LEADER JEFFRIES: "WE ARE FIGHTING HARD TO MAKE LIFE BETTER FOR THE AMERICAN PEOPLE"
Today, Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries appeared on CNN's State of the Union where he laid out the Democratic agenda to lift up the American people and combat Donald Trump's scheme to try to steal the midterm elections.
DANA BASH: Here with me now is House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Congressman from New York. Thank you so much for being here, Mr. Leader. You met with your Governor of New York, Kathy Hochul, last month about possibly redrawing New York's maps. Is this something you can even do in New York? And if so, how many seats could you gain? And could you do it before the midterms?
LEADER JEFFRIES: Well, good morning. It's great to be with you. I've been in touch, of course, with Governor Kathy Hochul as well as the legislative leaders. House Democrats are going to respond from coast to coast and at all points in between, as has been done in California, forcefully, immediately and appropriately, to make sure that Donald Trump cannot steal the midterm elections.
DANA BASH: Okay, can you be more specific? Let's just talk about New York, where you obviously have a window into what's going on there. We know what California is doing. They're gonna try to get this on the ballot. What can you do in New York? Is it even feasible to redraw the maps before the midterms?
LEADER JEFFRIES: Texas acted in a way to try and rig the congressional maps so they could add a couple of different seats to the Republican column. Understand that Republicans right now have the narrowest majority—just a three-seat majority—of any party since the Great Depression. And they have no track record of accomplishment to be able to successfully run on, which is why they are running scared. California responded forcefully, thanks to the leadership of the Governor, the legislative leaders, the members of the California congressional delegation led by Zoe Lofgren and Pete Aguilar and we will continue to respond when necessary across the country. Right now, this has happened in Texas. California has responded. Let's see what comes next.
DANA BASH: So is there not a plan yet in New York? Is that what I'm hearing?
LEADER JEFFRIES: There's a plan to respond as appropriately in New York and in other parts of the country as the circumstances dictate.
DANA BASH: Well, speaking of circumstances, Republicans are already looking beyond Texas, and if you look at the map, they could, adding it all up, get about six to eight seats if, big if, they're successful in redrawing maps in other GOP-led states. Are you worried that that could be enough right there to prevent you from retaking the House?
LEADER JEFFRIES: Not at all. Listen, as Democrats, we're focused on making life better for the American people, driving down the high cost of living. Right now, America is too expensive. Housing costs are too high. Grocery costs are too high. Electricity bills are through the roof. All of this is happening on Donald Trump's watch. He promised to lower the high costs of living, in fact, to lower the high cost of living on day one. Costs aren't going down, they are going up. As Democrats, we are going to focus as well on fixing our broken healthcare system and cleaning up corruption. So we have an affirmative agenda that is compelling that we will continue to present to the American people. The Republicans have failed. That is why they are running scared.
DANA BASH: I want to move on to other issues, but first, I do just have to ask—you talk a lot about Texas, as do other Democrats. You supported a move in your state of New York where Democrats—you wanted to throw out congressional maps that were drawn by the state's Independent Redistricting Commission. You praised New York's state legislature for redrawing new ones. Is criticizing Texas hypocritical given what you pushed for in your own state?
LEADER JEFFRIES: Yeah, so let's go into the actual facts. The map was not drawn by the Independent Redistricting Commission. The map was drawn by a special master who was put into place by a random right-wing judge in Steuben County. That was problem number one. Now, the court then ordered a redraw so that the process could actually be completed consistent with the constitution of the state of New York and that is what occurred. Third, what's important is that in New York, the redrawn map that was actually adopted by the legislature was adopted on a bipartisan basis. Democrats and Republicans in the Assembly voted for the map because the redraw was fair. That's not what's happening in Texas. In Texas, this is a racial partisan gerrymander ordered by Donald Trump as part of an effort to rig the midterm elections, and we're not going to let it happen. And at the end of the day, we were 24 seats down during Donald Trump's first midterm election in 2018. We won 40 seats in 2018. There's no way that Republicans can mathematically gerrymander their way to an artificial victory next year.
DANA BASH: Speaking of math, I do want to ask about a New York Times investigation showing that Democrats are losing registered voters in all 30 states that track party registration. We're putting on the screen the data. It shows altogether Democrats have lost 2.1 million voters. Republicans have gained 2.4 million. That's a deficit that you have of 4.5 million voters. Why are voters turning away from your party? What is the problem?
LEADER JEFFRIES: Most of that activity, as I understand it, has occurred in Florida and Texas, and certainly it is the case that nationally we're going to have to invest more in these two red states. At the end of the day, it's also going to be important for us to continue to make clear to the American people what we stand for as Democrats. We believe in a strong floor and no ceiling. In this country, you work hard, you play by the rules, there should be no ceiling as to what success you can accomplish for yourself, for your family, for your children, for your grandchildren and your community. At the same period of time, we do as Democrats believe in a strong floor. That's a strong floor that is anchored in Social Security and Medicare and Medicaid, veterans benefits, nutritional assistance and the Affordable Care Act, the things that Republicans are actually trying to detonate. That's the difference between Republicans and Democrats and the more we can lean into what we stand for as a party, the better off we'll be moving forward.
DANA BASH: There is new reporting this morning that President Trump has a detailed plan. It's been in the works for weeks, apparently, to send National Guard troops into Chicago. What is your plan as the Democratic Leader in the House to fight that?
LEADER JEFFRIES: Well, I strongly support the statement that was issued by Governor Pritzker, making clear that one, there's no basis, no authority for Donald Trump to potentially try to drop federal troops into the city of Chicago. There's been no request from the state of Illinois, no request at all for federal assistance. I support the Chicago Police Department. I support the New York Police Department. These are men and women who have taken an oath to protect and serve these communities and they do a great job of that. And we should continue to support local law enforcement and not simply allow Donald Trump to play games with the lives of the American people as part of his effort to manufacture a crisis and create a distraction because he's deeply unpopular. The One Big Ugly Bill is deeply unpopular. Ripping healthcare away from millions of Americans is unpopular. Enacting tax breaks for their billionaire donors is deeply unpopular and that's why a lot of this is taking place, Dana.
DANA BASH: Do you think it's manufactured that Americans, even likely in the city of Chicago, are worried about crime?
LEADER JEFFRIES: Of course, people are going to be worried about public safety all across America. I represent a community that for decades has had to deal with the crack cocaine epidemic, the failed War on Drugs, gunshots going off at different points in time in communities. So, of course, all of us will continue to focus on making sure we can drive down crime whenever and wherever it is taking place. This is not about the American people. The American people understandably want safer communities. As Democrats, we want safer communities. We want to continue to make sure that crime can go down, as it's doing in Chicago, in New York, in Washington, D. C. and other places. And to do that, we should support local law enforcement. We should make sure that the flood of guns into these communities is cut off. We should make sure we're dealing with the mental health crisis that exists all across the United States of America, and by the way, which Donald Trump is exacerbating by cutting funds to actually help people who are dealing with emotional distress.
DANA BASH: I want to ask you about something that President Trump is doing here in Washington, which is—he's launched a review of the Smithsonian Museums because he says, quote, everything discussed is how horrible our country is, how bad slavery was. You're the highest-ranking African American in the U.S. government. What do you think?
LEADER JEFFRIES: There is no good aspect of slavery. And so, Donald Trump is once again behaving like a racial arsonist, and it's extraordinary that he would make such a historically ignorant statement. The Smithsonian should continue to hold the line and make sure that this very painful part of American history is not erased, but is understood by everyone across this country and throughout the world.
DANA BASH: Is there anything that you can do from your perch in Congress to protect the way that you describe the Smithsonian and how they describe history?
LEADER JEFFRIES: Donald Trump does not have control of the Smithsonian as an institution. Actually, the chair of the Smithsonian board, as I understand it, is Chief Justice John Roberts. And so, we're going to continue to support the Smithsonian. And we're going to continue to make sure we fight back against any effort to erase our history and as Democrats, continue to make sure that at this moment in time, we are fighting hard to make life better for the American people in this country. Work hard, play by the rules, live the good life. Good-paying job, good housing, good healthcare, good education for your children and a good retirement.
DANA BASH: You have yet to endorse Zohran Mamdani, who, of course, your party elected about two months ago to be the Democratic candidate for mayor of New York City. As a New Yorker, what does he need to do to secure your endorsement?
LEADER JEFFRIES: Well, we had a very candid and constructive and community-centered conversation a few weeks ago before he went off to Africa. I've, of course, been on the road for the last several weeks, dealing in part with the Republican effort to try to rig the midterm elections through their gerrymandering scheme. But Congresswoman Yvette Clarke, the chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, and myself are scheduled to sit down with him in the next few days. I look forward to that conversation.
DANA BASH: What do you want to hear from him? What's missing? I mean, it's pretty, just for context, it's pretty unusual for a high-ranking Democrat like yourself to withhold the endorsement of your party's nominee for a candidate for New York City Mayor. So what are you hoping to hear from him that you haven't yet?
LEADER JEFFRIES: I don't think we've withheld an endorsement. We are engaging in a conversation about the future of New York City, about the issues that need to be addressed, particularly the housing crisis and the Assemblyman has actually spoken pretty forcefully and strongly about the need to deal with affordability in the city of New York. Of course, we've got to figure out moving forward how we turn proposals into actual plans so that he is successful if he becomes the next Mayor, because we need the city to be successful and certainly the communities that I represent, which have been subjected to gentrification and housing displacement. These are all issues to be worked through and we'll continue to work through them. As I mentioned, we're sitting down next week.
DANA BASH: Does it have anything to do with the fact that he hasn't denounced using the term or endorsed—supporting the term globalize the intifada?
LEADER JEFFRIES: Well, listen, I've raised several of the issues with him privately, as well as publicly spoken about some of the concerns that I've had. But at this particular moment, we're going to keep those conversations moving forward. They will continue to be candid and constructive. And I'm looking forward to sitting down with him in the next few days, along with Chairwoman Yvette Clarke, who represents the neighboring congressional district to mine right here in the heart of central Brooklyn.
DANA BASH: One last final quick question, because we are out of time. The government is going to run out of money on September 30, in about a month. The President has not yet met with you or the Democratic Leader in the Senate. Any plans that you know of?
LEADER JEFFRIES: Well, it's my expectation that at some point upon our return to Washington, we will have a conversation with President Trump and perhaps Republican leadership about making sure we avoid a painful government shutdown. But we have to fund the government in a way that meets the needs of the health, the safety, the economic well-being and the national security of the American people. As Democrats in the House, we are not going to accept a partisan spending bill that continues to harm and hurt everyday Americans and rewards their billionaire donors. They did that with respect to the One Big Ugly Bill that's now law. Not a single Democrat in the House and the Senate supported it. And so, if they want to move forward in a bipartisan way, then we actually have to solve problems for hardworking American taxpayers, not create a country of the billionaires, by the billionaires and for the billionaires.
DANA BASH: Okay, Hakeem Jeffries, Democratic Leader of the U.S. House of Representatives. Thanks so much for being here. I appreciate it.
LEADER JEFFRIES: Thank you.
Full interview can be watched here.