LEADER JEFFRIES ON PBS: "LIFE IS TOO EXPENSIVE FOR FAR TOO MANY PEOPLE AND WE'RE ON THE WRONG PATH"
Yesterday, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries appeared on PBS NewsHour, where he made clear that while Republicans refuse to fix their healthcare crisis and negotiate a bipartisan spending agreement, Democrats will continue working to lower costs and end the GOP shutdown.
GEOFF BENNETT: House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, welcome back to the NewsHour.
LEADER JEFFRIES: Good evening. Great to be back.
GEOFF BENNETT: So this is now the longest government shutdown in U.S. history. Earlier today, you and Senator Schumer demanded a meeting with President Trump, the House Speaker Mike Johnson, the Senate Republican Leader John Thune. Have you heard anything back?
LEADER JEFFRIES: We haven't heard anything yet from either the President or our Republican colleagues. Unfortunately, they remain missing in action. The House has now canceled votes six consecutive weeks. House Republicans are literally on a taxpayer-funded vacation, even though we're in a government shutdown, the longest one in history, as you just mentioned. People are suffering all across the country. We need a bipartisan path forward to reopening the government to entering into a spending agreement that actually makes life better for the American people, while decisively addressing the Republican healthcare crisis.
GEOFF BENNETT: Democrats' strong showing in the elections last night—how does that shape your thinking or strengthen your hand in this shutdown fight?
LEADER JEFFRIES: Well, we don't view this shutdown as something that should be assessed through a partisan lens. We're fighting hard to make life better for the American people, to make sure that taxpayer dollars are spent in a way that is effective and efficient, while at the same time dealing with the issues that we know are important to the American people, particularly driving down the high cost of living in an environment where costs haven't gone down, despite what Donald Trump promised on day one. Costs have gone up. Housing costs up. Electricity prices through the roof. Child care costs up. Grocery costs up. And now, because of the Republican refusal to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits, we know that tens of millions of Americans throughout the country are about to experience dramatically increased health insurance premiums, including in some cases people being forced to pay either $1,000 or $2,000 more per month. This cannot be allowed to occur in this country, the wealthiest country in the history of the world.
GEOFF BENNETT: As you mentioned, as the shutdown persists, the human toll is mounting, no paychecks for federal workers, SNAP benefits running dry. The FAA said today they will cut air traffic by 10% if the shutdown continues through Friday. If Democrats say they're the party that believes that government should work, especially for folks on the margins, how do you explain to voters that the shutdown is continuing on Democrats' watch as well?
LEADER JEFFRIES: Well, we want a country to work. A country that works for working-class Americans, for everyday Americans and for middle-class Americans. And what's clear is that there are far too many people who are struggling to live paycheck to paycheck. They're working hard, they're playing by the rules, but they can't get ahead and they can barely get by. And that should not be the case in this great country, where you have people, the wealthy, the well-off and the well-connected, who are continuing to benefit from Republican policies, including the One Big Ugly Bill that enacted the largest cut to Medicaid in American history, ripped $186 billion from SNAP in terms of what was done in that legislation, literally stealing food from the mouths of hungry children, seniors and veterans. And all of that was done by Republicans to enact massive tax breaks for their billionaire donors, and they made those tax breaks permanent. And what we're fighting for at this moment is for a country that actually delivers on its promise. And in order to do that, we have to address the fact that life is too expensive for far too many people. And we're on the wrong path. The American people understand that, and we need to change course.
GEOFF BENNETT: Separate from the shutdown, I do wanna ask you about the takeaways from last night's elections because you had a Democratic Socialist in New York win. You had a centrist figure like Abigail Spanberger in Virginia win. What's the broader message for your party? And what warning do you think Democrats' wins send to Republicans?
LEADER JEFFRIES: Well, it was a decisive set of victories for the American people who are crying out for public servants who are actually going to put everyday Americans first, as opposed to what Republicans have done, which is to prioritize their billionaire donors. And the common narrative that connected what happened in New York to what happened in Virginia to what happened in New Jersey and other parts of the country, including in Georgia or Pennsylvania or Mississippi, where Democrats flipped seats, in some instances for the first time in decades, is that we are focused on the affordability crisis, on driving down the high cost of living, on fixing our broken healthcare system and making sure that people have a path toward experiencing the American dream. Hopefully, my Republican colleagues will process that and change course because the Trump presidency has been a disaster, including as it relates to the Trump tariffs, which have actually increased costs by thousands and thousands of dollars per year on working-class Americans.
GEOFF BENNETT: With President Trump reportedly telling Republicans that they're getting politically killed by the shutdown, does that give you an opening?
LEADER JEFFRIES: We want the President to come to the negotiating table. Understand that during this 36-day Trump-Republican shutdown, Donald Trump has spent more time on the golf course, weekend after weekend after weekend, than he has in talking to Democrats on Capitol Hill who represent half of the country. He has shown no interest in solving problems for everyday Americans. It's been a problem since day one of his presidency, and hopefully, he'll now change course.
GEOFF BENNETT: House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, thanks again for your time this evening. Good to see you.
LEADER JEFFRIES: Thank you.
Full interview can be watched here.