Speaker 1 (00:06):
Good afternoon, everyone.
Press (00:07):
Good afternoon.
Speaker 1 (00:09):
The clock is ticking on the expiration of the Affordable Care Act tax credits. In just 30 days, tens of millions of Americans are about to experience dramatically-increased healthcare costs because of the Republican refusal to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits. From the very beginning of this presidency, Republican control of the House and the Senate, as well as the administration, has been a disaster for the American people. These extremists promised all last year that costs were going to go down on day one. Costs haven't gone down in America, costs have gone up.
(00:54)
The Trump tariffs are increasing expenses on everyday Americans by thousands of dollars per year. Housing costs are out of control. Grocery costs are out of control. Childcare costs are out of control. Electricity bills are through the roof. And now, Republicans refuse to do a thing to prevent healthcare costs from dramatically increasing in a way that will deprive tens of millions of Americans of the ability to go see a doctor when they need one.
(01:36)
Republicans have done nothing over the last several months to address the healthcare crisis that they have created and they continue to refuse to take yes for an answer. Democrats have an active discharge petition and all we need are a handful of House Republicans to join us, and we can trigger an up-or-down vote on a three-year extension of the Affordable Care Act tax credits to save the healthcare of the American people in every single state in this country and protect the healthcare of people who these so-called Republican members allegedly represent, but who have failed to do a single thing to make their life better.
(02:33)
Questions?
Speaker 2 (02:35):
Leader Jeffries, your Senate Democrat colleagues, they've previously expressed openness to reforming the credits, working through differences. Why propose a three-year clean extension?
Speaker 1 (02:47):
Time has run out on Republican inaction. They have done nothing over the last 60 days, but stumble, fumble and bumble, as it relates to addressing the healthcare crisis that they've created. Understand that this year, House Republicans enacted the largest cut to Medicaid in American history. These extremists have thrown 14 million people off of Medicaid. At the same period of time, hospitals, nursing homes, and community-based health centers are closing all throughout the country, including in rural America, because of what Republicans have done in their One Big Ugly Bill.
(03:34)
They've launched an unprecedented assault on the Centers for Disease Control and the National Institute of Health, jeopardizing the wellbeing of the American people. Vaccines are increasingly unavailable in the United States of America. Children are getting sick unnecessarily all across the country. And now, on top of all of that, that parade of horribles, Republicans refuse to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits, which are going to expire this month.
(04:12)
Time has run out on Republicans playing partisan games. We have a discharge petition that if it receives an up or down vote in the House of Representatives, we are confident will pass. But obviously, Mike Johnson has zero interest in protecting the healthcare of the American people. Instead, these extremists are gutting the healthcare of the people that they represent, including in the state of Louisiana.
Speaker 3 (04:48):
Senate Democrats next week will be able to put up a vote for the ACA subsidies. Do you think there's any plan that Republicans would actually get on board with to have a bipartisan bill? And if not, what should Democrats put up on the board of the Senate?
Speaker 1 (05:03):
There are Republicans in the House and the Senate who, during the Trump Republican shutdown, consistently said that once the shutdown ends, that they caused, that they'd be willing to address the healthcare crisis that they've created, most immediately by extending the Affordable Care Act tax credits. Now, we hear nothing but crickets from them. It even appears that the Trump administration was ready to put forth a plan that would at least have been worthy of consideration and that Mike Johnson tanked it.
(05:46)
So, now Mike Johnson wants to act like he's the speaker of the House? Really? When it comes to the healthcare of the American people and possibly doing something bipartisan, he wants to act like he's in control when the reality is he's done nothing, but bend the knee to Donald Trump since January 20th. I mean, House Republicans have been nothing but a rubber stamp for Donald Trump's extreme agenda since January 20th. And when it appears that Donald Trump actually might be willing to enter into a good-faith bipartisan negotiation to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits, House Republicans detonate the agreement.
(06:29)
These people aren't serious about anything other than providing massive tax breaks to their billionaire donors. That's not a hypothetical statement, that's not hype, that's not hyperbole, it happened. They enacted the largest cut to Medicaid in American history. They ripped food out of the mouths of hungry children and seniors and veterans, this year, in their One Big Ugly Bill. $186 billion cut to SNAP. And why did they do all of that? So, they could reward their billionaire donors with massive tax breaks.
(07:09)
And so, the extremists are just showing the American people who they are. And as a result, the only viable path forward it appears in the House and in the Senate is a straight extension of the Affordable Care Act tax credits. Let's see what Senate Democrats put on the floor next week and we'll continue to press our case on our side of the Capitol.
Speaker 4 (07:42):
Thank you, Leader Jeffries. Thanks. I just wanted to ask if there's been any formal or informal back-channeling with Republicans who might be supportive of the discharge petition going on at all?
Speaker 1 (07:53):
Well, you had 13 Republicans a few weeks ago indicate in a letter that they wrote to Deputy Speaker Mike Johnson that as soon as their shutdown was over, they wanted to address the Affordable Care Act tax credits, but now it's nothing but silence from these people because they're not serious about helping the American people, the hardworking American taxpayers that they purport to represent. This has become painfully obvious to the American people, which is why Republicans are getting wiped out electorally all across the country, as we saw last month. Literally in every single state in the Union, destroyed up and down the ballot across the country, statewide races to local races and everything in between.
(08:49)
These American people are done with these people. They've been a disaster. They lied about fighting to lower the high cost of living. Instead, they've just jammed their extreme right-wing policies down the throats of the American people, who are being hurt as a result. And our view about the situation, as we've repeatedly said, is that we're open to finding a bipartisan path forward, but the extremists continue to refuse to take yes for an answer.
(09:21)
They had an opportunity to accept a very reasonable proposal that Leader Schumer put on the table a few weeks ago, which was a straight one-year extension of the Affordable Care Act tax credits, and then a bipartisan commission to discuss improvements to the healthcare of the American people over a multi-year period of time. What was objectionable about that? But Republican extremists rejected it because they have no interest in doing anything to make life better for working-class Americans, everyday Americans, and hardworking American taxpayers, and that's a shame.
Speaker 5 (10:07):
Thank you, Ms. Leader. On the discharge petition, is it your expectation that all House Democrats will sign as of today? I believe 212 or 213 have signed. Is it your expectation that all members of your caucus will sign it? And following up on the question about back-channel conversations, is it your position that the fact that the subsidies expire in 30 days, the urgency that you say the moment requires, is that enough for Republicans to sign on or will it require some proactive conversations on the part of House of Democrats to get them to break ranks with leadership and sign on to this effort?
Speaker 1 (10:48):
Well, there certainly haven't been any leadership conversations because Mike Johnson has zero interest in protecting the healthcare of the American people, and he's repeatedly made that clear. Now, in terms of whether there are conversations member to member between the House Democratic Caucus and members of the House Republican Conference, there certainly have been some informal conversations led by folks like Tom Swazi, who has floated a two-year proposal with some modest reforms that we'd have to take a look at, but there's no indication that even that proposal has support from House Republican leadership.
(11:31)
These people have zero interest in making life better for everyday Americans, and they repeatedly make that clear. They're in the face of the American people about it. Meanwhile, you got Donald Trump issuing reckless pardons, destroying half of the White House, bailing out Argentina, posting erratically on Thanksgiving. This guy can't even give us a break on Thanksgiving when we're with our families.
(12:05)
And the American people have had enough of it. These people have gone way too far. They've broken every single promise that they've had. And so, I guess we can always hope that there are a handful of Republicans who will actually do what they said that they would do once their shutdown ended, which is to work with Democrats to find a path forward. But that path right now is an extension of the Affordable Care Act tax credits. I think our discharge petition in record time is now up to about 212, 213. It is my expectation that we will have complete and total unity amongst House Democrats.
Speaker 5 (12:47):
Thanks, Mr. Leader.
Speaker 1 (12:47):
Thanks.
Speaker 6 (12:49):
Thanks, Mr. Leader. You just mentioned how Republicans are getting wiped out across the country. We've seen that in past elections. What's your expectation tomorrow in Tennessee? Do you think that the Democrat there could potentially pull it off, given the polling that we have seen in recent weeks?
Speaker 1 (13:04):
Seems to me that it's going to be an unexpectedly-close election, a single-digit election… That's shocking. In deep red Tennessee? Mark Green's district? By the way, this is a district literally that Donald Trump just won by 22 points last November. This is not a district that anyone believes should be competitive. No rational person believes this district should be competitive, and yet, it's apparently very competitive. It's going to be a much closer than expected race. Republicans have already lost. The fact that they are spending millions of dollars to hold a seat that Donald Trump just won by 22 points is extraordinary and more evidence that Republican extremists are completely and totally on the run because they have failed the American people.
(14:12)
And as Democrats who are making the case all over the country, that we are actually the ones fighting to lower the high cost of living, fighting to fix our broken healthcare system, and fighting to clean up the type of corruption that has the American people disgusted. What I don't understand is that Republicans keep doubling and tripling down on their extremism and it ain't working. They are losing all over the place. Donald Trump's approval rating, in the most recent Gallup poll, is 36%. 60% of the American people disapprove of this guy. He's a disaster and now the president and Mike Johnson are holding a rally tonight in Mark Green's district that Trump just won by 22 points because they're scared to death about what could happen.
(15:14)
If these people, these extremists were actually rational, instead of doubling and tripling down on their extremism, continuing to lie to the American people, why don't they just change direction and actually partner with Democrats to solve problems on behalf of the American people? When the Congress convened at the start of the year, we made very clear, we'll work with anyone, anytime, any place, new administration, other side of the aisle to make life better for the American people, but Republicans have refused. They've gone down this my way or the highway approach. And basically, we're not down with that because we're not going to go along to get along when their policies are hurting the American people.
(16:12)
Yes?
Speaker 7 (16:13):
Leader, I wanted to talk to you a little bit about Trump's immigration plan to ban third-world citizens. I mean, a lot of them are trying to come here to be able to make a better life and have your thoughts on that, sir?
Speaker 1 (16:26):
Yeah, our view is that one, of course, we support the notion of having strong border security, no one ever disputes that. We have a broken immigration system, we need to fix it, but it should be fixed in a comprehensive and bipartisan way. But at the same period of time, we are going to stand up for law-abiding immigrant families and communities who have been under assault by Donald Trump and the so called secretary of Homeland Security, they're a disgrace. We're going to stand up for Dreamers. We're going to stand up for farm workers and for farmers who have been crushed by Donald Trump's extreme policies.
(17:14)
And in this country, it shouldn't be that complicated. That we are both a nation anchored in the rule of law and a nation of immigrants, a gorgeous mosaic of people from all across the world. It's why we're the envy of the world, because that is one of the ingredients in American exceptionalism. And the American people actually don't want us to lose it, which is why even Donald Trump's immigration policies right now are deeply unpopular and underwater.
Speaker 8 (17:47):
The White House is denying that Secretary Hegseth had anything to do with the double-tap strikes on alleged Venezuelan drug boats in the Caribbean. A, do you believe that? And B, if he or any other administration officials are found to have been culpable for any war crimes, do you think that Democrats will take any sort of punitive legislative action against them?
Speaker 1 (18:07):
The White House is lying, but that's no surprise because they lie for a living and the American people know it. It's my understanding that Pete Hegseth, the so called secretary of defense, was absolutely involved. I think he may have even recently acknowledged that because the facts are incapable of being disputed. And so, the question in front of us, and I believe there will be bipartisan investigations in both the House and in the Senate, in order to determine whether war crimes were committed and either US law or international law or both were violated. It's already been crystal clear that Pete Hegseth is the most unqualified secretary of defense in American history. I called for him to be terminated months ago when the Signal-gate scandal first broke out.
(19:13)
Everybody on Capitol Hill knows he should have never been confirmed. It's a shame. It's because these Senate Republicans, just like House Republicans, are nothing more than puppets for Donald Trump's extreme policies. That's why they put Pete Hegseth into that position when they knew he was woefully unqualified. And now, we have real evidence that extra judicial killings are taking place. That's a stain on America's leadership in the free world, which is why our international standing is plummeting. And of course, the standing of the Republican Party is a complete and total disaster here in the United States of America.
Speaker 9 (19:59):
Thank you, Leader Jeffries. Following up on immigration, one of the more controversial policies President Trump announced in recent days is his intent to potentially strip citizenship away from anybody he feels isn't of a benefit to the United States. I'm just curious, what's your reaction to that?
Speaker 1 (20:14):
That was an unhinged statement by Donald Trump. He knows he doesn't have the capacity to strip citizenship away. He's behaving like a wannabe king and the American people are rejecting that. Next.
Speaker 10 (20:26):
I think it was your last press conference you made mention of the need to clean up the ethics of Washington. Do you support the Chip Roy bipartisan bill? And do you have any evidence that a bill like that could actually make it this time after years of failure?
Speaker 1 (20:42):
Yeah, it's not clear to me that the legislation introduced by Chip Roy is actually going to make it out of the Republican-run committee, yet alone on the House floor because Mike Johnson and Steve Scalise and Republicans oppose the legislation. These people have zero interest in cleaning up the corruption that is benefiting members of their party in real time. We know that's the case because Donald Trump and his administration is the most corrupt administration in American history. It's not even close. Richard Nixon is way down in the distance. It's wild, the corruption that we're seeing in real time.And we don't hear a peep from Mike Johnson, Steve Scalise, or any of them about the corruption that's taken place in the administration, in the Supreme Court, or in the Congress.
(21:43)
House Democrats have made clear we overwhelmingly support a ban on congressional stock trading. And as soon as we can bring a bipartisan bill to the floor, and that may have to wait until we take the gavel's back after November of 2026, we plan to do it.
(22:06)
Thanks. Kevin.
Speaker 11 (22:09):
When it comes to the Hegseth acts in the Caribbean, you talked about the bipartisan approach here. Are you confident the Republican elect committees though are going to actually do a dutiful and complete review of this? And to what extent, given the nature and the control of the House right now, would impeachment even be enough?
Speaker 1 (22:30):
Well, Republicans will never allow articles of impeachment to be brought to the floor of the House of Representatives, and we know that's the case because Donald Trump will order them not to do it. So, what's on the table is a meaningful investigation, which we can hope would be bipartisan. I have full and complete trust in Adam Smith, the once and future chairman of the House Armed Services Committee. I can't speak to whether I've got any confidence as to what Republicans will do on the other side of the aisle.
(23:04)
The one thing that should be clear, to all of these Republican extremists and sycophants and the people who are either actively involved in corruption, violating the law, engaged in extrajudicial activity, is that the statute of limitations for any crimes being committed now five years. It will extend well beyond the end of the Trump administration. Thank you, all.
Speaker 11 (23:29):
Thank you, Leader Jeffries.
Speaker 13 (23:30):
All right. [inaudible 00:23:41].