Today, Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries appeared on MSNBC’s Morning Joe where he emphasized that House Democrats will continue to push back against the partisan Republican continuing resolution and  are united in support of a short-term funding extension that keeps the government open and allows Congress to reach a bipartisan funding agreement. 

MIKA BRZEZINSKI: Let’s bring in House Minority Leader, Democratic Congressman Hakeem Jeffries of New York. It’s great to have you on the show. Let’s first talk about the threat of a government shutdown. Are Democrats looking at least worst options here? What do you make of it?

LEADER JEFFRIES: Well, good morning. Great to be with you. This is all about the American people. House Republicans and Donald Trump have passed a partisan spending bill that will hurt everyday Americans. That’s the problem. The bill that passed the House in a partisan way and was sent over to the Senate will hurt veterans, hurt families, hurt children and hurt seniors. It cuts healthcare. It cuts nutritional assistance for children. And it cuts veterans benefits, including as it relates to individuals who are suffering from exposure to toxic substances, burn pits and Agent Orange. That’s completely unacceptable. And so we’re standing on the side of the American people.

JONATHAN LEMIRE: Leader Jeffries, good morning. I wanted to get your reaction to something that some of your Democratic Senate colleagues are saying—that there’s fears here that if the government were to shut down, that it would actually empower President Trump to decide what is—who is essential or not. Basically, he could sort of keep the government or help influence keeping the government shut down, allowing he and Elon Musk to continue to make sort of cuts. Is that a fear you share?

LEADER JEFFRIES: The best path forward, as has been articulated by Leader Schumer, Democrats in the Senate and Democrats in the House, is to move a four-week spending bill that would freeze spending and allow for negotiations to continue in a bipartisan way so we can reach an agreement that actually meets the needs of the American people in terms of their health, their safety, their economic well-being and America’s national security. That’s the best path forward. That’s the responsible way forward. And it’s unfortunate that House Republicans irresponsibly are trying to jam a far-right, extreme bill down the throat to the American people. And then they got out of town. We should all be in Washington prepared to vote on a bipartisan agreement that allows negotiations to continue.

ALI VITALI: Leader Jeffries, it’s Ali Vitali. I wonder, though, Senator Blumenthal was just on with us talking about how while Republicans don’t have the votes for their continuing resolution, Democrats also in the Senate, right now, don’t have the votes for the continuing resolution that they want to pass. So where does that lead next? It feels like, if both sides hold their ground, a shutdown is basically inevitable at that point.

LEADER JEFFRIES: It’s not clear to me that the votes don’t exist for what essentially is a four-week extension of the existing funding agreement that would meet the needs of the American people and prevent a shutdown. But, you know, this is a situation here in America, where President Donald Trump and Republicans are actually crashing the economy in real time. They are driving us toward a recession. They have broken all of their promises as it relates to driving down the high cost of living. They are hurting everyday Americans. Costs aren’t going down, they’re going up. The stock market is going down. Consumer confidence is going down. Consumer spending is going down. The retirement security of the American people is going down. And so this economic catastrophe that Republicans are bringing about will just continue under a Trump shutdown.

Interview can be watched here. 

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