LEADER JEFFRIES ON PBS: "THIS OUT-OF-CONTROL ADMINISTRATION NEEDS TO BE REINED IN"
Today, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries appeared on PBS NewsHour, where he made clear that Republicans must join Democrats in keeping the out-of-control Trump administration accountable for its repeated abuse of power, in Venezuela and in communities like Minneapolis.
AMNA NAWAZ: First up, Representative Hakeem Jeffries of New York, Leader of the House Democrats. I spoke with him this afternoon and started by asking his assessment of what happened in Minneapolis today.
LEADER JEFFRIES: There is no evidence that has been presented to justify the shooting of an unarmed woman resulting in her unnecessary death. Kristi Noem, the so-called Secretary of Homeland Security, is a stone-cold liar who has zero credibility on this issue or on any other issue. And what we need, as I believe the Governor has indicated, is a full and complete investigation. This rogue ICE agent who pulled the trigger should be criminally investigated to the full extent of the law, including for demonstrating a depraved indifference to human life.
AMNA NAWAZ: As you know, there are ICE officers deployed in multiple places across the country as part of the President's immigration crackdown. What's the role for federal lawmakers like you to ensure that justice is served here in Minneapolis, but also that this doesn't happen in any other community?
LEADER JEFFRIES: Well, the President's extreme immigration policies have been a complete and total failure. That's why the American people across the country have been rejecting them. The President promised that the Department of Homeland Security and ICE would be targeting violent felons. They're not targeting violent felons. They are targeting and deporting, in some cases, American citizens. And certainly individuals who have been part of these communities, in some cases, for decades. And Congress should step forward and reassert our authority. Unfortunately, Republicans who control the House and the Senate, temporarily for the time being, have functioned like a reckless rubber stamp for Donald Trump's extreme agenda, as opposed to being part of a separate and co-equal branch of government.
AMNA NAWAZ: I want to ask you too about our other big story today, which is the escalation related to Venezuela. We saw U.S. forces seize two more Venezuelan oil tankers. We also saw the U.S. Energy Secretary say that the U.S. will control Venezuelan oil sales indefinitely. In any of the briefings you have received on Venezuela, have you gotten a clear sense of what the U.S. mission is in Venezuela and the timeline for how long we'll be involved there?
LEADER JEFFRIES: The briefings have been unpersuasive and have left me and other Members of Congress with more questions than answers. It's not clear what the strategy is moving forward. The one thing I do know is that the future of Venezuela should be decided by the Venezuelan people, nobody else. It doesn't appear that the Trump administration has a plan to effectuate that. We also know that this notion that the United States is going to run Venezuela is completely and totally ridiculous. The Trump administration doesn't even know how to run the United States of America effectively. We also need to step forward as a Congress to ensure legislatively that no additional military action is taken absent explicit congressional authorization. We know the Constitution is very clear that the power to declare war, matters of war and peace, are solely within the jurisdiction of the Congress, the Article One branch of government, and this out-of-control administration needs to be reined in.
AMNA NAWAZ: As you know, the White House has argued that they did not need congressional approval for what they called targeted and limited military action in Venezuela. And you've seen since the President and other officials have threatened more unilateral action in other nations, Colombia and Cuba and Mexico and Greenland. And on that, my colleague Lisa Desjardins asked House Speaker Mike Johnson today if military force in Greenland requires congressional approval. He said it depends on what that is. He went on to say 'Congress has a responsibility to declare war. I think there is no scenario where we'd be at war with Greenland.' What do you say to that?
LEADER JEFFRIES: The Republican majority has been nothing but compliant as it relates to Donald Trump's extreme agenda. And so I don't expect that we'd hear anything out of Republican leadership, but what we do know is that whether it's aggression that's militarily executed against Greenland or Panama or Colombia or Mexico or any other country in the Western hemisphere, it requires explicit congressional authorization. As it relates to the situation in Venezuela, let's be clear about something. This was not a law enforcement operation. We've heard all manner of different excuses as to why they've gone into Venezuela. First, we heard it was about narco trafficking. Then we heard it was about the fact that we needed to expel the Chinese, the Russians and the Iranians. Then we, you know, heard that, well, this is about oil. I mean, at the end of the day, what is clear is that it appears to be a power grab by the administration without any plan to prevent us as a country from getting involved in another endless foreign war that costs the lives of American men and women in uniform.
AMNA NAWAZ: Leader Jeffries, if you believe the military action was unconstitutional, as you seem to be indicating here, what can you do about it? I mean, the President has lamented earlier this week to other Republicans that he was worried Democrats would try to impeach him if they lose in the upcoming midterms. Would you try to do that?
LEADER JEFFRIES: Well, what we have to do is deal with the issue that's in front of us right now. And that's to make sure that no further military action can be taken without explicit congressional approval by introducing a war powers resolution that we believe has a chance to pass the United States House of Representatives if we can secure just a handful of Republicans to join our effort and reassert congressional authority on behalf of the American people to prevent the expenditure of billions if not trillions of dollars in another failed foreign war.
AMNA NAWAZ: Do you believe you have Republican support for that?
LEADER JEFFRIES: We certainly have the support of Congressman Thomas Massie from Kentucky. We had gotten the support in a previous effort to restrain the administration on the Venezuela issue from Congressman Don Bacon. And we're hopeful that we can secure the support of just a few more Republicans. And if, in fact, we do that, then the House can act. And we know that the Senate is planning to act on a war powers resolution tomorrow that has a chance of passing that chamber as well.
AMNA NAWAZ: Leader Jeffries, a lot more to talk about with healthcare subsidies, a funding deadline ahead. We hope you come back so we can cover those topics as well. That is House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries joining us tonight.
LEADER JEFFRIES: Thank you much. Look forward to it.
Interview can be watched here.