LEADER JEFFRIES ON KEEPIN' IT REAL WITH REV. AL SHARPTON: "WE'RE NOT GOING TO BE INTIMIDATED BY THESE EXTREMISTS"
Yesterday, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries appeared on Keepin' It Real with Rev. Al Sharpton, where he pointed out Republican hypocrisy on protecting Medicaid, preserving SNAP and standing for law and order, while Democrats remain committed to the righteous fight for the health, safety and economic well-being of the American people.
REV. AL SHARPTON: Let me go to the live line because in the middle of all of these—the shutdown and many of you around the country directly impacted and all of us indirectly. I had reached out to our Minority Leader of the House, Hakeem Jeffries, who has been a member of National Action Network for many years and we know each other well. And I reached out to him because I wanted him to spend a few minutes on the air to give us an update of where we are or where we are not in terms of the shutdown. And I'm also concerned when I heard about the arrest of a man planning his death. So I wanted to also, we're rallying around that on Saturday at the Saturday Action Rally, having ministers pray for Hakeem Jeffries. I take—as one who was stabbed and has gone through a lot of death threats—I take all that seriously. So I have on the live line from Washington, DC, the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, Hakeem Jeffries. How you doing, Mr. Congressman?
LEADER JEFFRIES: Good. Good afternoon, Rev. Great to be with you. Thanks for having me on.
REV. AL SHARPTON: Thanks for coming on. Where are we with this shutdown?
LEADER JEFFRIES: So this is day 23 of the Trump-Republican shutdown and unfortunately, we continue to see inaction from House and Senate Republicans. In fact, House Republicans have now been on vacation for four consecutive weeks. They've canceled votes four consecutive weeks and don't appear to want to come back into town next week. We've repeatedly made clear as Democrats in the House and the Senate, that we're willing to sit down with anyone, anytime, anyplace, either at the Capitol or back at the White House to reopen the government, to find a bipartisan path forward toward enacting a spending agreement that makes sense for the American people, but it has to make life better for the American people, including in addressing the healthcare crisis that Republicans have created which is devastating people all across the country including in Black and brown communities, working-class communities, rural America, urban America, small-town America and the heartland of America.
REV. AL SHARPTON: Now, November 1, we're going to be facing SNAP becoming expired in many households. We're going to be facing the premiums going up in terms of healthcare, affordable healthcare. I mean, are people in Washington on the other side of the aisle cognizant of the fact that this is going to impact even their own constituents?
LEADER JEFFRIES: Yeah, they certainly know that, but they don't seem to care. This is the same group of people who promised to love and cherish Medicaid at the beginning of the year, Donald Trump's own words, and instead they turned around and enacted the largest cut to Medicaid in American history. They're closing hospitals and nursing homes and community-based health centers in their communities as well as throughout many parts of America. In that same One Big Ugly Bill, they cut $186 billion from the SNAP program. Literally, Rev, they took food out of the mouth of hungry children and seniors and veterans and women and families, and they did all of this so they could reward their billionaire donors with massive tax breaks that they made permanent. And now, as you pointed out, when we're facing the significant likelihood that on November 1, when open enrollment begins, that tens of millions of Americans are about to experience dramatically increased healthcare premiums because Republicans refuse to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits. Cruelty is the point for these extremists on the other side of the aisle, even when it comes to hurting those same people that they in fact represent.
REV. AL SHARPTON: Now, let me ask you, how are you doing in the wake of these threats? I know your family well—and in fact, I went to your father's wake in Ohio—and I've been concerned about—I know you and those of us in public life expect it, but it's a real trauma on your wife, your children, your mother. How's everybody faring and dealing with these legitimate threats?
LEADER JEFFRIES: Well thank you, Rev, for your support and for the prayers and for organizing members of the clergy on my behalf, on behalf of the family and the community. We're all very appreciative for your leadership, of course, and, you know, it unfortunately, in this moment of great political violence in this country, it is something that we have come to expect. It's not easy on the family and, you know, loved ones and community members, and I'm appreciative of everybody reaching out. But we're not going to bend, we're not going to break, we are not going to bow down, we're not going to be intimidated by these extremists. That's what they want us to do. They want to try to throw us off course, and we're not going to allow it to happen. You know, one of the things that I think everybody needs to know about this particular situation is that it highlights the fact that on Donald Trump's first day in office, he pardoned hundreds of violent felons who stormed the Capitol on January 6. That's what he did, and then he released these people, including this individual who, you know, was prepared to try to assassinate me, he released these people into communities all across the country and many of them have already engaged in reoffenses, committed crimes in neighborhoods all throughout America. And Republicans have almost uniformly supported those pardons, and this is a party, Republicans, that wants to pretend as if they care about law and order. Of course, they're all about lawlessness and disorder, and this was just another in a continuing set of examples. I'm thankful to state and local law enforcement, of course, for their swift efforts, but most importantly, we're going to continue to stand up for the American people, for their health, for their public safety and for the economic well-being in terms of making sure that everybody has an opportunity to live a comfortable life.
REV. AL SHARPTON: I need to ask you this. You and I and Senator Schumer and Greg Meeks and others have not endorsed in the local mayor's race. I understand that Mayor Adams is endorsing Andrew Cuomo today. There's been—we've had, all of us individually, conversations with Mamdani and others. Do you expect to make any endorsement? Early voting starts Saturday.
LEADER JEFFRIES: Yeah, early voting starts Saturday. I do hope to talk to our Democratic nominee at some point either late today or tomorrow in advance of early voting. I do think that his decision—I didn't see the debate yesterday. I do look forward to watching some clips. I do think that his decision to announce that he would reappoint Commissioner Jessica Tisch is a positive step in the right direction in terms of sending a message that while he's going to, of course, focus on affordability—and that is the number one concern of the people in the community that I represent and some things really need to be done particularly in Black and brown communities, which have suffered under the crushing weight of gentrification and displacement in neighborhoods like Bedford-Stuyvesant and Harlem for far too long, and that's going to be important and that at the top of his agenda. But also that public safety, of course, will continue to be important in communities throughout the city of New York, and I think it's reassuring to a lot of folks that he wants to continue the current leadership at One Police Plaza with respect to the NYPD.
REV. AL SHARPTON: All right, hold one second. Jenny, you're on—Attorney Jennifer Jones Austin that co-hosts the last hour every Thursdays with us. You have a question for the Minority Leader?
JENNIFER JONES AUSTIN: Good afternoon, Minority Leader Jeffries. Always good to hear your voice and to know that you're down there fighting for us. Very simple question. In this moment, what can, what should we, those of us who are sitting around saying, how do we engage? How do we support your leadership? How do we support the fighting back? What should we be doing in this moment?
LEADER JEFFRIES: Yeah, well, Jennifer, thank you. It's so good to hear your voice and appreciate your leadership in Brooklyn, of course, our beloved Brooklyn, as well as the City of New York and beyond. You know, I think one of the things that we want to emphasize over the next few days, next few weeks, is that as people begin to get information, notices that their healthcare premiums are gonna skyrocket, we want to elevate those stories, because we're fighting for all of you. And this is a very real crisis. And we're urging everyone—call your member of Congress and share with them what your current healthcare costs are and what they are expected to be because of the refusal to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits. And by the way, that's gonna affect everybody, both people who are on the ACA and people who get their insurance from their employers. Everybody is about to face significant increases in their insurance costs, and we want people to share those stories with their Members of Congress. Myself, of course, back at home in Brooklyn, reach out to me. I'm at the Shirley Chisholm State Office Building. Everybody, I think, who represents me—who I represent, knows how to reach us, but we want to be able to elevate these stories in the midst of this Trump-Republican shutdown so we can further illustrate why we are fighting to address this Republican healthcare crisis. And then if you live in New Jersey, if you live in Virginia, you've got—or Pennsylvania, you've got some important races that are on the ballot on November 4. Make sure you exercise your right to vote. Donald Trump wants to suppress your ability to participate in the democratic process, but you have the ability to go out and make clear to the country that this is a national nightmare and we want to turn things in a different direction. And of course, lastly, if you'll live in California you have Prop 50 on the ballot. I was out at black churches on Sunday of this most recent weekend campaigning Yes on Prop 50 so we can stop Trump from stealing the election and make sure there are fair congressional maps.
REV. AL SHARPTON: Alright, Minority Leader of the House of Representatives Hakeem Jeffries, as I said at Saturday's rally here and Detroit, we'll be praying for the family. I think we're trying to get you on PoliticsNation one night this weekend to get the update. We'll be in touch. Thank you for coming on.
Full interview can be listened to here.