFRIES: Let's cross that bridge when we get to it. I think what is more instructive at the moment is the fact that these extreme right-wing MAGA Republicans have been playing a dangerous game with the American people from the very beginning. They've had two objectives. Either we're going to extract in a hostage-taking situation deep, draconian, destructive cuts that will hurt the health, the safety and the economic well-being of the American people, or we're going to let the country default, trigger a job-killing, recession, crash the economy and hurt millions and millions of everyday Americans. That's been their objective from the very beginning. And I think one of the reasons why many of these extreme MAGA Republicans are upset is because they realize that they're not going to be able to achieve either of those two painful and harmful objectives, because of the leadership of President Biden.
HORDERN: But to get the bill over the finish line, there will have to be Democratic votes, and I know you're talking about the fact that this was "MAGA Republicans" dealing with the president, but it was Speaker McCarthy who did a deal with a Democratic president. Do you think the administration has assuaged enough concerns over the progressives in your party that they're going to be willing to back President Biden and have a yes vote? He's tweeting that he hopes he sees this bill pass the House and the Senate.
JEFFRIES: We're going to make sure that the country does not default. But we also are going to make sure that Kevin McCarthy and my colleagues on the other side of the aisle, of course, uphold their end of the bargain, which is simply to produce a sufficient number of votes. Two-thirds of their caucus is about 145 to 150 Members for an agreement and a resolution that they themselves negotiated. As Democrats, we are going to make sure that the votes are there, joining with our Republican colleagues to get this bill over the finish line tomorrow.
MATHIEU: I spoke with your Democratic colleague, Congressman Jim McGovern of Massachusetts on Bloomberg Radio last week, specifically, Mr. Leader, about additional work requirements. Here's what he had to say about them.
McGOVERN [VIDEO]: Look, I'm sick and tired of trying to deal with our budgetary challenges by screwing poor people. And that's what this is about. There are already work requirements as part of the SNAP program for able-bodied adults without dependents. Those who are not fulfilling those work requirements are people graduating out of foster care, veterans, people with undiagnosed mental illnesses. I mean, do we really want to take food away from these individuals?
MATHIEU: Congressman McGovern, of course, Ranking Member on the Rules Committee that's dealing with the matter at hand here. I just wonder, Mr. Leader, your reaction to that, the idea of paying for our budgetary problems by, as he said, screwing poor people. What is your message to progressive Democrats who want to vote no?
JEFFRIES: Well, Congressman McGovern had it exactly right in terms of what the intention of the extreme MAGA Republicans has been, in this regard. And it's been very disingenuous because in terms of these so-called work requirements, they already exist. They are already in law. They were passed as part of the reform that took place in 1996, signed into law by President Bill Clinton. They have been on the books for decades. Now, in terms of the resolution that has been arrived at in this particular instance, I think there's a strong case to be made that certainly in terms of expanding the exemptions that are now available for veterans and for the homeless and for individuals who have aged out of foster care and are trying to find their way, we actually have arrived at a pretty good place in terms of having a policy related to SNAP that makes sense, that is a robust safety net and that will allow people to robustly pursue the American dream once they are able to get back on their feet.
HORDERN: Mr. Leader, I just want to get your quick take on any chances of how this can get potentially a lot more cumbersome after the House votes, what sounds like from you is going to be a yes on this bill, to the Senate. We are less than a week away from June 5th. How concerned are you that the Senate may make this process difficult and much more drawn out?
JEFFRIES: From the very beginning, Leader Schumer has provided great leadership, and Leader McConnell has made clear that we are not going to default on our debt. So I'm very confident that when we do our job tomorrow in the House of Representatives, when we get a bill over to the United States Senate, that we are going to be able to get that legislation over the finish line to President Biden's desk that will avoid a default and that will be able to pick up on where the president has left off in terms of delivering for the American people, building upon the great work that was done with the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the CHIPS and Science Act in terms of bringing domestic manufacturing jobs back home to the United States of America, continuing to make our country competitive and to build an economy that works for everyday Americans.
HORDERN: Hakeem Jeffries. Our thanks to you. The House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York. We really appreciate your time, especially as this very busy time for you, obviously, in the House of Representatives.
Full interview can be watched here.