Hakeem Jeffries (00:03):
Good afternoon, everyone.
Audience (00:04):
Good afternoon.
Hakeem Jeffries (00:06):
Notwithstanding what Donald Trump continues to say, the affordability crisis in America is very real. It is a clear and present danger to the economic wellbeing of working class Americans, middle class Americans, and everyday Americans. Donald Trump and Republicans have failed the country when it comes to the economy. Republicans promised that they were going to lower the high cost of living on day one of Donald Trump's presidency, but costs haven't gone down in the United States of America. Costs have gone up under failed Republican policies. Housing costs are out of control. Grocery costs are out of control. Healthcare costs are out of control. Utility bills are out of control and childcare costs are out of control. The affordability crisis in the United States of America is very real. Republicans have failed to lower the high cost of living. And as a result of the Trump tariffs, costs are going up by thousands of dollars per year on everyday Americans.
(01:28)
Democrats remain committed to driving down the high cost of living, to fixing our broken healthcare system, and to ensuring that we have immigration enforcement policies in this country that are fair, just, and humane. Republicans have failed America on affordability, on healthcare, on immigration enforcement, and they have failed to make life better for the American people. Questions?
Speaker 3 (02:06):
Thank you. It's looking increasingly likely like that there might need to be some sort of short-term stop gap for DHS with the deadline approaching at the end of the week and no agreement in place yet. I'm just curious if there's any chance you would vote for or allow your members to vote for a short-term CR to do a clean extension of DHS just to give more time for negotiations to take place.
Hakeem Jeffries (02:24):
ICE is out of control right now. The American people know it and ICE clearly needs to be reigned in. Taxpayer dollars should be used to make life more affordable for everyday Americans, not brutalize and kill American citizens. Our position has been clear. Dramatic changes are needed at the Department of Homeland Security before a DHS funding bill moves forward. Period. Full stop.
Speaker 4 (03:00):
Thank you, Mr. Leader. As these negotiations are happening, the Homeland Security Committee will hold an oversight hearing tomorrow where they'll hear from the heads of ICE, CBP, and USCIS. What do you think the heads of these agencies need to say to the American people to, I guess, communicate that they understand the gravity of your demands, the gravity of the moment? You all say that ICE needs to be reigned in. You have very, very obvious concerns about what's happening in terms of the President's immigration policies. What do you need to hear from some of his administration officials tomorrow at this hearing to let you know that your message is getting through, at least for the administration?
Hakeem Jeffries (03:35):
Donald Trump administration promised that their immigration enforcement policies were going to target violent felons. They lied to the American people. The Trump administration is not targeting violent felons. They're targeting American citizens, communities throughout this country and law-abiding immigrant families. The American people know that ICE is completely and totally out of control. They've gone too far and need to be reigned in. At the hearing this week, Trump administration officials should apologize to the American people for using their taxpayer dollars to unleash wicked brutality on the American people and in some cases, kill them in cold blood like Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti.
(04:34)
The administration also needs to commit to the dramatic changes that Democrats have forcefully put on the table, including but not limited to mandatory body cameras, judicial warrant requirements, no masks, an end to roving patrols that are brutalizing American communities, no racial profiling, no targeting of sensitive locations like schools, hospitals, houses of worship, and polling sites, and independent investigations to ensure that when ICE officials break the law, state and local officials can investigate them and prosecute anyone who has committed a crime in the United States of America. House and Senate Democrats have clearly transmitted to the American people and clearly transmitted to the White House and our colleagues in the House and the Senate the types of dramatic changes that need to occur at the Department of Homeland Security before a funding bill moves forward this Friday, and we're still waiting to hear back from the White House, which shows to me that these extremists aren't serious about getting ICE under control.
Speaker 5 (06:10):
Thanks, Mr. Leader. So now that the Epstein files are available at the Department of Justice unredacted, is there a strategy? Obviously there are millions of files. Is there any coordination among Democrats for who is looking for what and are you or is anyone in leadership going to be taking advantage of that opportunity?
Hakeem Jeffries (06:29):
Well, on this matter where the American people in general and the survivors in particular are seeking full accountability and full transparency, Robert Garcia and the oversight Democrats, along with Jamie Raskin and the Judiciary Committee Democrats, will continue to take the lead. The lead will also continue to be taken by the Democratic Women's Caucus led by Teresa Leger Fernández, who has worked closely with the Epstein survivors throughout this Congress and will continue to do so. Thanks. Back?
Speaker 6 (07:11):
Thanks, Leader Jeffries. The House voted unanimously to strip out that provision the Senate put into the appropriations package that would allow senators to sue the government over Jack Smith's investigation and get money back. There's now a hearing with the telecom companies tomorrow in the Senate, and Lindsey Graham has said he's trying to get some version of this through the Senate in the future that would allow for a private cause of action by private groups who had their phone records similarly pulled. Is something like that entirely dead in the House of Representatives? Would you consider any sort of legislation like that that might come out?
Hakeem Jeffries (07:50):
We'll have to take a look at any bipartisan proposal that relates to allowing everyday Americans to vindicate their rights under the law, if in fact those privacy rights have been violated, but the continuing temper tantrum being thrown by Lindsey Graham perplexes me. I don't get it. There's enough corruption taking place coming out of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue right now, the most corrupt administration in American history, Donald Trump and his sycophants running the largest pay to play scheme ever seen, focused on enriching themselves, their family members and their friends, as opposed to actually addressing the affordability crisis or driving down the high cost of living. Republicans in the House and the Senate have shown no interest in dealing with the affordability crisis and no interest in fixing our broken healthcare system.
(08:58)
I would suggest that John Thune and others actually pass the straightforward extension of the Affordable Care Act tax credits. Focus on that so we can actually restore affordable healthcare for tens of millions of Americans who are right now facing dramatically increased healthcare premiums. In some cases, seeing their premiums increase by 1,000 or $2,000 per month. That's unacceptable here in the wealthiest country in the history of the world and Senate Republicans have done nothing about it, after House Democrats partnering with 17 House Republicans sent over a month ago, a straightforward extension of the Affordable Care Act tax credits.
Speaker 7 (09:45):
Rosa DeLauro said she would support a funding bill that essentially funds every portion of DHS except for ICE and CBP. A, is that something you would support? And B, if it is, would that not be basically giving up all the rest of the leverage given that the Big Beautiful Bill funded those two agencies for four years?
Hakeem Jeffries (10:06):
We don't look at the moment that we're in as exercising leverage over the other side. We want to fund the government in a manner that actually promotes the health, the safety, and the economic wellbeing of the American people. The ball is in the Republicans' court right now. We sent over a proposal. We've given them legislative language as it relates to the types of dramatic reforms of DHS that the American people are demanding, and we've heard nothing but crickets from the other side. That says to me that Republicans are preparing to shut down the Coast Guard, shut down FEMA, and shut down TSA because they'd rather see that outcome than actually force ICE and other parts of DHS to conduct themselves like every other law enforcement agency in the country.
(11:04)
That's what we're asking for at this point. Police officers don't wear masks. County sheriffs don't wear masks. State troopers don't wear masks. Why are Republicans committed to unleashing masked ICE or CBP agents on the streets of America to visit brutality on American citizens while at the same time targeting law-abiding immigrant families? It's also completely and totally unhinged, unacceptable and un-American. So this is on Republicans right now in terms of what happens on Friday. The clock is ticking. We'll sit down with anyone, anytime, any place, but our demands for dramatic ICE reform are clear. It's a line in the sand that we've drawn on behalf of the American people. Thanks.
Speaker 8 (12:10):
Thank you, Mr. Leader. Kind of following up on that, you're saying that you haven't heard from Republicans and you also haven't heard from the White House. How confident are you that if there is a shutdown of DHS, you'll be able to reach a deal during that?
Hakeem Jeffries (12:28):
We've made clear to Republicans repeatedly throughout this Congress that we're not down with the my way or the highway approach. For some reason, these Republicans tried to convince all of us, the American people, that we were in the midst of some irreversible MAGA revolution, which none of us on the Democratic side of the House ever believed because the bottom line is Republicans wouldn't even be in the majority in the House right now had they not stolen three seats from the people of North Carolina in mid-decade gerrymandering that occurred in 2024. They wouldn't even be in the majority right now, and yet they tried to convince everybody that somehow the country was in the midst of a MAGA takeover, which nobody with any sense believes at this point, because Republicans continue to be destroyed electorally.
(13:34)
Literally, Democrats since January of 2025 haven't lost a single competitive election. Every single State House seat, more than 25, that have been flipped in this country have been flipped by Democrats. Zip, zero on the other side. In fact, most recently, everybody was stunned to see what happened in Texas. The district that Donald Trump had initially won in a State Senate seat by 17 points, and the Democrat wins by 14. That was a 31 point over performance. Shocking to the country. But then I was amazed because I assumed that that was the high watermark, a 31 point over performance in a state Senate district in Texas that's larger than congressional districts until this weekend in Louisiana, which just happens to be the home state of the Speaker of the house and the majority leader, presumably ground zero of the MAGA movement. And yet in a Louisiana State House seat, just on Saturday, that Donald Trump apparently won by 13 points in November of 2024.
(15:22)
The Democratic candidate, wait for it, just won by 24 points in Louisiana, the heart of Mike Johnson and Steve Scalise territory. That was a 37 point over performance if my math is correct. This is stunning. It's over for these extremists. And so the notion that in the face of Republicans being rejected all across America and Democratic candidates up and down the ballot throughout the country being embraced, the notion that this week, Republicans were going to proceed with a my way or the highway approach and act like they have the high ground on any issue, they do not. It's over for these people. Apparently they're the only ones who haven't come to that conclusion.
Speaker 9 (16:31):
I think that's a good segue to talk about the SAVE America Act. First of all, why are they doing this again? They already passed a version of it. What do you think they're doing with this and how do you see it relating to Trump's talk about nationalizing elections?
Hakeem Jeffries (16:47):
Well, Donald Trump clearly wants to nationalize the election because he knows if there's a free and fair election, it's over. The House is gone. Senate majority likely gone as well for these Republican extremists because the American people see as Democrats, we're the only ones actually fighting hard on the issues that matter to drive down the high cost of living, to fix our broken healthcare system and to clean up corruption and the mess that Donald Trump and Republican policies have created. Republicans have adopted voter suppression as an electoral strategy. That's what the so called SAVE Act is all about. And this version is worse than the last version because this version, as I understand it, would actually give DHS the power to get voting records from states across the country. Why would these extremists think that's a good idea that we as Democrats are going to accept at this moment in time, we want DHS and ICE who have been brutally, viciously, and violently targeting everyday Americans to have more data about the American people.
(18:13)
It's outrageous. Something is really wrong with these folks. I think they're trying to lose elections at this point. They're a disaster. They failed. And so the only path forward, we've given a list of 10 demands. Those demands are completely consistent with the values of the American people and we're waiting for a direct response from Donald Trump, the White House, and Republicans on Capitol Hill. And then we can have a debate, which we are ready to enthusiastically embrace on behalf of the American people. The so called SAVE Act, a version that's worse than the prior version is going down. It's not going to pass. If it squeaks by the house, it's dead on a rival in the Senate. They're wasting time. Again, why are Republicans trying to do everything but make life better for the American people? They're focused on nationalizing the election. In the 250th anniversary of this great country, are they unaware of the principle of federalism in America? Traditional Republicans used to embrace federalism, but now that they're part of a cult, they do whatever the cult leader tells them to do.
Speaker 10 (19:37):
What was your reaction to the results in the New Jersey special primary? I know it's not yet been called, but it seems like progressive candidate Analilia Mejia is going to win that one.
Hakeem Jeffries (19:46):
It's not yet been called yet, so we're closely monitoring the election results, and then whoever emerges will be prepared to stand by them in the April general election to ensure that a Democrat fills the seat left vacant by Governor Mikie Sherrill.
Speaker 11 (20:10):
Obviously, Democrats are frustrated with how the administration is responding on the Epstein front, but there's also, as you've already hinted that, the DHS fight, the question about affordability and so forth. How do you see Epstein as fitting into a message when it comes to the fall and how much should we expect it to be part of the message in the fall?
Hakeem Jeffries (20:31):
Well, we've talked about three core issues. First, of course, leaning in on the economy. Democrats being committed to drive down the high cost of living. America is too expensive right now. Donald Trump has made the affordability crisis worse here in the country and then continues to say it's a hoax or that we're not talking about it anymore. The problem is Donald Trump spends all the time watching state TV as opposed to actually interacting with everyday Americans who know that the affordability crisis is very real.
(21:10)
So we're focused on the economy. We're going to continue to focus on fixing our broken healthcare system in an environment where Republicans enacted their One Big Ugly Bill and the largest cut to Medicaid in American history, literally ripping food, as well from the mouths of hungry children, seniors and veterans, taking healthcare away from more than 14 million people, hospitals, nursing homes, and community-based health clinics closing across America because of Republican policies in that One Big Ugly Bill. And now they continue to refuse to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits, meaning that tens of millions of Americans are increasingly unable to go see a doctor when they need one. And all of this, of course, was done in that One Big Ugly Bill to enact dramatic tax breaks, big tax breaks for their billionaire donors, while at the same time giving ICE a $75 billion slush fund so they can unleash brutality on the American people.
(22:15)
So we're going to continue to point out the fact that Republicans have created a healthcare crisis, and in part they created that healthcare crisis so that they could give ICE a slush fund, not to go after violent felons, but to target American citizens, in some cases, kill them and also to violently go after law-abiding immigrant families. All unacceptable. It created a healthcare crisis. Democrats are committed to fixing our broken healthcare system. Third, we need to clean up corruption here in the United States of America in the House, in the Senate, at the Supreme Court, and certainly with the Trump administration.
(23:04)
And in that context, the American people are correctly demanding transparency and accountability as it relates to the Epstein files. What is the administration hiding? Who are they trying to protect? These are questions that, of course, led by Robert Garcia, Jamie Raskin, and Teresa Leger Fernández, House Democrats are going to continue to press forward on consistent with what the American people are demanding. Thanks.
Speaker 12 (23:38):
Thank you, Mr. Leader. You said that the SAVE Act is not going to pass the House, but a vast majority of Americans, including 70% of Democrats, do support having voter ID requirements. So are Democrats on the wrong side of an issue with so much support? What's the path forward for Democrats here?
Hakeem Jeffries (23:55):
Republicans are clearly on the wrong side of every single issue, which is why they are getting crushed electorally. This is a desperate effort by Republicans to distract. The so called SAVE Act is not about voter identification. It is about voter suppression, and they have zero credibility on this issue, Republicans in the same way that they have zero credibility on every other issue, which is why they continue to be routed electorally, including in districts and states that Donald Trump won comfortably in November of 2024.
Speaker 13 (24:33):
In the last shutdown, the 43-day shutdown was over the ACA extensions, and the shutdown ended without getting those extensions. What's your belief as to how this next shutdown could end? Do you have guarantees for the American people that these demands will happen? The last ones didn't happen.
Hakeem Jeffries (24:51):
Yes. And the last ones did actually happen in the House of Representative. So no one was talking about healthcare generally and the Affordable Care Act specifically in September of 2025 until House Democrats joined by Senate Democrats started to talk about it in the context of the looming crisis because of the pending expiration of the Affordable Care Act tax credit. Everybody understands that Democrats were successful in articulating a narrative during the Trump Republican 43-day government shutdown, that in part resulted in 17 House Republicans joining every single House Democrat in passing a straightforward extension on our terms, three years of the Affordable Care Act, tax credits. Democrats are governing in the minority as if we were in the majority. We've had more successful discharge petitions led by Democrats in this Congress over the last few months than have occurred in the last few decades combined. So the one thing we can guarantee to the American people is that we're in this fight on their behalf until we win this fight and begin the process of ending the national nightmare that Donald Trump and Republican policies are inflicting on the American people. Thank you.