LEADER JEFFRIES ON MSNBC: "HOUSE DEMOCRATS WILL CONTINUE TO FOCUS ON KITCHEN TABLE ISSUES"
WASHINGTON, D.C. – In case you missed it, Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries appeared on MSNBC's Inside with Jen Psaki where he emphasized that House Democrats are committed to protecting Medicare and Social Security and defending our democracy against Republican extremism.
PSAKI: Joining me now is House Democratic Leader, Congressman Hakeem Jeffries of New York. Leader Jeffries, thank you so much for being my first guest on my first show.
JEFFRIES: So good to be with you and congratulations on your show.
PSAKI: Thank you so much. Well, I have to start here with Vice President Pence, because this is a guy who the mob tried to hang back on January 6th. He is criticizing the district attorney and those comments instead of Trump's own language, which sounded a lot to me like what we heard around January 6th. What was your reaction when you heard the former Vice President's comments?
JEFFRIES: Well, Vice President Pence knows better and he has embarrassed himself, and that's unfortunate. You know, George Washington, in his farewell address to the nation, said that the Constitution is sacredly obligatory upon all. That means everyone. That includes former presidents of the United States of America because, in this great country of ours, no one is above the law. That is the defining principle of the republic and has been the case for 247 years. And so I would urge everyone to just allow the prosecutors to do their job. I'm confident that the myriad of investigations will involve individuals who are professional. They will follow the facts, apply the law, be guided by the Constitution and then we'll see where these investigations lead.
PSAKI: Now, I know, Leader Jeffries, a carefully worded statement or a tweet when I see one. I've written a few of these myself and I just want to read your tweet that you wrote yesterday in response to these posts from Donald Trump. "We live in a democracy. Right-wing extremists who fan the flames of political violence with inflammatory rhetoric are not fit to serve. American values over autocracy." Now, you didn't mention Trump there. Was that on purpose or why not?
JEFFRIES: Well, it's a reference to both former President Trump and all those who continue to bend the knee to the insurrectionist-in-chief. You know, one of the more unfortunate things of the events of this weekend continued to reveal that the extreme MAGA Republicans, as a group, want to defund the FBI, investigate and intimidate law enforcement and continue to coddle violent insurrectionists who tried to overthrow the government on January 6th, in 2021. They clearly have not learned their lesson and they are doubling and tripling down on their extremism, even when that extremism could have potentially violent and deadly consequences as it did during the insurrection.
PSAKI: Now, one of those people who I would argue was trying to coddle or echo some of these comments is Speaker Kevin McCarthy. And I just want to read to you a tweet that he also posted yesterday. He said, "I'm directing relevant committees to immediately investigate if federal funds are being used to subvert our democracy by interfering in elections with politically motivated prosecutions." So, Leader Jeffries, what was your reaction to Speaker of the House, your partner at times, and his reaction to Trump's post?
JEFFRIES: I strongly disagree with that statement. And it's not clear to me what committee the Speaker may be referring to, perhaps the so-called Weaponization Committee, which is really more appropriately named, the Committee to Protect Insurrectionists. And that is what we've seen from the extreme MAGA Republicans as it relates to the 118th Congress. Instead of the House majority focusing on the economy, focusing on inflation, focusing on job creation, focusing on health care, they continue to peddle conspiracy theories led by the so-called Weaponization Committee and the Oversight Committee, as opposed to trying to find common ground with House Democrats to try to make life better for everyday Americans. But we're going to continue to put People Over Politics, we're going to continue to focus on lower costs, better-paying jobs and safer communities and we will continue to defend our democracy.
PSAKI: Well, those weaponization committees may not be working out exactly as they planned, but if Speaker McCarthy moves forward with these committees to investigate the work of the Manhattan DA, well, what will you do with- advise Democratic members? Will they participate in these or how would you approach that?
JEFFRIES: Well, I have full confidence in the leader of the House Judiciary Committee, Jerry Nadler, the leader of the Oversight Committee, Representative Jamie Raskin and the leader on the Democratic side of the Weaponization Committee, Stacey Plaskett, to continue to make sure that we are upholding the rule of law, doing our congressional duties and responsibilities, but also pushing back against the extreme MAGA Republican overreach that we continue to see and have seen over the first few months of this new Congress.
PSAKI: The Washington Post reported last week that you've been working on a truce of sorts with Kevin McCarthy out of respect for the House as a functioning institution and of course, because you actually want to get some things done. First of all, is that report true?
JEFFRIES: Yes. We've had a positive, forward-looking relationship. That doesn't mean that we aren't going to strongly disagree with each other as we have with respect to the former twice-impeached President of the United States of America. But we can agree to disagree without being disagreeable and always try to find common ground for the good of the institution, the Congress, the country and part of an effort that Democrats have engaged in over the last several years, led by President Biden, Speaker Pelosi and Leader Schumer, to try to find bipartisan common ground whenever and wherever possible in order to make life better for everyday Americans. We've been able to do that in a significant way when we had the gavels, I hope to be able to continue to do that now.
PSAKI: Now, I'm not going to ask you to make any legal predictions here. I watch you closely, I know you would never do that. But it's pretty clear that Trump supporters in Congress, specifically Marjorie Taylor Greene and others, are seeing this as an empowering political moment for them. And I just want to read you one more tweet. This is from Marjorie Taylor Greene where she said "if the Manhattan DA indicts President Trump, he will ultimately win even bigger than he is already going to win." First of all, do you agree with the notion that indictments would help Donald Trump politically?
JEFFRIES: Well, the last person that I'm going to lean into political insight from is Marjorie Taylor Greene, although I should note that she has become one of the most important House Republicans in the Congress and for all we know, could be on the presidential ticket as the vice presidential candidate for Donald Trump. That is how important she has become to the extreme MAGA Republican House majority in the Congress right now. But that is also one of the reasons why the American people should be concerned, because it is an extreme agenda that doesn't want to deal with the issues of importance to working families and middle class folks and all those who aspire to be part of the middle class. That's the difference between House Republicans and House Democrats. We will continue to focus on kitchen table, bread and butter issues of importance, the economy, jobs, health care, protecting Social Security, protecting Medicare, and building that economy that works for everyday Americans.
PSAKI: Well, it wasn't just Marjorie Taylor Greene, although if she's on the ticket, that'll be an interesting, slightly crazy thing. But, Lindsey Graham and some others have also suggested it could help Trump politically. So I guess, you're a very savvy political guy, how do you prevent this from helping Trump politically? Any of these legal potential indictments or the legal swirl?
JEFFRIES: Well, the American people rejected political extremism all throughout the country in the most recent midterm elections in 2022 and it's my expectation that they will continue to do so moving forward. And, you know, it is unfortunate that the extreme has become mainstream for this version of the Republican Party in the House and in the Senate and all across America. We'll litigate that case any day of the week as we move forward, because it's a case that I believe Democrats will win. We are on the right side of the American people, the right side of American values and on the right side of history.
PSAKI: Well, all of this is taking up a lot of oxygen in public, but you have a lot of big stuff on your plate, including a big fight over the debt limit. Does any of this make it harder to get that done?
JEFFRIES: Well, the debt limit issue shouldn't be that complicated. Every stakeholder in Washington, D.C., from President Biden and his administration, House Democrats, Senate Democrats and even Senate Republicans under the leadership of Mitch McConnell have said we should not default on our nation's debt. It will have catastrophic consequences for everyday Americans, for small businesses and for the economy. The only group of individuals that apparently wants to take us down this irresponsible path are the extreme MAGA Republicans in the House of Representatives and we cannot allow it to happen. Now, what we've said is President Biden has put forth his budget that invests in working families and middle-class folks and young people and seniors, invests in transportation and infrastructure, invests in education and job training, invests in research and development, invests in the health, the safety, the economic well-being of the American people. Republicans want to have a conversation about the financial future of this country, but they have refused to put forward their budget. It's in hiding. It's in the witness protection program. It's in an undisclosed location. And how can we have a conversation about the future of America's fiscal house with one group of people that refuses to put their budget forward for the American people? Show us your plan. We'll continue to say that. And I think at the end of the day, the reality is we're going to raise the debt ceiling and continue to move this country forward in a responsible way.
PSAKI: House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, you're going to have a very busy couple of months. Thank you so much for joining me here this morning.
Full interview can be watched here.