LEADER JEFFRIES ON MSNBC: “DONALD TRUMP AND REPUBLICANS HAVE DECIDED TO WEAPONIZE HUNGER AND STARVATION”
Today, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries appeared on MSNBC's Ana Cabrera Reports where he highlighted how Donald Trump and Republicans are withholding SNAP benefits that tens of millions of Americans rely on to put food on their tables, while Democrats continue to fight to protect the health, safety and economic well-being of the American people.
ANA CABRERA: We're joined now by Hakeem Jeffries, the House Minority Leader. Thank you so much, Congressman, for being here with us. Leader Jeffries, we just heard Senator Thune there with Ali Vitali say Democrats in the Senate are being browbeaten into submission. Those were his words. What say you?
LEADER JEFFRIES: Well, this is day 38 of the Trump-Republican shutdown. And our position as Democrats remain clear. We will sit down with any Republicans, anytime, anyplace, in order to reopen the government, to find a bipartisan path forward and to decisively address the Republican healthcare crisis. The problem with Johnson and Thune and the Republicans right now is that they continue to adopt a my-way-or-the-highway approach, and our view has been consistent. We will not support a partisan Republican spending bill that continues to gut the healthcare of the American people, particularly as it relates to the expiring Affordable Care Act tax credits.
ANA CABRERA: We've heard from at least one Republican Senator that he's had discussions with his House counterparts. I'm curious, are you aware of any negotiations like that crossing both chambers, and are you involved in any bipartisan talks right now?
LEADER JEFFRIES: I know there are informal conversations that are taking place, but at the leadership level, Donald Trump has not given Mike Johnson permission to actually sit down and have a substantive conversation with Democrats in the House. And unfortunately, until Donald Trump either gets off the sidelines or gives Mike Johnson permission to actually have a meaningful conversation, we're not going to see anything productive emerge from the House of Representatives. And understand that House Republicans have now been on vacation for six consecutive weeks, canceled votes for six consecutive weeks, and they'd rather just remain on vacation than actually ensure that children in this country are able to put food on the table, and that everyday Americans don't see dramatically increased healthcare premiums, co-pays and deductibles, which we know in some instances will increase by $1000 or $2000 per month.
ANA CABRERA: What do you need to see in any potential Senate plan to reopen the government to say, okay, Democrats should back this?
LEADER JEFFRIES: Well, first of all, John Thune needs to stop trying to bluff his way into an agreement, sit down and have a conversation with Leader Schumer or let's have a Four Corners conversation—House, Senate, Democrats, Republicans—along with the administration to find a bipartisan agreement forward. Now, our view has been that we will evaluate in good faith any bipartisan agreement that emerges from the Senate as long as it decisively addresses this Republican healthcare crisis, where we've seen Republicans devastate people this year. Largest cut to Medicaid in American history, hospitals and nursing homes and community-based health centers closing all across the country because of Republican policies connected to their One Big Ugly Bill. We know that Medicare is facing a $536 billion cut this year if Congress doesn't act by the end of December. And if we don't extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits, working-class Americans, middle-class Americans and everyday Americans all across this country are [not going to] be able to access their healthcare or see a doctor when they need it because of the unaffordability of health insurance.
ANA CABRERA: So let me try to nail this down. Short of a vote on Obamacare subsidies prior to reopening the government, what else might get Democrats behind a funding bill? Could a promised date to vote on Obamacare subsidies be enough?
LEADER JEFFRIES: Well, listen, at least as it relates to the House of Representatives, I'm not going to speak to the Senate—and the Senate Democrats, of course, are taking the lead there—But in terms of the House of Representatives, this group of extreme MAGA Republicans have voted to rip the Affordable Care Act away from people more than 70 different times in the last 15 years. And so, they have zero credibility as it relates to the issue of providing affordable healthcare to everyday Americans. In fact, Marjorie Taylor Greene—
ANA CABRERA: So a promise for a vote won't work for you.
LEADER JEFFRIES: I mean, listen, we have to have a real path forward to address the Republican healthcare crisis. I don't want to negotiate in public, but it has to be a meaningful path forward. And the American people are clearly demanding that happen. The American people clearly want to see us deal with the affordability crisis. We saw that happen all throughout America on Tuesday. That's why Republicans were crushed.
ANA CABRERA: Here's what Speaker Johnson said yesterday about that path forward, or lack thereof.
VIDEO OF SPEAKER MIKE JOHNSON: The House did its job on September 19. I'm not promising anybody anything. I'm going to let this process play out. I'll tell you what they wanted. I'll tell you what Schumer and Jeffries wanted. In fact, Chuck Schumer said it publicly and decried that Thune and I would not go in a back room with them and make a Four Corners agreement on Obamacare subsidies. And I said, there's no way.
ANA CABRERA: What's your response to that?
LEADER JEFFRIES: Well, listen, the states that are going to be most impacted by a failure to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits are Republican-run states. West Virginia, Wyoming, Alaska, Mississippi and Tennessee. 45% of the people who benefit from the Affordable Care Act tax credits are registered Republicans, 35% Democrats and 20% Independents. This is an American issue. This is not a partisan issue for us. We're fighting to protect the healthcare of the American people. And, you know, Johnson clearly has zero interest. Now, when they passed their One Big Ugly Bill, they ripped healthcare away from about 14 million Americans and they did it so that they could provide massive tax breaks to their billionaire donors. And they made those tax breaks permanent.
ANA CABRERA: Let's talk about this new SNAP lawsuit. President Trump's team appealing, essentially fighting in court to not have to give people their SNAP benefits, which means this crisis is headed back to Congress' lap. Could this accelerate talks?
LEADER JEFFRIES: Well, it's incredible to me that Donald Trump and Republicans have decided to weaponize hunger and starvation by unlawfully at this point withholding SNAP benefits from 42 million Americans. That includes 16 million children, 8 million older Americans, and over a million veterans who rely on SNAP benefits in order to put food on the table. But this is no surprise when you consider the fact that in their One Big Ugly Bill earlier this year in July, Republicans already enacted the largest cut to SNAP benefits in American history. $186 billion cut. They literally ripped food from the mouths of hungry children, seniors and veterans, part of their scheme to benefit the wealthy, the well-off and the well-connected as it relates to their donors. So this is a continuation of that level of cruelty that we've seen from Republicans. And the American people reject it. And, you know, I hope that the Court of Appeals denies the administration's request to continue to suspend these SNAP benefits, and I'm thankful for the federal district court judge who did the right thing in ordering them to pay these benefits out immediately.
ANA CABRERA: I don't think a lot of Americans care who's to blame. They just need to eat. And here's what one SNAP recipient in Pennsylvania told NBC News. 'When you're in a position to provide for people who are depending on these life-sustaining services, how can you be at war with each other in the midst of people trying to survive? These are some of the hardest times I've seen in 50 years.' Those words from a 50-year-old SNAP recipient. Leader Jeffries, it is now day 38. In addition to the millions of SNAP recipients struggling to put food on the table, air travel's a mess, thousands of workers haven't been paid for over a month. Where's the urgency to end this in Washington?
LEADER JEFFRIES: That's a great question. It should be asked of Mike Johnson, where's the urgency in actually bringing the House of Representatives back into session? They have canceled votes for the last six weeks. Democrats continue to be present and make clear that we're ready, willing and able to sit down with our Republican colleagues, reopen the government, have a bipartisan agreement that actually meets the needs of the American people. And the individual that you referenced is exactly right. America is too expensive. Donald Trump and Republicans promised that they would lower costs on day one. They haven't lowered costs. Costs have gone up. Inflation on the way up. Housing costs too high. Grocery costs too high. Electricity bills skyrocketing through the roof. And now they want to jack up health insurance premiums and they're ripping food away from the mouths of children at the same time to try to use that as a point of negotiating leverage. That's shameful. It's unconscionable. It's un-American. And yet we continue to maintain that all we need to do is sit down and have a conversation so we can enact a bipartisan spending agreement that actually improves the quality of life of the American people.
ANA CABRERA: Let me ask you about another topic quickly while I have you. Your New York GOP colleague, Elise Stefanik, just announced this morning she is running for Governor of New York, promising to make the state affordable and safe. Of course, that affordability argument worked for Democrats this week, including for Zohran Mamdani, a Democratic Socialist who just became the next New York City mayor. And he has been a political punching bag for the right and divisive among your own party. Do you think Stefanik is going to make this race a referendum on Mamdani and could it work?
LEADER JEFFRIES: You know, Elise Stefanik is nothing more than a handmaiden for Donald Trump's extreme policies. She's a sycophant who has been a repeated rubber stamp for Donald Trump's extreme agenda that is doing nothing but hurting the people of New York and everyday Americans across the country. If Elise Stefanik really wants to do something about the high cost of living, she should tell her boss, Donald Trump, to end these reckless tariffs, which are increasing costs by thousands of dollars per year on New York families and on families across America.
ANA CABRERA: House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, thank you for being with us. We really appreciate your time.
Full interview can be watched here.