Today, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries appeared on NPR’s Morning Edition, where he made clear that Democrats will continue to push back on Republican extremism and their attempts to rig the midterm elections.

MICHEL MARTIN: More on what this result in Virginia could mean for the Democrats, we’re joined by House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries. He represents New York’s Eighth Congressional District in Brooklyn. Good morning, Leader Jeffries, thanks for joining us once again.

LEADER JEFFRIES: Good morning. Great to be with you.

MICHEL MARTIN: How is this outcome in Virginia affecting your goal of Democrats regaining control of the House in November? You just heard my colleague Ashley Lopez say it seems like it’s pretty much a wash.

LEADER JEFFRIES: Our primary goal in connection with what took place in Virginia—and we’re thankful to the people of Virginia who, by voting yes, have stopped the MAGA power grab. Donald Trump indicated that he was going to rip away 10, 12 or 15 seats from the people of this country in states like Texas and Missouri and North Carolina as part of an effort to rig the midterm elections. That effort has now been thwarted.

MICHEL MARTIN: So do you think it’s essentially a wash, as Ashley Lopez pointed out, or do you think that Democrats kind of have an edge here?

LEADER JEFFRIES: I think the challenge right now for Republicans is that in Texas, for instance, they engaged in the Dummymander. They claimed that they were ripping five seats away from Democrats. They’ll be fortunate if they get two or three. But we have of course responded in kind because our goal is to make sure that there’s a fair national map so that it’s the voters of this country who are the ones to decide who’s in the majority in connection with the midterm elections.

MICHEL MARTIN: You know, Virginia’s elected Democratic Governor Abigail Spanberger by a 15-point margin a few months ago. She was one of the most prominent advocates for this redistricting measure. But the referendum itself was approved by a narrow margin. Is there a warning sign here for Democrats that countering Trump is not going to be enough in a competitive environment this fall?

LEADER JEFFRIES: We always knew that it was going to be an incredibly close race. Virginia is a purple state. Governor Spanberger is a tremendous leader, ran a great campaign, she’s doing an amazing job. But it’s important, Michel, to remember that in November of 2020, Virginians voted 65 to 35 to put into place a constitutional amendment for nonpartisan redistricting through an independent committee. And so we were asking the voters of Virginia to respond in a temporary way to a national crisis that was started by Donald Trump in an environment where two-thirds of the people of Virginia had decided just a few years ago to go in a different direction. So it was an extraordinary undertaking, but the people of Virginia responded because they understood the assignment, and that’s to make sure we have a free and fair midterm election.

MICHEL MARTIN: Well, you know, the party in power historically loses seats during midterm elections, so there’s an inherent midterm advantage there. But Democrats have also been doing well in recent special elections. What’s your sense of what’s working for Democrats right now?

LEADER JEFFRIES: Well, it’s a combination of articulating a vision to address the affordability crisis that does exist in this country. It’s not a hoax. The cost of living right now is out of control all across the country. Donald Trump promised to lower costs on day one. Costs haven’t gone down, they’ve gone up. And we’ve made clear as Democrats that we’re going to focus on improving the ability of everyday Americans to live a comfortable life, an affordable life and the good life. And Donald Trump continues to just jam these extreme policies down the throats of the American people. And Democrats have made clear we’re going to push back against these things, like his reckless and costly war of choice, where billions of taxpayer dollars are being wasted over in the Middle East. But these same Republicans won’t spend a dime to actually make healthcare affordable to the American people.

MICHEL MARTIN: But does that mean that people are voting for the Democrats, or does that mean that they’re voting against Trump and the Republicans? And is that enough, if that’s the case, is that enough to sustain momentum into November?

LEADER JEFFRIES: I think the connective tissue in all of these races, and we’ve been winning races now for 16 consecutive months beginning in January of 2025, running all the way through what took place earlier this month in Wisconsin with a decisive victory in a battleground state where we won by 20. And of course, overperforming again in a special election in New Jersey. All of our candidates have been talking about our commitment to lowering the high cost of living, to fixing our broken healthcare system, to making sure we get ICE under control and have immigration enforcement in this country that’s fair, just and humane and to stopping this costly and reckless war of choice in the Middle East.

MICHEL MARTIN: If you’ve got a couple more minutes for me, I just have a couple more questions. On that question of sort of fighting for the little guy, if I can, if I can call it that—it’s a cliche, but that’s the best thing I can think of for now. The Department of Homeland Security is still shut down. And it’s—according to the new Secretary, they’re going to run out of money in just a couple of weeks. Is this sustainable for the Democrats? I mean, the Democrats have been arguing that these changes in the way ICE—these ICE tactics need to change in order to agree to more funding. But can you sustain this if people continue to not be paid and people like the TSA workers don’t get paid again?

LEADER JEFFRIES: Well, Donald Trump and Republicans decided to shut down the Department of Homeland Security. Unfortunately, right now, we have a bipartisan bill that the Senate passed not once, but twice unanimously that would reopen the Department of Homeland Security with the exception of ICE and [CBP], and Mike Johnson and Republicans refuse to actually bring it to the Floor for an up or down vote. If it’s brought to the Floor it will pass overwhelmingly. And so, Republicans have made clear that they are the ones who have chosen to shut down the Department of Homeland Security and risk a situation where we may see renewed chaos at airports and TSA agents not being paid, if in fact it is the case, according to the Homeland Security Secretary, that their slush fund is about to run out of money.

MICHEL MARTIN: And I do have to ask you about the fact that three lawmakers have just resigned under threat of expulsion. That’s just in the last week and a half, and there are concerns about a fourth. These cases are all different, but there are some similarities there. Is there a problem in Congress that needs to be fixed with the ethics of some of its Members? Is there something that needs be different?

LEADER JEFFRIES: Members of Congress need to be held to the highest ethical standards and certainly we cannot under any circumstances tolerate sexual harassment or sexual violence. And so, one of the things that we believe needs to be done is that the Ethics Committee, in a bipartisan basis, should figure out how we can actually improve the circumstances here so that people are being held accountable for behavior that clearly crosses the line in a variety of different ways.

MICHEL MARTIN: But it’s already against House rules to have these kinds of relationships with subordinates and it has been confirmed—well one of the Congressmen denies it, but one of them admits that he did have this kind of relationship. So what needs to happen here to ensure that that doesn’t keep happening?

LEADER JEFFRIES: Both have resigned and that’s an important step that has been taken. And in both instances there needs to be, clearly, criminal investigations that play themselves out.

MICHEL MARTIN: That’s Hakeem Jeffries. He’s a Democrat from New York and the House Minority Leader. Mr. Leader, thanks so much for your time.

LEADER JEFFRIES: Thank you so much.

Full interview can be listened to here.

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