Today, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries appeared on CNN Newsroom, where he emphasized that Democrats are committed to protecting the healthcare and nutritional assistance of the American people as Donald Trump and Republicans refuse to negotiate an end to the government shutdown and the healthcare and cost of living crisis that they created. 

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD: Let’s discuss more now with House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries. Leader Jeffries, great to see you. So Republicans say it’s on Democrats to get the U.S. government back open. So what will it take to get things moving again?

LEADER JEFFRIES: Well, Republicans control the House, the Senate and the presidency, and from the very beginning of this year, they have adopted a my-way-or-the-highway approach and continue to try and jam their right-wing ideology down the throats of the American people, including when they passed the One Big Ugly Bill, which had in it a $186 billion cut to nutritional assistance, the largest SNAP cut in American history, and they did that so they could reward their billionaire donors. Our view as Democrats is that we want to sit down with anyone, anytime, anyplace, either at the Capitol or back at the White House, to reopen the government, to enact a bipartisan spending agreement that actually meets the needs of the American people, while at the same time decisively addressing the Republican healthcare crisis that is crushing the American people.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD: When’s the last time you or anyone has reached out to Speaker Johnson or other Republicans to say ‘let’s sit down at the table, let’s talk, whether it be on Capitol Hill or at the White House?’

LEADER JEFFRIES: Well, earlier in the week, Leader Schumer and I reached out directly to the White House, requesting a meeting with Donald Trump before he went back out of the country as we approached now day 26 of the Trump-Republican shutdown. Of course, Donald Trump indicated he had no interest in sitting down with Democrats. And that, in fact, has been the case for the last 26 days while the government has been shut down, while services are not being provided to our taxpayers and while hardworking federal employees are being furloughed or forced to work without pay. Donald Trump has had zero interest in spending any time to try to get a resolution. They made the decision to shut down the government, and now they are continuing to inflict pain on the American people.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD: Is there another way that lawmakers on Capitol Hill, both sides, all sides, can talk without the President’s involvement? After all, citizens do expect that there should be negotiations, discussions, when talking about legislation, bills, remedies, any or all of these things, especially with the U.S. government not in operation at stake.

LEADER JEFFRIES: Yeah, part of the problem is that House Republicans have canceled votes now for five consecutive weeks. They literally have been on vacation receiving a paycheck while forcing others to work without pay. A starting point would be Speaker Johnson actually bringing House Republicans back to Congress so we can actually function as a body and work toward enacting a bipartisan resolution and a spending bill that meets the needs of the American people. Now, we’ve also said as House Democrats that we will consider anything in good faith that emerges from the Senate in a bipartisan way, that reopens the government, that spends taxpayer dollars in a way that makes their life better and that, of course, addresses the healthcare crisis, including by extending the Affordable Care Act tax credits so that tens of millions of people all across the country, everyday Americans, don’t experience dramatically increased premiums, co-pays and deductibles as we approach open enrollment on November 1st.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD: Ok. And yesterday, I spoke with Natasha Taylor, she’s the Deputy Director of Georgia Watch. It’s a non-profit that advocates for consumers here in Georgia. And Georgia is expected to be hit pretty hard with healthcare, affordable healthcare premiums going up. On average, she says, a family of four might have to pay $3,000 a month for their care. But without these extensions, it could go up at least 30% and they could be facing $6,000 to $7,000 a month for healthcare coverage. What do you say to families who are now in a position of having to choose between healthcare, food on the table, paying their rent or even mortgage while all this is going on?

LEADER JEFFRIES: Well this should never be the case in the United States of America, the wealthiest country in the history of the world. And as Democrats, we’ve made the case that we are not going to support a partisan Republican spending bill that continues to gut the healthcare of the American people in an environment where the cost of living in this country is already too high. Donald Trump promised to lower costs on day one. Costs haven’t gone down. They’re going up. Electricity bills are through the roof. Housing costs are up. Inflation is up. Grocery costs are up. And now tens of millions of people in Georgia and beyond are facing the very real possibility that they will be unable to afford a doctor when they need one. We’re talking about a situation where many people will confront increased healthcare costs of $1,000 to $2,000 per month. That’s $12,000 to $24,000 in additional cost per year, when more than 90% of the people who receive Affordable Care Act tax credits make around $62,000 a year. It’s unaffordable, it’s unsustainable and it’s unconscionable. That’s why we are demanding that our Republican colleagues sit back down at the table so we can get this resolved for the American people.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD: All right, now let me ask you about your home city. You’ve now endorsed Zohran Mamdani for Mayor of New York. What provoked you to endorse him now?

LEADER JEFFRIES: Well, Zohran is the Democratic nominee, and there’s alignment as it relates to the affordability crisis and the need to decisively deal with it. Of course, alignment around Jessica Tisch as the NYPD Police Commissioner and the important need to ensure public safety for all communities across the City of New York. And I was very pleased to see that our nominee, Zohran, made the decision to indicate that he would retain Jessica Tisch as the Police Commissioner. By all accounts, she’s doing a tremendous job. And, of course, there’s alignment around the existential threat that Donald Trump will bring to the City of New York in ways that he’s unleashed this extremism on the American people in such an extraordinary way from the very beginning of his presidency. And he clearly has put a bullseye on the City of New York. That said, I will continue to take positions that are important to the people that I’m privileged to represent in Brooklyn—on racial justice, on social justice, on economic justice and, of course, on foreign policy, particularly as it relates to the Middle East, which has been an issue of great interest to people, particularly over the last two years. I will always support Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish and democratic state, an eternal homeland for the Jewish people. Of course, we have a ceasefire in place. That is a good thing. We have to make sure that it can hold permanently. We need to make that we identify all of the remains of the hostages who have been killed and they’re returned home. We have to surge assistance, humanitarian support to Palestinian civilians who have been in harm’s way through no fault of their own in a theater of war for two years. We have to reconstruct Gaza. And, of course, finally, we need a robust path toward a just and lasting peace, which ultimately will involve a two-state solution, a safe and secure Israel living side by side in peace and prosperity with a demilitarized Palestinian state free of Hamas, but a state that allows the Palestinian people to experience the dignity and self-determination that they deserve.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD: And quickly, can I also ask you about your other home city of Washington, D.C. and the demolition of the East Wing? As a Member of Congress for many, many years, you’ve obviously spent a lot of time at the White House and at the East Wing as well. What are your impressions? What are you feeling as you see the demolition taking place without the involvement of preservation groups or even Congress?

LEADER JEFFRIES: Well, the American people are understandably horrified about what they’ve seen in terms of the demolition of large parts of the White House so that Donald Trump can erect a ballroom to be celebrating him like a king. That’s unconscionable, unacceptable and, of course, it’s un-American. And instead of focusing on re-opening the government, instead of addressing the health crisis that Republicans have visited on the American people, instead of driving down the high cost of living in an environment where the Trump tariffs have made life more expensive for everyday Americans, he’s decided to destroy the White House in an unlawful way. And it is very unfortunate, but it’s par for the course in terms of what we’ve seen from Donald Trump and Republicans during his presidency.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD: All right, Democratic Leader, Congressman Hakeem Jeffries, appreciate your time. Thank you so much.

LEADER JEFFRIES: Thank you. 

Full interview can be watched here.

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