Hakeem Jeffries
Appearances
Apple News Today
Inside the sprint to avert a government shutdown
We negotiated in a bipartisan, bicameral way, real progress for working class Americans, for middle class Americans, for everyday Americans who aspire to be part of the middle class. that has been cut out of this legislation. Why would you do that?
Consider This from NPR
Can democrats find their way out of the wilderness?
Republicans have repeatedly lectured America. They control the House, the Senate, and the presidency. It's their government. What leverage do we have?
Consider This from NPR
Will New York's mayor survive widening scandal?
It's a deeply disturbing development. Mayor Adams has a responsibility to decisively demonstrate to the people of New York City that he has the capacity to continue to govern New in the best interest of New Yorkers, as opposed to taking orders from the Trump administration.
Consider This from NPR
Fentanyl deaths are plunging, but it's just the first step
A couple months ago, here at Planet Money, we stumbled across our favorite kind of economic mystery. Oh!
Consider This from NPR
Fentanyl deaths are plunging, but it's just the first step
A deal that seemed way too good to be true.
Global News Podcast
Mike Johnson survives razor-thin vote to remain US House Speaker
The American people need us as their elected representatives in this season to put down our partisan swords and pick up bipartisan plowshares. It's time for us to come together not as Democrats or Republicans, but as Americans.
Morning Wire
Danger in the Sky & Christianity Grows | 5.7.25
We do know that the Trump administration has decimated the FAA in a variety of different ways, and they've been doing this from the very beginning. They are breaking the federal government.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 05-14-2025 7AM EDT
and they want to pay for it by sticking us with additional debt, trillions of dollars, and by enacting the largest health care cut in American history, along with the largest cut to food assistance in American history.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 12-18-2024 8PM EST
House Republicans... will now own any harm that is visited upon the American people that results from a government shutdown or worse. An agreement is an agreement. It was bipartisan. And there was nothing more to say.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 04-27-2025 3PM EDT
When the sun rose on Sunday, Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York sat on the steps of the U.S. Capitol, live streaming their opposition to a Republican budget plan.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 04-27-2025 3PM EDT
Booker warned it would severely cut Medicaid and Social Security benefits, but Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson denies this, and no specific cuts to the programs have been decided yet. D.C. teacher Ashley Porter stopped her morning run short to sit with Booker and Jeffries.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 04-27-2025 3PM EDT
No. I mean, I write all this stuff because then I don't have to live it. Whoa. She's like, I got him.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 04-27-2025 3PM EDT
The Democrats plan to sit on the Capitol steps until sunset Sunday. Luke Garrett, NPR News, Washington.
Pod Save America
A Lawless Trump and Aimless Dems
It's correct. We had an opportunity to meet yesterday. It was a very good meeting where we talked about how we move forward, House Democrats and Senate Democrats working together to strongly oppose the extreme things that Donald Trump and his administration are trying to jam down the throats of the American people. In particular,
Pod Save America
A Lawless Trump and Aimless Dems
Our immediate focus is going to be on pushing back aggressively against the Republican efforts to enact the largest Medicaid cut in American history. That, of course, will hurt children and families and women and people with disabilities, and certainly it will devastate older Americans in nursing homes all across America. On Tuesday, House Democrats are holding a Medicaid Day of Action.
Pod Save America
A Lawless Trump and Aimless Dems
We'll have town halls and site visits and rallies and roundtables all across America in blue states, purple states, and red states to lay out our defense of the healthcare of the American people and contrast that with what Republicans are trying to do in taking away Medicaid and ending it as we know it in this country.
Pod Save America
A Lawless Trump and Aimless Dems
Our view as House Democrats was that we were not going to support any partisan Republican spending bill that visited devastating cuts on families, on veterans, on and on everyday Americans across the country, including older Americans who rely upon a variety of different healthcare programs that they've earned as a result of their work throughout their journey in this country.
Pod Save America
A Lawless Trump and Aimless Dems
And so once the partisan Republican spending bill was released, we as House Democrats made the decision that we were gonna strongly oppose it, whip hard against it, and do everything that we could to stop it in the House of Representatives, because substantively, it was not something that we could ever support.
Pod Save America
A Lawless Trump and Aimless Dems
In addition, we came to the conclusion that one of the problems with the spending bill was that it could open the door by providing a possible blank check to Donald Trump, Elon Musk, and the purveyors of the extreme Project 2025 agenda and give them a blank check to continue to devastate the American people.
Pod Save America
A Lawless Trump and Aimless Dems
Now, we were in agreement that the best alternative was a four-week spending agreement that would allow for continued discussions led by the top Democrat on the Appropriations Committee in the House, Rosa DeLauro, on our side, and Patty Murray on the Senate Democratic side,
Pod Save America
A Lawless Trump and Aimless Dems
to try to see if we can actually arrive at a place where there was an actual permanent spending agreement that met the needs of the American people in terms of their health, their safety, our national security, and our economic well-being. And so the Senate Democrats met with each other, you know, based on the public timeline, of course, on Wednesday.
Pod Save America
A Lawless Trump and Aimless Dems
And the position that was articulated on Wednesday was that the votes don't exist. in order to break the filibuster related to the partisan Republican spending bill. That was on Wednesday. And on Thursday, obviously, there was a change in position amongst some.
Pod Save America
A Lawless Trump and Aimless Dems
Well, there's sort of what's in front of us in the immediate term, stopping the Republican budget that is designed to really accomplish two things, enact the largest Medicaid cut in American history in order to fund massive tax cuts for Republican MAGA billionaire donors and wealthy and well-off and well-connected corporations.
Pod Save America
A Lawless Trump and Aimless Dems
I mean, it is a toxic scheme that the Republicans are trying to visit upon the American people, and we've got to stop it and work hard against it with everything that we have. And that of course includes House Democrats, Senate Democrats, governors whose states will be devastated, and of course, advocacy groups and concerned citizens.
Pod Save America
A Lawless Trump and Aimless Dems
Now we have the Republicans on the run, in my view, on three issues, the economy, healthcare, and taxes. And we have to continue over the next several weeks and next several months, press our advantage in those three areas. Donald Trump and Republicans last year promised to lower the high cost of living. and create an affordable economy.
Pod Save America
A Lawless Trump and Aimless Dems
We as Democrats believe that the cost of living for far too many Americans is too high. And there are too many people who are struggling to live paycheck to paycheck in this country of every race in every region. And that's unacceptable in the wealthiest country in the history of the world. Now, instead of costs going down under Donald Trump and complete control of government
Pod Save America
A Lawless Trump and Aimless Dems
that the Republicans now have, it's going up. Inflation is going up. What's going down is the stock market. What's going down is consumer confidence. What's going down are the retirement savings accounts of everyday Americans. And it's all because despite these promises made by Donald Trump and Republicans to focus on the cost of living, they're doing the exact opposite.
Pod Save America
A Lawless Trump and Aimless Dems
Not a single bill has been introduced with respect to lowering costs. Not a single administrative action and not a single executive order issued by Donald Trump. Instead, they're focused on this budget scheme, the GOP tax scam, to enact massive tax cuts for their billionaire donors. We have to press our advantage on that issue.
Pod Save America
A Lawless Trump and Aimless Dems
The economy, which also relates to their efforts to cut healthcare, which also relates to their efforts to pass these massive tax cuts, all of which are unpopular with the American people.
Pod Save America
A Lawless Trump and Aimless Dems
And in the context of the end of the fiscal year, which, as you pointed out, will approach on September 30th, I think we just have to be very clear from the outset, we are not going to support a partisan Republican spending bill.
Pod Save America
A Lawless Trump and Aimless Dems
I think that that is an important objective, but But substantively, we can't give up the fight as it relates to actually trying to stop this budget from ever becoming law. And if we take a step back, when Donald Trump took office in 2017, he had lost the popular vote, but there were 241 Republicans in the House of Representatives and only 194 Democrats.
Pod Save America
A Lawless Trump and Aimless Dems
This time around, he won the popular vote, but at the moment, there are 218 Republicans Republicans. And when we're at full strength, there will be 215 Democrats. Now, in the prior term, their chief objective was to repeal the Affordable Care Act. And as you recall, the Affordable Care Act wasn't even popular at the time. They had a 241 vote majority.
Pod Save America
A Lawless Trump and Aimless Dems
And because of public sentiment, initially in the House and then finally with John McCain, joining Democrats in the Senate, we were able to stop them from repealing the Affordable Care Act. Now, things are a bit different in this particular instance. They are much more cult-like in their behavior this time around, but their margins are also much narrower.
Pod Save America
A Lawless Trump and Aimless Dems
This is the smallest majority that any party has had since the Great Depression. And because we are on the right side of these issues, the economy, healthcare, taxes, and making sure that the wealthy, the well-off, and the well-connected pay their fair share. That's our position. Pay your fair share. They don't need a tax cut. Elon Musk doesn't need a tax cut.
Pod Save America
A Lawless Trump and Aimless Dems
I think we have to substantively try to make our case to the American people and do everything we can to stop them. But as you point out, to the extent that they ram the budget through the Congress, either in the House or the Senate, sign it into law,
Pod Save America
A Lawless Trump and Aimless Dems
Just like the GOP tax scam that they passed in 2017 was unpopular and helped to cost them the majority, the same thing could happen this time around.
Pod Save America
A Lawless Trump and Aimless Dems
Thank you for raising this issue. It's been One of the conversations that we've had both internally in the context of our rapid response and litigation working group that we stood up a few weeks ago, led by Congressman Joe Neguse, the assistant Democratic leader, and co-chaired by Jamie Raskin, a brilliant lawyer, brilliant constitutional scholar.
Pod Save America
A Lawless Trump and Aimless Dems
And we've charged them with coming up with a forceful response to the possibility that the Trump administration would skirt and or outwardly defy court orders. And to make sure that we are in close coordination with a lot of the democracy reform groups that have been litigating these cases to make sure that there is both a judicial strategy, that's important, but also a public strategy.
Pod Save America
A Lawless Trump and Aimless Dems
And as we've seen in other democracies across the country, across the world, I should say, When you actually start to see defiance of court orders, then the public uproar has to be intense, immediate, and impactful in terms of the forcefulness by which the disagreement is communicated around the constitutional issues. That's nonviolent, of course, but it also requires
Pod Save America
A Lawless Trump and Aimless Dems
a significant presence to make it clear that this is unacceptable, that we are a nation anchored in the rule of law. And we expect that the president and we expect that his administration will comply with the law at all times, particularly when there are court orders. And to the extent that that does not occur, that the public interest
Pod Save America
A Lawless Trump and Aimless Dems
outcry has to reflect the manner of the constitutional crisis that such defiance would provoke.
Pod Save America
A Lawless Trump and Aimless Dems
Yeah, you know, it was a really strong few days together, uh, where we were able to look back and look forward at the same time. I think it's important for us to look back so that we can draw lessons from what happened in November of 2024, figure out why some of those things happened and how do we put Democrats in the best possible position moving forward.
Pod Save America
A Lawless Trump and Aimless Dems
We have an all important midterm election next year, laying the foundation to end this national nightmare. that Donald Trump is visiting upon the American people and bring the American dream to life for everyone. So, you know, there's the substance of it. Okay. Why were we unable to connect with certain Americans on issues?
Pod Save America
A Lawless Trump and Aimless Dems
Largely, I think around the economy and the high cost of living and the view amongst many working class Americans throughout the country that Donald Trump was better positioned on the economy than to turn things around than Democrat. We can never allow that to happen again. When at the end of the day, really authentic to us as Democrats, we want to make life better for everyone across the country.
Pod Save America
A Lawless Trump and Aimless Dems
That's who we are. And the fact that there was a disconnect in that regard is deeply troubling. And we've got to figure out how we regain the narrative on the economy and on driving down the high cost of living and other issues like, of course, securing the border while defending dreamers and farm workers and keeping law-abiding immigrant families together.
Pod Save America
A Lawless Trump and Aimless Dems
And of course, making sure that the American people are clear that we want to keep them safe. I grew up in central Brooklyn in the late 80s, early 90s. Things were dangerous. I understand that the American people want safety in every community. And Democrats need to make it clear that we're strong
Pod Save America
A Lawless Trump and Aimless Dems
in those areas, it's Donald Trump and the Republicans who have become the party of lawlessness and disorder, particularly as it relates to pardoning violent felons who brutally beat police officers and then unleashing these people all across the country to make communities less safe. So we have to make clear that we are connected with the American people on these core issues.
Pod Save America
A Lawless Trump and Aimless Dems
And then of course, make sure that we are communicating through new media platforms like this, Pod Save America, all of you, the network, do a tremendous job. And one of the clear lessons for us is that you have legacy media, and that will still have a role to play.
Pod Save America
A Lawless Trump and Aimless Dems
But so many everyday Americans actually get their news through the new forms of media, and whether that's social media or podcasts, YouTube shows, messaging apps, chat groups. We have to be present in those spaces, authentically communicating with the American people. And we have launched a massive effort to do just that.
Raging Moderates with Scott Galloway and Jessica Tarlov
Trump Pretends He's Above the Law (feat. Leader Hakeem Jeffries)
And so I do think that the administration is trying to push the envelope in terms of a confrontation, which is why I've urged the courts and particularly the Supreme Court, which this is likely to go back up to them, to enforce their order.
Raging Moderates with Scott Galloway and Jessica Tarlov
Trump Pretends He's Above the Law (feat. Leader Hakeem Jeffries)
using the tools that are available, which are contempt, civil contempt or criminal contempt, directed at any of the individuals, the cabinet secretaries or other administration officials who are actually refusing to comply or carrying out unjust or unconstitutional actions.
Raging Moderates with Scott Galloway and Jessica Tarlov
Trump Pretends He's Above the Law (feat. Leader Hakeem Jeffries)
Well, we definitely have to be clear that We believe that we should have a secure border. That's first and foremost. And I think we've repeatedly endeavored to make that clear throughout this Congress. We have a broken immigration system and it's gotta be fixed, but it should be fixed in a bipartisan and comprehensive way. And we're open to having that discussion in good faith
Raging Moderates with Scott Galloway and Jessica Tarlov
Trump Pretends He's Above the Law (feat. Leader Hakeem Jeffries)
with people on the other side of the aisle, when they're ready to have that discussion, in good faith, that's not this moment.
Raging Moderates with Scott Galloway and Jessica Tarlov
Trump Pretends He's Above the Law (feat. Leader Hakeem Jeffries)
While at the same period of time, we're going to defend our values, which means we're going to defend DREAMers, we're going to defend farm workers, we're going to defend law-abiding immigrant families, because this is a country that is both anchored in the rule of law, but also a nation of immigrants. And we can hold those two things as true at the same period of time,
Raging Moderates with Scott Galloway and Jessica Tarlov
Trump Pretends He's Above the Law (feat. Leader Hakeem Jeffries)
But you're correct in your assessment that I think what hurt us in the last election, first and foremost, issues connected to the cost of living related to the economy, which I'm sure we'll get into. But secondarily, that we were slow to act as an administration and as a party on the Southern border crisis. And it hurt us not simply with traditional Republican voters,
Raging Moderates with Scott Galloway and Jessica Tarlov
Trump Pretends He's Above the Law (feat. Leader Hakeem Jeffries)
Well, it's interesting because I think that was certainly a popular narrative that was being communicated during the early stages of the Trump administration, you know, in his first week or so. There was a morning consult poll that came out a few days ago that was fascinating.
Raging Moderates with Scott Galloway and Jessica Tarlov
Trump Pretends He's Above the Law (feat. Leader Hakeem Jeffries)
One, it had Trump and his numbers continuing to crater as it relates to public approval, generally and specifically on his mismanagement of the economy. But in that morning console poll, it actually had the American confidence in Democrats higher than congressional Republicans in terms of managing the economy.
Raging Moderates with Scott Galloway and Jessica Tarlov
Trump Pretends He's Above the Law (feat. Leader Hakeem Jeffries)
That was the first time in four years that Democrats actually surpassed Republicans in this particular poll in terms of management of the economy. And that congressional Democrats were favorable, I think it was plus one or plus two, I'll take it. And congressional Republicans, minus 10. And so I think we are starting to see the trajectory change.
Raging Moderates with Scott Galloway and Jessica Tarlov
Trump Pretends He's Above the Law (feat. Leader Hakeem Jeffries)
Of course, there was a lot of disappointment upon losing in November, but there are clear differences right now. We've got the Republicans on the run on the economy, on healthcare, on social security, all of the things that are inconsistent with what they promised to do. which was to drive down the high cost of living. But costs aren't going down, they're going up.
Raging Moderates with Scott Galloway and Jessica Tarlov
Trump Pretends He's Above the Law (feat. Leader Hakeem Jeffries)
And Donald Trump and Republicans are actually cratering the economy, crashing the economy in real time, and they are driving us toward a Republican recession. And the American people are starting to see that, and it's having an impact.
Raging Moderates with Scott Galloway and Jessica Tarlov
Trump Pretends He's Above the Law (feat. Leader Hakeem Jeffries)
Well, I definitely think it goes beyond we're not him, right? On the one hand, we are involved, at least at the congressional level, in stopping bad things from happening. And so we're in active legislative combat. They want to enact the largest Medicaid cut in American history. That is going to hurt families, hurt children,
Raging Moderates with Scott Galloway and Jessica Tarlov
Trump Pretends He's Above the Law (feat. Leader Hakeem Jeffries)
hurt seniors, hurt people with disabilities, hurt everyday Americans, close hospitals, close nursing homes. Communities across the country will be hurt. And we have a moral obligation to draw a clear contrast between what we're fighting for, health care for the American people, and the fact that Republicans are actively trying to take it away. And that's going to be critical.
Raging Moderates with Scott Galloway and Jessica Tarlov
Trump Pretends He's Above the Law (feat. Leader Hakeem Jeffries)
And we're going to need the American people with us. and we believe the American people are with us on this fight and we will protect Medicaid, we will protect the healthcare of the American people. That's critical. That's critical. So we have to draw that contrast. We have to draw a contrast between us and the Republicans in terms of this assault on social security.
Raging Moderates with Scott Galloway and Jessica Tarlov
Trump Pretends He's Above the Law (feat. Leader Hakeem Jeffries)
And it's all connected to a Republican plan, which is often set in motion, which is demonize, downsize, privatize. So they've demonized Social Security, made stuff up about the fraud that doesn't exist. Elon Musk has said the quiet part out loud. He said, Social Security is a Ponzi scheme. No, Social Security is not a Ponzi scheme. The Trump administration is a Ponzi scheme right now.
Raging Moderates with Scott Galloway and Jessica Tarlov
Trump Pretends He's Above the Law (feat. Leader Hakeem Jeffries)
Because they promised to lower the high cost of living. In fact, said that costs were going to go down on day one. Costs aren't going down, they're going up. Instead, they are actively going after things like Social Security, which they promised to protect. That's the Ponzi scheme. And so they've demonized social security. We've got to point that out to the American people why they're doing it.
Raging Moderates with Scott Galloway and Jessica Tarlov
Trump Pretends He's Above the Law (feat. Leader Hakeem Jeffries)
Now they're downsizing the social security administration, closing offices, increasing wait times, making it harder for people to access their hard-earned benefits. That's part of the downsizing that is underway ultimately, so they can try to make the case that Social Security should be privatized, which is what they've wanted to do for decades.
Raging Moderates with Scott Galloway and Jessica Tarlov
Trump Pretends He's Above the Law (feat. Leader Hakeem Jeffries)
So these are important legislative battles, and we have to draw a clear contrast. But at the same period of time, I agree.
Raging Moderates with Scott Galloway and Jessica Tarlov
Trump Pretends He's Above the Law (feat. Leader Hakeem Jeffries)
Scott, that an affirmative vision is necessary, connected to what many of us believe is the core problem in America, which is that for far too long, far too many people struggling to live paycheck to paycheck can't access the American dream in ways that should be core to who we are, particularly at a time where we remain the wealthiest country in the history of the world.
Raging Moderates with Scott Galloway and Jessica Tarlov
Trump Pretends He's Above the Law (feat. Leader Hakeem Jeffries)
And that core American dream, I think, You work hard, you play by the rules, you should be able to provide a comfortable living for yourself and for your family. Purchase a home, educate your children, have access to high-quality healthcare, go on vacation every now and then, and then one day retire with grace and dignity, which means protecting Social Security and Medicare.
Raging Moderates with Scott Galloway and Jessica Tarlov
Trump Pretends He's Above the Law (feat. Leader Hakeem Jeffries)
the American people are frustrated, understandably, because for far too many, they've got no access to that. And that was a core American promise. And it was a core American promise that when you do these things, when you work hard, when you play by the rules, you can create a better future for your children or for your grandchildren. And many people believe that that's not possible.
Raging Moderates with Scott Galloway and Jessica Tarlov
Trump Pretends He's Above the Law (feat. Leader Hakeem Jeffries)
So I think it starts with a recognition of here's the problem. that is affecting so many people across the country, we hear you, we see you, and we're committed to making life better for you.
Raging Moderates with Scott Galloway and Jessica Tarlov
Trump Pretends He's Above the Law (feat. Leader Hakeem Jeffries)
Yeah. Well, I would say... Where I would take issue is that I do think that actually during the first two years of the Biden administration, you did see real progress legislatively, not rhetorically. Infrastructure Act, yep. Toward making a concrete difference in the American people. So we can't just say it was rhetorical, right?
Raging Moderates with Scott Galloway and Jessica Tarlov
Trump Pretends He's Above the Law (feat. Leader Hakeem Jeffries)
Hello, ladies.
Raging Moderates with Scott Galloway and Jessica Tarlov
Trump Pretends He's Above the Law (feat. Leader Hakeem Jeffries)
Well, I'm not disagreeing with you, but, you know, I just wanted to make sure that
Raging Moderates with Scott Galloway and Jessica Tarlov
Trump Pretends He's Above the Law (feat. Leader Hakeem Jeffries)
So I'll disagree with Scott and then I'll agree with you. Okay. I get that a lot. I get that a lot. It's part of your charm. But I just want to make sure it's clear, right? Because during those first two years,
Raging Moderates with Scott Galloway and Jessica Tarlov
Trump Pretends He's Above the Law (feat. Leader Hakeem Jeffries)
We actually, whether it was the American Rescue Plan, rescued the economy from a once-in-a-century pandemic, saved the pensions of millions of people, enacted the child tax credit, which actually cut child poverty in half in six months in the United States of America. That's a good thing. That's a good thing.
Raging Moderates with Scott Galloway and Jessica Tarlov
Trump Pretends He's Above the Law (feat. Leader Hakeem Jeffries)
The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, millions of good-paying jobs, fixing our crumbling bridges and roads and tunnels, our airports, our sewer and water systems, our mass transit systems, trying to set in motion high-speed internet access in every community, including in rural America. Gun safety legislation for the first time in 30 years. We know more needs to be done, but we were able to
Raging Moderates with Scott Galloway and Jessica Tarlov
Trump Pretends He's Above the Law (feat. Leader Hakeem Jeffries)
to start that process, standing up for our veterans, providing them healthcare, veterans who actually were exposed to burn pits and Agent Orange and toxic substances and were literally suffering suffering without access to healthcare. And we changed that through the PACT Act. And of course the Chips and Science Act, which was designed to bring our jobs back home to America. Trump talks about it.
Raging Moderates with Scott Galloway and Jessica Tarlov
Trump Pretends He's Above the Law (feat. Leader Hakeem Jeffries)
We set in motion a process to doing it. And then of course, you know, lowering the cost of prescription drugs. We still need to do more, but we got that process started through the Inflation Reduction Act and the largest investment in combating the climate crisis in the history of the world. We didn't just talk about things, we actually did things.
Raging Moderates with Scott Galloway and Jessica Tarlov
Trump Pretends He's Above the Law (feat. Leader Hakeem Jeffries)
But of course, I think the big challenge that we confronted is that notwithstanding all of those accomplishments, notwithstanding the way in which the economy from where it was to where it ended up in terms of lower unemployment, tens of millions of jobs created, actually wages beginning to go up. you know, the inflation reality hit everyday Americans hard.
Raging Moderates with Scott Galloway and Jessica Tarlov
Trump Pretends He's Above the Law (feat. Leader Hakeem Jeffries)
And we were late to addressing that with the urgency, even if it was just rhetorically that we feel the pain that you are under and we're committed to doing something about it. And so that I think was a challenge. Trump sees that, but he over-promised and now he's under-delivering, of course, in fact, worse than that.
Raging Moderates with Scott Galloway and Jessica Tarlov
Trump Pretends He's Above the Law (feat. Leader Hakeem Jeffries)
affirmatively crashing the economy, which is why we see his numbers cratering in terms of public sentiment.
Raging Moderates with Scott Galloway and Jessica Tarlov
Trump Pretends He's Above the Law (feat. Leader Hakeem Jeffries)
Yeah, I mean, unfortunately, you have some crooks, liars, and frauds who are in Washington, D.C., some of whom are serving in Congress, and Exhibit A is Marjorie Taylor Greene. And so in many ways, the fact that she engaged in this in such a blatant way, I think is going to give a boost to our efforts to ban stock trading by sitting members of Congress. It should not happen.
Raging Moderates with Scott Galloway and Jessica Tarlov
Trump Pretends He's Above the Law (feat. Leader Hakeem Jeffries)
And we believe we have some bipartisan support for it. This is going to be an issue that will have to be driven by House Democrats. And it's not ideological. Progressives and New Dems and Blue Dogs, we're all in alignment that this needs to happen.
Raging Moderates with Scott Galloway and Jessica Tarlov
Trump Pretends He's Above the Law (feat. Leader Hakeem Jeffries)
Yeah. I don't think Speaker... Pelosi has ever traded on insider information, and it's an open question as to whether Marjorie Taylor Greene had insight from the Trump administration as to the fact that he unleashed these tariffs on the American people and on the world. Market crashes, says he's not going to reverse himself.
Raging Moderates with Scott Galloway and Jessica Tarlov
Trump Pretends He's Above the Law (feat. Leader Hakeem Jeffries)
And then a few days later, reverses himself. And in that interim, you have people like Marjorie Taylor Greene buying the dip.
Raging Moderates with Scott Galloway and Jessica Tarlov
Trump Pretends He's Above the Law (feat. Leader Hakeem Jeffries)
Well, to be clear, African Americans are still disproportionately- There'd be a huge overlap if we went to- Disproportionately poor as it relates to any other segment of the society. So I know statistics are important here and that's the reality of the situation.
Raging Moderates with Scott Galloway and Jessica Tarlov
Trump Pretends He's Above the Law (feat. Leader Hakeem Jeffries)
as it was initially conceived and then was modified by the, I think it was the Blake decision in 1979, which basically said that diversity can be a factor, not the only factor. And now the Supreme Court has entirely gotten rid of it. It doesn't even exist.
Raging Moderates with Scott Galloway and Jessica Tarlov
Trump Pretends He's Above the Law (feat. Leader Hakeem Jeffries)
So I think what you're seeing is this notion of this attack on diversity, equity, and inclusion being used as a proxy for the reality that many in this administration aren't really interested in merit. We believe in merit. Merit should be based on what you know, not who you know.
Raging Moderates with Scott Galloway and Jessica Tarlov
Trump Pretends He's Above the Law (feat. Leader Hakeem Jeffries)
And, you know, and when the person leading the charge in terms of attacking diversity, equity, and inclusion is the so-called defense secretary, give me a break. This is the most unqualified secretary of defense in American history, who, by the way, should be fired. But, you know, I do think that
Raging Moderates with Scott Galloway and Jessica Tarlov
Trump Pretends He's Above the Law (feat. Leader Hakeem Jeffries)
What the right has successfully done is to weaponize the letters DEI, to stand for grievances that people have throughout society. And in some ways, based on the reality that yes, as we talked about that American dream is further and further out of reach. for poor whites, for working class whites, and of course, for people in communities of color all across America.
Raging Moderates with Scott Galloway and Jessica Tarlov
Trump Pretends He's Above the Law (feat. Leader Hakeem Jeffries)
And I think when you look at diversity, equity, and inclusion, right, to me, these are American values, right? These are American values. The creed of this country, e pluribus unum, out of many, one. That's diversity. Perhaps the most important constitutional amendment, part of the 14th Amendment, is equal protection under the law.
Raging Moderates with Scott Galloway and Jessica Tarlov
Trump Pretends He's Above the Law (feat. Leader Hakeem Jeffries)
That's what's guaranteed here in this country, core part of the Constitution, equal protection under the law. That's equity. And when we go to the floor to open up the house and we pledge allegiance to the flag and we recite it, And we conclude by talking about one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. A-L-L, for all. That is equity. So let's be clear.
Raging Moderates with Scott Galloway and Jessica Tarlov
Trump Pretends He's Above the Law (feat. Leader Hakeem Jeffries)
Diversity, equity, and inclusion are American values. We shouldn't be running away from it. We should be embracing it.
Raging Moderates with Scott Galloway and Jessica Tarlov
Trump Pretends He's Above the Law (feat. Leader Hakeem Jeffries)
Yeah, you know, I think that we have to, higher education is important, And I think all of us were beneficiaries of higher education as an opportunity. I grew up in a very working class household, union household, central Brooklyn, in the middle of the crack cocaine epidemic. Life was very dangerous at the time. My parents made very modest livings. My dad was a substance abuse social worker.
Raging Moderates with Scott Galloway and Jessica Tarlov
Trump Pretends He's Above the Law (feat. Leader Hakeem Jeffries)
My mom worked for the Human Resources Administration. And my grandma, mother, I think maybe had a year or two of a college education. And her view was that for myself, for my younger brother, the pathway to success was higher education. And that was typical in a lot of African-American households. And so in fact, she would
Raging Moderates with Scott Galloway and Jessica Tarlov
Trump Pretends He's Above the Law (feat. Leader Hakeem Jeffries)
She would say to myself and my younger brother, look, you and Hasan, that's my younger brother, you're going to go to elementary school, and then you're going to go to middle school and graduate, then you're going to go to high school and graduate, then you're going to go to college and graduate, then you're going to go to either law school or get a PhD or become a doctor or get a business degree.
Raging Moderates with Scott Galloway and Jessica Tarlov
Trump Pretends He's Above the Law (feat. Leader Hakeem Jeffries)
And we're like, Grandma, we're going to be in school our whole lives. And in fact, she believed in it so much that she, and this is a woman of very modest means, every time we graduated, starting in elementary school, she gave myself or my younger brother $500 in cash. Still not sure where she got the money from. And by the way, I made the mistake of telling this story in front of my sons.
Raging Moderates with Scott Galloway and Jessica Tarlov
Trump Pretends He's Above the Law (feat. Leader Hakeem Jeffries)
They said, dad, you've been shortchanging us our whole lives. Your sons are here? They're not here. Oh. I've told it before them in the past. And, um, but that's how much she believed in higher education as a pathway. But when I got in the public service, you know, what was startling for me, having had that life experience.
Raging Moderates with Scott Galloway and Jessica Tarlov
Trump Pretends He's Above the Law (feat. Leader Hakeem Jeffries)
was very early on in the Congress. And I realized that something like 67 and a half percent of adults age 24 or older in America don't have a four-year college degree. And so that means that for decades, the path into the American dream, the path into a middle-class lifestyle actually didn't run through college alone.
Raging Moderates with Scott Galloway and Jessica Tarlov
Trump Pretends He's Above the Law (feat. Leader Hakeem Jeffries)
And part of the reason that there's a lot of frustration now is that for many young people, young men, we've kind of abandoned that. And that's the jobs going overseas and the plants closing and the factories closing and the de-emphasis from an education standpoint on career and technical education, which is why I think actually we should lean in to both.
Raging Moderates with Scott Galloway and Jessica Tarlov
Trump Pretends He's Above the Law (feat. Leader Hakeem Jeffries)
If you want to go to college, go to college, but career and technical education, Um, particularly, you know, with the advanced jobs that are available, not with a college degree, but you know, even if it was coding or AI, what the case may be in auto mechanic, the construction trades, these all can provide really good lifestyles.
Raging Moderates with Scott Galloway and Jessica Tarlov
Trump Pretends He's Above the Law (feat. Leader Hakeem Jeffries)
And that had traditionally been available to a lot of young men in our country who could then provide for their families. And there is a frustration that it seems as if from a policy standpoint, we've walked away from leaning into that. And that's the majority of the American people. And I think that's certainly an area where it shouldn't be a Democratic policy, Republican policy.
Raging Moderates with Scott Galloway and Jessica Tarlov
Trump Pretends He's Above the Law (feat. Leader Hakeem Jeffries)
It's the right thing to do for America.
Raging Moderates with Scott Galloway and Jessica Tarlov
Trump Pretends He's Above the Law (feat. Leader Hakeem Jeffries)
I definitely think raising the minimum wage. My first minimum wage job, I was a messenger going from office to office to office here in Manhattan in my sophomore year of high school, and I made $3.35 an hour. I thought I was doing well at $3.35 an hour, and that was in the mid-'80s. But the fact that that was in the mid-'80s, and now it's still $7.25?
Raging Moderates with Scott Galloway and Jessica Tarlov
Trump Pretends He's Above the Law (feat. Leader Hakeem Jeffries)
That's corrupt in terms of being there for the American people. We just introduced legislation that was set in motion. It's called the Raise the Wage Act that would set in motion an increase of the floor to $17 per hour.
Raging Moderates with Scott Galloway and Jessica Tarlov
Trump Pretends He's Above the Law (feat. Leader Hakeem Jeffries)
Mandatory national service, I'm all in on.
Raging Moderates with Scott Galloway and Jessica Tarlov
Trump Pretends He's Above the Law (feat. Leader Hakeem Jeffries)
As an alternative... Right. To I mean, there's military service and that's a path. Right. There are people who can go to college and should have some service component attached to that. And then those that choose other vocations, I think having that service component is a good thing.
Raging Moderates with Scott Galloway and Jessica Tarlov
Trump Pretends He's Above the Law (feat. Leader Hakeem Jeffries)
Well, You know, legislatively, it's all hands on deck because this is an unprecedented, unnormal attack on the American way of life, on the economy, on healthcare, on social security, on democracy, on the rule of law. And so it's going to require a level of intensity
Raging Moderates with Scott Galloway and Jessica Tarlov
Trump Pretends He's Above the Law (feat. Leader Hakeem Jeffries)
every hour, every day, every week, every month, this year, next year, get to the midterm elections, work as hard as we can to take back control of the House, cut his presidency in half legislatively, and then lay the foundation to move forward in a more enlightened direction in terms of 2028. I think it's clear to me, as was just evidenced in Wisconsin,
Raging Moderates with Scott Galloway and Jessica Tarlov
Trump Pretends He's Above the Law (feat. Leader Hakeem Jeffries)
That if the election were held today, Democrats will take back control of the House of Representatives. That's the reality. Unfortunately, it's not today. And so there's still a lot of work to be done between now and then. I do think foundationally, we have to convince the American people and those who we lost that we hear you, right? We hear you.
Raging Moderates with Scott Galloway and Jessica Tarlov
Trump Pretends He's Above the Law (feat. Leader Hakeem Jeffries)
and we see you, we feel you, and we're committed to making life better for you. And as Democrats, it actually is the case. It actually is the case that we wake up every morning and at our core, we want to make life better for the American people. Now, we have to do a better job of convincing the American people that that, in fact, is what drives us, but it actually does.
Raging Moderates with Scott Galloway and Jessica Tarlov
Trump Pretends He's Above the Law (feat. Leader Hakeem Jeffries)
Every single member of Congress that I serve with, from the most progressive to the most centrist, and at all points in between, are driven by making life better for the American people. In fact, that's the modern-day Democratic Party, right?
Raging Moderates with Scott Galloway and Jessica Tarlov
Trump Pretends He's Above the Law (feat. Leader Hakeem Jeffries)
who's given the country Social Security and rural electrification and the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act and the Fair Housing Act and Medicare and Medicaid and Head Start and the Affordable Care Act and the American Rescue Plan and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the PACT Act, right, and the Chips and Science Act and the Inflation Reduction Act, all brought to you by your friendly neighborhood Democratic Party.
Raging Moderates with Scott Galloway and Jessica Tarlov
Trump Pretends He's Above the Law (feat. Leader Hakeem Jeffries)
Like, we actually care. about public service being a vehicle to make life better for the American people. Our challenge often has been that we have not always been as effective in communicating that sentiment. And I'm convinced that part of the reason is that generally, look, you govern in fine print. but you message in headlines. And we, because we are committed to governing, right?
Raging Moderates with Scott Galloway and Jessica Tarlov
Trump Pretends He's Above the Law (feat. Leader Hakeem Jeffries)
We have mastered the fine print. Unless you master the fine print, you can't accomplish all of the things that I just laid out. And those were the highlights. But far too often, you know, instead of communicating in headlines, you persuade in headlines, you know, we lapse into fine print.
Raging Moderates with Scott Galloway and Jessica Tarlov
Trump Pretends He's Above the Law (feat. Leader Hakeem Jeffries)
And now when we've done it right, Barack Obama, right, who governed in fine print, Affordable Care Act, groundbreaking, but communicated in headlines on his way into office, six words, yes, we can, hope and change, that we all can remember to this very day.
Raging Moderates with Scott Galloway and Jessica Tarlov
Trump Pretends He's Above the Law (feat. Leader Hakeem Jeffries)
So in terms of the issue that makes me rage, I just think it's the cruelty of it all that we're seeing coming from Donald Trump and the Republicans. It's cruel to fire thousands of veterans who served this country. It's cruel. It's cruel to try to snatch away Social Security, right? I mean, it's cruel to impose the largest Medicaid cut in American history.
Raging Moderates with Scott Galloway and Jessica Tarlov
Trump Pretends He's Above the Law (feat. Leader Hakeem Jeffries)
You know, the cruelty of it all, I can go on and on, the mean-spirited nature of it all, you're going to crash the economy, drive us toward a recession, and then say, well, what's a little pain to be experienced by the American people? This is not America. We are better than this. And I think that is, you know, that, that, that is probably above all else.
Raging Moderates with Scott Galloway and Jessica Tarlov
Trump Pretends He's Above the Law (feat. Leader Hakeem Jeffries)
What, what enrages me in terms of the moment that we find ourselves in.
Raging Moderates with Scott Galloway and Jessica Tarlov
Trump Pretends He's Above the Law (feat. Leader Hakeem Jeffries)
Well, yeah, I would say in terms of calming down this whole notion of Trump's third term, right.
Raging Moderates with Scott Galloway and Jessica Tarlov
Trump Pretends He's Above the Law (feat. Leader Hakeem Jeffries)
Harriet Tubman and... I would just ask about, you know, how did she summon the courage, the conviction, and the character to do what she did? She freed herself, crossed the Mason-Dixon line, and then went back down South at least a dozen times, freeing at least 100, if not 200 or more Black slaves, putting herself in jeopardy. This is a Harriet Tubman moment that we're in.
Raging Moderates with Scott Galloway and Jessica Tarlov
Trump Pretends He's Above the Law (feat. Leader Hakeem Jeffries)
In terms of the sacrifice, the courage, the character, the conviction that's going to be required. And I think that will be a conversation that we all could benefit from and certainly that those of us in Congress could benefit from.
Raging Moderates with Scott Galloway and Jessica Tarlov
Trump Pretends He's Above the Law (feat. Leader Hakeem Jeffries)
Yeah. Well, you know, I had the opportunity to work at Paul Weiss for several years, and I was drawn to Paul Weiss at the time. A. Leon Higginbotham had left the Third Circuit, a prominent African-American lawyer who turned into a jurist. He was the Chief Justice of the Third Circuit. The firm had a great history.
Raging Moderates with Scott Galloway and Jessica Tarlov
Trump Pretends He's Above the Law (feat. Leader Hakeem Jeffries)
Judge Rifkin, you know, who really viewed sort of the role of the lawyer as a public citizen. And then great lawyers like Arthur Lyman and Marty London. And I got great training from there, knew I would. And it also embraced, you know, pro bono and public service. And so, you know, I haven't had the opportunity to talk to Brad about that. the decision that was made.
Raging Moderates with Scott Galloway and Jessica Tarlov
Trump Pretends He's Above the Law (feat. Leader Hakeem Jeffries)
I think he probably made that decision believing it was the right decision for the firm. But, you know, it's an open question as to whether that's the same decision that Arthur Lyman or Judge Rifkin or Eilean Higginbotham would have advised. I do think, to zoom it out, this is a moment where we are going to have to stand up to the bully. And that means that, you know, universities,
Raging Moderates with Scott Galloway and Jessica Tarlov
Trump Pretends He's Above the Law (feat. Leader Hakeem Jeffries)
like Harvard standing up to the bully, law firms, corporations, of course, those of us as members of Congress, and to do it with an intensity unlike anything that we have been called upon to do up until this point, and to rise to the occasion, just like so many others have risen to the occasion in the past, upon whose shoulders we now stand.
Raging Moderates with Scott Galloway and Jessica Tarlov
Trump Pretends He's Above the Law (feat. Leader Hakeem Jeffries)
Well, I definitely, you know, having come up in a community that, as I mentioned, in the middle of the crack cocaine epidemic, you know, it was interesting because
Raging Moderates with Scott Galloway and Jessica Tarlov
Trump Pretends He's Above the Law (feat. Leader Hakeem Jeffries)
All of my boys who I was closest with, you know, all growing up in very tough neighborhoods across central Brooklyn at the time, it was interesting to me that every single one of them who had both a mom and a dad in their household wound up going to college and or getting a good paying job and was on a really strong trajectory.
Raging Moderates with Scott Galloway and Jessica Tarlov
Trump Pretends He's Above the Law (feat. Leader Hakeem Jeffries)
And then there were others who were raised in a single parent household, several of whom went on to live productive lives, but others who didn't have that clear male role model in that household, who in my own anecdotal experience, fell into trouble. And as a matter of fact, have had a life of trouble in some cases, in and out of jail.
Raging Moderates with Scott Galloway and Jessica Tarlov
Trump Pretends He's Above the Law (feat. Leader Hakeem Jeffries)
And I do think it is important, and this is what the My Brother's Keeper initiative from a few administrations ago was all about. But all of us, I do think, I agree with you, Scott, have to step into the lives of others to provide some guidance and some perspective, and also to make it clear to young people that,
Raging Moderates with Scott Galloway and Jessica Tarlov
Trump Pretends He's Above the Law (feat. Leader Hakeem Jeffries)
and young men that look, you know, everything is not always going to be successful in life. And often you see people who are successful and you see the glory without seeing the story. And one of the things that I think is going to be important is for all of us to be more vulnerable, right, in communicating with folks.
Raging Moderates with Scott Galloway and Jessica Tarlov
Trump Pretends He's Above the Law (feat. Leader Hakeem Jeffries)
Like I ran twice for a seat in the New York State Assembly and lost twice before I was successful. And I was knocked down on the ground twice. It was tough. And you run for public office and you lose, and it's a real public thing. You can't hide the fact that you just got knocked down. It's public failure. It's public failure.
Raging Moderates with Scott Galloway and Jessica Tarlov
Trump Pretends He's Above the Law (feat. Leader Hakeem Jeffries)
And I've found, as I've talked to young men and young women, but particularly in having the conversation of just sharing my own journey Not wherever I may have wound up, but some of the adversity that I have confronted. You know, and I've pointed out, Churchill, I think, once made the observation, success is not final. Failure is not fatal.
Raging Moderates with Scott Galloway and Jessica Tarlov
Trump Pretends He's Above the Law (feat. Leader Hakeem Jeffries)
All that matters at the end of the day is the courage to continue.
Raging Moderates with Scott Galloway and Jessica Tarlov
Trump Pretends He's Above the Law (feat. Leader Hakeem Jeffries)
Well, I think definitely to some degree, you know, my father, who dealt with a lot of adversity throughout his life and, you know, powered through it, served in the military before he went off to college, served in Germany in the Air Force during the Cold War era, and then went off to college and met, you know, my mom.
Raging Moderates with Scott Galloway and Jessica Tarlov
Trump Pretends He's Above the Law (feat. Leader Hakeem Jeffries)
And, you know, also powered through a lot of dynamics because he was a substance abuse social worker. And he's dealing with folks who are battling addiction in the 70s, the heroin explosion, and then the 80s into the early 90s, the crack cocaine epidemic.
Raging Moderates with Scott Galloway and Jessica Tarlov
Trump Pretends He's Above the Law (feat. Leader Hakeem Jeffries)
But it was me sort of confronting the adversity in a public way, not once but twice, and then stumbling upon that Churchill quote as I was grappling with it all. And then I ultimately came to the conclusion that, you know what? A knockdown is different than a knockout. That's the Hakeem Jeffries Churchill remix, y'all. And you know, success is not final, failure is not fatal.
Raging Moderates with Scott Galloway and Jessica Tarlov
Trump Pretends He's Above the Law (feat. Leader Hakeem Jeffries)
All that matters is the courage to continue. I think saying that without context is not as powerful as actually making that clear, but then sharing your own personal journey and the adversity that you yourself have had to overcome.
Raging Moderates with Scott Galloway and Jessica Tarlov
Trump Pretends He's Above the Law (feat. Leader Hakeem Jeffries)
And the more we can be vulnerable in that regard, authentically vulnerable to young men, the better it may be for them in their journey to power through their turbulence.
Raging Moderates with Scott Galloway and Jessica Tarlov
Trump Pretends He's Above the Law (feat. Leader Hakeem Jeffries)
Well, listen, I do think that we are gonna have to have a real conversation in the Congress when the moment presents itself to right-size our fiscal situation. That, right, is gonna involve both, how do we promote economic growth That's not what's happening right now with this administration.
Raging Moderates with Scott Galloway and Jessica Tarlov
Trump Pretends He's Above the Law (feat. Leader Hakeem Jeffries)
Actually, investments frozen, hiring frozen, and that's part of the reason why we're on the brink of a potential recession because of the erratic nature, the uncertainty of Trump's policies, even if some would agree with some of the things that he's done. I strongly disagree with it all. But the uncertainty, right, is a problem.
Raging Moderates with Scott Galloway and Jessica Tarlov
Trump Pretends He's Above the Law (feat. Leader Hakeem Jeffries)
So, okay, we've got to figure out how do we create, whether it's a Democratic administration or a Republican administration, the type of climate that allows for economic growth and activity. And then we have to look at our spending and we have to look at our revenues and be willing authentically to do that.
Raging Moderates with Scott Galloway and Jessica Tarlov
Trump Pretends He's Above the Law (feat. Leader Hakeem Jeffries)
I mean, part of the problem, though, is that every time there's a Republican administration, literally, they inherit a better financial and fiscal situation, economic situation, and then blow it because of tax cuts for the wealthy and the well-off.
Raging Moderates with Scott Galloway and Jessica Tarlov
Trump Pretends He's Above the Law (feat. Leader Hakeem Jeffries)
Thank you. Thank you.
Raging Moderates with Scott Galloway and Jessica Tarlov
Trump Pretends He's Above the Law (feat. Leader Hakeem Jeffries)
Thank you.
Raging Moderates with Scott Galloway and Jessica Tarlov
Trump Pretends He's Above the Law (feat. Leader Hakeem Jeffries)
Great to be here.
Raging Moderates with Scott Galloway and Jessica Tarlov
Trump Pretends He's Above the Law (feat. Leader Hakeem Jeffries)
Seriously. I'll be meeting up with Eric Adams at the club. Nice. Just joking.
Raging Moderates with Scott Galloway and Jessica Tarlov
Trump Pretends He's Above the Law (feat. Leader Hakeem Jeffries)
No, I'm staying.
Raging Moderates with Scott Galloway and Jessica Tarlov
Trump Pretends He's Above the Law (feat. Leader Hakeem Jeffries)
So I thought it was a powerful decision that was written by the Fourth Circuit building upon the original Supreme Court decision, which in some ways was shocking that it was 9-0 because I never expected to be able to actually count on Thomas and Alito for a somewhat enlightened decision. But it was 9-0. Now there's some vagaries attached to the word facilitate.
Raging Moderates with Scott Galloway and Jessica Tarlov
Trump Pretends He's Above the Law (feat. Leader Hakeem Jeffries)
that may need to be strongly clarified if this goes back up to the Supreme Court. But foundationally, as was said in that Fourth Circuit decision, Liberty is in the DNA of the United States of America. And what's also in the DNA is the notion that here in this country, we don't have a king, we don't have a monarch, we don't have a dictator, we have a democracy.
Raging Moderates with Scott Galloway and Jessica Tarlov
Trump Pretends He's Above the Law (feat. Leader Hakeem Jeffries)
And a democracy where there are checks and balances, and that's the Congress, and many of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle, of course, aren't adhering to that notion that we work for the American people, not any president. But the courts also has a critically important, you know, check and balance.
The Ben Shapiro Show
Ep. 2203 - The Democrat-Media Scandal That Won’t Go Away
Seems to me entirely inappropriate that at this moment in time, when President Biden is dealing with a serious and aggressive form of cancer, there are Republicans who are peddling conspiracy theories and want us to look backward.
The Ben Shapiro Show
Ep. 2153 - The Democratic Collapse CONTINUES!
I haven't seen his comments. What Democrats opposed was unleashing sexual predators on girls throughout the United States of America.
The Daily Show: Ears Edition
Trump Threatens Third Term, Admin Admits Deportation Mistake
In America, we don't have a king. We don't have a monarch. We don't have a dictator. In our democracy, we have separate and co-equal branches of government.
The Dan Bongino Show
The Biggest FBI Scandal In History Is Unfolding (Ep. 2395)
It's okay. There are no election deniers on our side of the aisle.
The Dan Bongino Show
The Biggest FBI Scandal In History Is Unfolding (Ep. 2395)
January 6th, 2021 is a day that will forever live in infamy.
The Dan Bongino Show
Jay Bhattacharya on Secret Bio-Labs, COVID Origins, and MAHA | Episode 44
Here he is. Your statement the other day after there was this incident in Newark, you said they better not touch our members. Correct.
The Dan Bongino Show
The Explosive White House Meeting That Changed Everything (Ep. 2434)
So our condolences go to the individual who was killed tonight.
The Dan Bongino Show
The Explosive White House Meeting That Changed Everything (Ep. 2434)
from the Trump administration over the last several weeks is just a flood of unprecedented extremism and a parade of horribles that continue to be unleashed on the American people. While at the same time, the Trump administration is not focused on solving the problems of everyday Americans. We're continuing to make sure that We focus on trying to make life better for everyday Americans.
The Dan Bongino Show
The Explosive White House Meeting That Changed Everything (Ep. 2434)
Fundamentally, that's why we were sent to Washington, D.C. We have to drive down the high cost of living. We have to secure the border. We have to keep communities safe. We have to protect our dreamers and farm workers and families. These are the things that matter.
The Journal.
Can the GOP Unite Around Trump’s ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’?
Hospitals are going to close. Nursing homes are going to shut down.
The Journal.
Can the GOP Unite Around Trump’s ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’?
All because Republicans want to provide a massive tax break to their billionaire donors like Elon Musk.
The Megyn Kelly Show
Schumer on the Rocks, Trump Admin vs. DC Judge on Deportations, Trump Polling Highs: AM Update 3/17
Look, Chuck and I disagreed as it relates to the approach and outcome relative to what we viewed as a reckless Republican spending bill. At the same period of time, Chuck and I agree on the overwhelming majority of issues moving forward.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries Responds to Trump 100 Days of Chaos
The only question to be asked is whether Donald Trump should be given a D for disaster or an F for failure. I'm going to give him an F for complete and total failure.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries Responds to Trump 100 Days of Chaos
Tariffs are actually adding thousands of dollars of additional costs to hardworking American taxpayers. They think that Social Security is a Ponzi scheme. Actually, Social Security is not a Ponzi scheme. The Trump administration has turned into a Ponzi scheme. They promise one thing and they deliver a disaster.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries Responds to Trump 100 Days of Chaos
Absolutely correct. In fact, Donald Trump is now the most unpopular president in terms of his public approval in the first 100 days in modern American history. He broke his own record. And We now have seen polling that has him in the high 30s. At best, he's in the low 40s. That's abysmally low.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries Responds to Trump 100 Days of Chaos
But it's because the American people have seen the assault on the economy, the assault on Social Security, the assault on Medicaid and health care, the assault on veterans and the assault on. the rule of law, the American way of life, and democracy itself, and the American people aren't feeling it, which is why his poll numbers are plummeting.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries Responds to Trump 100 Days of Chaos
And so the only question then is when will House Republicans stop being a rubber stamp for his extreme agenda. We only need four Republicans in the House or four Republicans in the Senate to partner with us as House Democrats or Senate Democrats, and we can stop these bad things from happening legislatively.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries Responds to Trump 100 Days of Chaos
Donald Trump spent the last year and a half questioning the cognitive ability of President Joe Biden, notwithstanding many of the legislative accomplishments that Donald Trump could only wish he got over the finish line.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries Responds to Trump 100 Days of Chaos
And so I think it's fair that a lot of Americans across the country that I run into are questioning whether Donald Trump is actually fit at this point to be able to carry out the duties of the United States of America in terms of being the president, and the commander in chief. Then again, we know that this is someone who has spent a lifetime lying
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries Responds to Trump 100 Days of Chaos
in every aspect of his life, and he lies seamlessly. And so you just wonder whether the other explanation is that some of this is just his willingness to try to consistently lie to the American people in the same way that he lied about Project 2025 on the campaign trail, acted like it didn't exist.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries Responds to Trump 100 Days of Chaos
And then all of the extremism, all of the parade of horribles, this whole flood the zone strategy, which we are consistently pushing back against in Congress, in courts, and in communities across the country. But it's all centered around Project 2025, which he said to the American people he was unaware of and acted like it didn't exist.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries Responds to Trump 100 Days of Chaos
And that, of course, fundamentally, like the willingness to continue to lie to the American people is quite unfortunate. But the American people aren't buying it, which is why you are seeing his public approval crash. And in poll after poll after poll, the generic ballot, who would the American people rather have in charge?
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries Responds to Trump 100 Days of Chaos
Republicans in Congress who are a rubber stamp or Democrats who will be a check and balance on an out of control executive branch. Poll after poll after poll have said we want to put Democrats in charge so you can actually do the bidding of the American people, not simply bending the knee to Donald Trump, which is what the Republicans in the Congress are doing right now.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries Responds to Trump 100 Days of Chaos
Yeah. Thank you for that question. We laid out the plan. And over the last 100 days, we've been systematically executing it. And it's all anchored in the theory that more is more, that we have to continue to respond by doing more, stacking one thing on top of the other. So the rallies, the peaceful protests, the days of action.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries Responds to Trump 100 Days of Chaos
Last two weeks, we had a Medicaid Matters Day of Action, a Social Security Day. day of action and a cost of living week of action. And we'll continue to do that. We're doing hearings in the Capitol. We're taking those hearings on the road.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries Responds to Trump 100 Days of Chaos
That's correct. We know that he bankrupted at least three different businesses, including bankrupting a casino, which is like impossible to do. The House always wins unless the House, in terms of the casino, is being run by Donald Trump. Now he's actually trying to bankrupt the United States of America, crashing the economy and driving us toward a recession.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries Responds to Trump 100 Days of Chaos
We're doing town hall meetings in Democratic districts and town hall meetings in Republican districts since they're running away from interacting with their constituents. So we're going into those districts and speaking the truth to the American people.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries Responds to Trump 100 Days of Chaos
Press conferences, sit-ins, speeches on the Senate floor, like Cory Booker was able to do in a historic fashion, speeches on the House floor, and continuing to be present to push back against all the things. More is more.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries Responds to Trump 100 Days of Chaos
And as we transition from the first 100 days into the second 100 days, we'll continue to elevate that type of principled opposition, which is needed, while also articulating our blueprint for a better America, the things that we as Democrats will do to make life better for the American people.
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Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries Responds to Trump 100 Days of Chaos
Now, Senator Booker and I decided to sit down, just the two of us, on Sunday around 6.15 a.m. on the Capitol steps to have a conversation with each other and then hopefully have a conversation with the American people. Hundreds of people showed up throughout the day to sit with us. And in fact, millions upon millions upon millions of people were able to engage with us
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Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries Responds to Trump 100 Days of Chaos
through the live stream that took place in solidarity with the effort. We were inspired to do it based on our perspective of constantly asking the question, what would John Lewis do? And in this particular instance, we knew the answer. When it came to trying to save health care in 2017, he sat down on the Capitol steps.
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Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries Responds to Trump 100 Days of Chaos
and spoke to the American people about why it was important to forcefully push back in defense of what matters. And so that is something that we must continue to do. John Lewis would say to us often, when you see wrongdoing taking place, never give up, never give in. And that is what we are going to continue to do. That's what the American people have shown over the last 100 days.
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Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries Responds to Trump 100 Days of Chaos
We're going to continue to show up and stand up and speak up. We will not stop fighting until we continue America's march toward a more perfect union, until we end this national nightmare, until we make sure that this is a nation truly with liberty and justice for all.
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Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries Responds to Trump 100 Days of Chaos
And you are absolutely correct that the whole thing is fraudulent. and House Republicans spent all of last year on the campaign trail promising to lower costs on day one, to bring down inflation, and to make life more affordable. That was their central promise to the American people. They lied. There was never any intention to do it. And we now see that costs aren't going down. They're going up.
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Dem Leader Hakeem Jeffries on Trump Plummeting Approval
Well, great to be with you, Ben. Our theory of the case from the very beginning is that we've got to make sure Trump's biggest strength as of January 20th, which was the economy, turned into his greatest weakness because we knew from the very beginning that Donald Trump had no intention of trying to lower the high cost of living in the United States of America.
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Dem Leader Hakeem Jeffries on Trump Plummeting Approval
He promised that costs were going to drop on day one. But we know, of course, that costs aren't going down. They're going up. Grocery prices are going up. Inflation is going up. What's going down are the retirement savings of the American people because Trump is plummeting the stock market and crashing the economy in real time. And we're going to stay on this issue.
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Dem Leader Hakeem Jeffries on Trump Plummeting Approval
House Democrats... were strongly opposed on the floor to this partisan Republican Trump-Musk-Johnson spending bill because it's an attack on families, an attack on seniors, an attack on veterans.
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Dem Leader Hakeem Jeffries on Trump Plummeting Approval
It would cut veterans' benefits, cut nutritional assistance, cut healthcare programs, cut investments in cancer research, cut investments in Alzheimer's, and just be devastating to people all across America. And so the consequences of the extreme MAGA Republican ideology are being unleashed on the American people in real time.
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Dem Leader Hakeem Jeffries on Trump Plummeting Approval
I gave five reasons when I talked to the caucus yesterday about why we should oppose this partisan spending bill. And one of those reasons is the fact that this bill would give Elon Musk a blank check in terms of trying to continue the process of unraveling the federal government as we know it in ways that are going to hurt the American people.
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Dem Leader Hakeem Jeffries on Trump Plummeting Approval
Well, the fundamental scheme that is underway in terms of what we're seeing from Republicans is that they want to take a chainsaw to Social Security, a chainsaw to Medicare, as Elon Musk recently confirmed, and a chainsaw to Medicaid, where they are trying to set in motion the largest cut to Medicaid in American history.
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Dem Leader Hakeem Jeffries on Trump Plummeting Approval
Every single Democrat in the House voted against that budget resolution, and we're going to continue to stand strong against it, but they are unraveling these incredibly important priorities for everyday Americans because they want to provide a massive tax cut to their billionaire donors and puppet masters like Elon Musk. That's what the Republicans are all about at the end of the day.
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Dem Leader Hakeem Jeffries on Trump Plummeting Approval
We saw this same playbook repeatedly during the Reagan presidency. during the presidency of George W. Bush, during the presidency of Donald Trump, the first time around, and now he's running the same playbook as it relates to the GOP tax scam. And so we're gonna push back strongly against it and make sure that these House Republicans all across the country are held accountable.
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Dem Leader Hakeem Jeffries on Trump Plummeting Approval
That's the reason why they are running scared, but they can run from their extremism. They can try not to hold town hall meetings. We're gonna make sure they cannot
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Dem Leader Hakeem Jeffries on Trump Plummeting Approval
Absolutely. I just had this conversation with several members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, and we all recognize it's an all hands on deck effort. We have to, of course, communicate with our constituents. And next week, we will be having a National Day of Action on Medicaid where we are encouraging,
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Dem Leader Hakeem Jeffries on Trump Plummeting Approval
every single member to hold a town hall meeting or an in-person event, a press conference, visit a hospital, visit a nursing home, visit a community health center, and lift up the fact that we are defending Medicaid, this critically important health care program for tens of millions of Americans, approximately 90 million Americans. all across the country.
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Dem Leader Hakeem Jeffries on Trump Plummeting Approval
And Republicans are trying to end Medicaid as we know it, which will be devastating for children, for pregnant women, for people with disabilities, for seniors. And of course, the Republican Medicaid cuts are going to close your hospital in urban America or in rural America. or in small town America. And certainly, nursing homes are going to close all across the country.
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Dem Leader Hakeem Jeffries on Trump Plummeting Approval
We're going to continue to lift this up, both as it relates to what we do next week with this Medicaid Day of Action, but every week, every month, this year, next year, until we get this national nightmare ended, and we can turn this thing around for the American people.
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Dem Leader Hakeem Jeffries on Trump Plummeting Approval
Yeah, no, it's a great question, Ben. And we launched our first hearing yesterday. Last week, it was a steering and policy hearing convened by Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Congresswoman Robin Kelly, and Congresswoman Nanette Barragan. That was on the Hill, lifting up the stories of everyday Americans who will be impacted by these Medicaid cuts.
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Dem Leader Hakeem Jeffries on Trump Plummeting Approval
The week after next, when we're back on the Hill, we're going to have another hearing that will feature everyday Americans who can tell their stories related to nutritional assistance and how the cuts will impact their ability to put food on the table for their children. or for their elderly parents.
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Dem Leader Hakeem Jeffries on Trump Plummeting Approval
But the Steering and Policy Committee, to your point and question, is also going to be hitting the road in blue states, purple states, and red states, so we can hear from everyday Americans across the country about how they are struggling to make ends meet, how they are struggling to live paycheck to paycheck, which should not be the case.
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Dem Leader Hakeem Jeffries on Trump Plummeting Approval
This is the wealthiest country in the history of the world. We have to build an affordable economy where everyone when you work hard and play by the rules, can provide a comfortable living for yourself and for your family. That is the democratic objective as it relates to the type of country we should be living in. Donald Trump is actually taking things in the other direction.
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Dem Leader Hakeem Jeffries on Trump Plummeting Approval
He's crashing the economy in real time and leading us to a Republican recession in all likelihood, and that will be devastating.
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Dem Leader Hakeem Jeffries on Trump Plummeting Approval
We understand that people are anxious, scared, concerned, upset at the state of affairs as a result of the flooding of the zone and the unleashing of this extremism from the Trump administration and the failure of House Republicans or Senate Republicans to actually serve as a check and balance on an out of control executive branch.
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Dem Leader Hakeem Jeffries on Trump Plummeting Approval
We hear you, we see you, but most importantly, we are committed to making life better for you. We're gonna turn this national nightmare around and make sure we can bring the American dream to life for every single person in this great country.
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GOP Freaks Out as Dem Intros Impeachment Against Trump
It's very clear. First of all, I think that The so-called Homeland Security spokesperson is a joke. It's a joke. They know better than to go down that road. And it's been made loudly and abundantly clear to the Trump administration. We're not going to be intimidated by their tactics to try to force principled opposition from not standing up to their extremism.
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GOP Freaks Out as Dem Intros Impeachment Against Trump
It hasn't happened during the entirety of this failed term. It didn't happen when Donald Trump temporarily was sitting high in the immediate aftermath of the election. Do you think it's going to happen now? when he's the most unpopular president in American history after his first 100 days? Give me a break. No one's intimidated by this dude. No one.
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GOP Freaks Out as Dem Intros Impeachment Against Trump
And so there are clear lines that they just dare not cross.
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House Democratic Leader Jeffries on Democratic Plans
In moments of turbulence, in moments of crisis, there have always been just enough of us who have come together to show up, stand up, and speak up for what is right and ensure that America can continue to be the best version of herself. And that is exactly what is required at this moment. And if we channel that same level of engagement that prior generations have done,
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House Democratic Leader Jeffries on Democratic Plans
this time around, at the end of the day, will be successful.
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House Democratic Leader Jeffries on Democratic Plans
So from my vantage point, we can't let them get away with it. We have to hold them accountable. It's one of the reasons why we've been trying to make the point in the House that on any given issue,
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House Democratic Leader Jeffries on Democratic Plans
It only takes three House Republicans to break with the MAGA extremists and join all 215 House Democrats to stop bad things from happening and get some good things to happen for the American people, individuals all across the country, in every community, in every corner of America. It only takes three House Republicans. What I'm asking for a mass example of profiles in courage. Only three.
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House Democratic Leader Jeffries on Democratic Plans
And we can't let them off the hook. And as House Democrats, we won't let them off the hook.
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House Democratic Leader Jeffries on Democratic Plans
It's a very important question. And look, the flood of extremism and the parade of horribles that has been unleashed on the American people is an intentional strategy by Donald Trump and the MAGA extremists to try to disappoint, discourage, and disorient the American people. It's an intentional strategy. Now, we're not going to be intimidated. We're not going to be cowed by it.
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House Democratic Leader Jeffries on Democratic Plans
We certainly will not bend the knee. Donald Trump is not a king. We don't have kings In the United States of America. So my view has been it's an all hands on deck effort that requires us pushing back aggressively on multiple fronts. We, of course, have to push back in the Congress, in the House and in the Senate. And we'll continue to do that.
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House Democratic Leader Jeffries on Democratic Plans
Every single Democrat on the House Budget Committee last week. opposed the GOP tax scam and spent 12 hours battling the extreme MAGA Republicans to make sure that we expose their scheme and their betrayal of working class Americans to people all across the country. We have to push back in the Congress.
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House Democratic Leader Jeffries on Democratic Plans
We will continue to push back aggressively in the courts, working with our allies, democracy reform groups, organized labor, civil society, and of course, the Democratic Attorney General, shout out to Tish James, my attorney general, who's doing her thing, will continue to work with them.
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House Democratic Leader Jeffries on Democratic Plans
There have been more than 75 different lawsuits that have been filed and counting related to at least 35 of the unconstitutional and unlawful executive orders from Donald Trump and his administration. And Ben, as you know, we're not losing in court, we're winning.
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House Democratic Leader Jeffries on Democratic Plans
We have to keep our foot on the gas pedal, but you're talking about dozens and dozens of lawsuits that have been filed that are righteous and necessary. And we're pushing back against Donald Trump and the extremism in the courts. And of course, it's gonna require everybody stepping up
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House Democratic Leader Jeffries on Democratic Plans
In communities all across the country, we're urging members to continue to hold town hall meetings, telephone town hall meetings, in-person events, show up in churches and synagogues and mosques and beauty salons and barbershops and schools and hospitals and everywhere that we can to bring along the American people as part of this multi-pronged effort that includes
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House Democratic Leader Jeffries on Democratic Plans
What's your response, Congressman? Zelensky is not a dictator. He was a duly elected president of Ukraine. It's just stunning that Donald Trump continues to just lie so effortlessly to the American people. We know that President Zelensky is a champion for democracy, freedom, and truth, and an important ally to the United States of America.
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House Democratic Leader Jeffries on Democratic Plans
pushing back on the ground in the community and bringing the American people along with us in this fight.
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House Democratic Leader Jeffries on Democratic Plans
Listen, I think the American people understandably see all of what I would call diabolical intensity coming from the other side of the aisle. We have to not simply match that intensity, but exceed it by enlightened and righteous intensity. We have the high ground on these issues. The American people do not wanna see Medicaid devastated. They want us to protect social security and Medicare.
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House Democratic Leader Jeffries on Democratic Plans
They don't wanna see massive tax cuts for Republican billionaire donors and wealthy corporations, which is the whole objective behind the Republican budget scheme. And then they want to stick working class Americans with the bill. I think the American people actually want to see us do something meaningful to drive down the high cost of living in the United States of America.
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House Democratic Leader Jeffries on Democratic Plans
That was the central promise that Republicans made to the American people all of last year while they ran away from Project 2025. acted like it didn't exist. But this year, they're doing everything they can to implement the most extreme parts of Project 2025.
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House Democratic Leader Jeffries on Democratic Plans
And as part of that bait and switch, doing nothing, zip, nada, nothing at all, no plan, no bill, no legislation, no ideas, no initiatives to address the high cost of living in the United States of America. And we, of course, as Democrats have to expose that, expose the hypocrisy,
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House Democratic Leader Jeffries on Democratic Plans
Expose the lies that were told to the American people and use every tool available to us in the legislative toolbox, in the litigation toolbox, and in the mobilization toolbox in order to get America through this moment and make sure that we can come out stronger on the other side.
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House Democratic Leader Jeffries on Democratic Plans
Well, it's going to be incredibly important to mobilize in the same way that the American people mobilized in 2017. to work with members of Congress in the House and the Senate to stop Donald Trump and extreme MAGA Republicans from repealing the Affordable Care Act. And what's important to remember is that in 2017, Donald Trump lost the popular vote, and then he came to Congress.
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House Democratic Leader Jeffries on Democratic Plans
There were 241 Republicans and only 194 Democrats. We were buried deep in the minority at that particular point in time. And yet the American people collectively rose up, worked with Democrats in the House and the Senate, and we were able to successfully stop the Republicans from repealing the Affordable Care Act. That was a tremendous victory for the American people.
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House Democratic Leader Jeffries on Democratic Plans
It's shocking, but I guess not surprising, that Donald Trump continues to play footsie with Vladimir Putin, a sworn enemy of the United States of America.
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House Democratic Leader Jeffries on Democratic Plans
At the same time, they did successfully pass the GOP tax scam, where, as you know, 83% of the benefits were set aside for the wealthiest 1% in America, raised the debt by $2 trillion and then stuck everyday Americans with the bill. And what they're trying to do right now is the GOP tax scam part two.
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House Democratic Leader Jeffries on Democratic Plans
As I mentioned, every single Democrat in the most recent budget committee markup of this GOP tax bill voted against it, spent hours debating it. And we're gonna intensify that effort when we get back to Congress and come back into session next week, and we'll debate this bill on the floor.
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House Democratic Leader Jeffries on Democratic Plans
And we're gonna make plain for the American people what they are trying to do, not simply massive tax cuts for their billionaire donors and wealthy corporations, as well as the well-off and well-connected, but at the same period of time, they wanna devastate Medicaid. That is going to hurt children, hurt women, hurt seniors in nursing homes,
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House Democratic Leader Jeffries on Democratic Plans
and who need the long-term care and of course hurt people with disabilities. They want to hurt veterans. They want to hurt older Americans who are on Meals on Wheels. They want to hurt children who receive nutritional assistance and rely on that nutritional assistance for their only meals in a given day. This is America. This is the wealthiest country in the history of the world.
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House Democratic Leader Jeffries on Democratic Plans
We have to do better and we have to hold the Republicans accountable for the devastation that they are going to try to bring to the American people.
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House Democratic Leader Jeffries on Democratic Plans
I mean, it's a great question. First of all, what does any of this have to do with making life better for everyday Americans with improving the quality of life, with driving down the high cost of living in this country? Absolutely nothing, because Their true objective, it appears, is to raid the federal government.
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House Democratic Leader Jeffries on Democratic Plans
There's no reason in the world why Elon Musk should need access to our names, our addresses, our bank account information, our birth dates, and our social security numbers. There's no reason in the world why Elon Musk needs access to the tax returns of the American people. Look, we've introduced legislation to block him. from getting this access.
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House Democratic Leader Jeffries on Democratic Plans
Lawsuits have been filed to stop him from accessing this data. And we've got to use every tool in the toolbox to push back against it and make sure the American people understand what's happening. Elon Musk has emerged as one of the most unpopular figures at this juncture connected to the Trump administration.
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House Democratic Leader Jeffries on Democratic Plans
As you pointed out, Donald Trump's poll numbers are moving in the wrong direction, and it hasn't even been a month at this point in time. And so, the real question for all of us is going to be, what is the corrupt bargain that has been struck between Donald Trump and Elon Musk? What is he really after in this regard.
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House Democratic Leader Jeffries on Democratic Plans
It certainly has nothing to do with protecting the best interests of the American people. And we're going to have to continue to drive that narrative home, and we will.
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House Democratic Leader Jeffries on Democratic Plans
MAGA extremists want us to step back. We have to continue to aggressively push back. It is an all hands on deck effort and it's going to require everyone. And we have to lean in with a level of intensity every day, every week, every month, get through the first 100 days, get through the year, get to the midterm elections, and then cut Donald Trump's presidency in half legislatively and begin
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House Democratic Leader Jeffries on Democratic Plans
to turn things around in the United States of America. We were successful during the first Trump administration in blocking the Affordable Care Act from being repealed, which was their signature legislative objective, and in stopping other bad things from happening. Now they're back for a second. It's going to be an epic struggle between those of us who want to move the country forward
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House Democratic Leader Jeffries on Democratic Plans
and the extreme mega Republican forces who want to turn back the clock. Those of us who want to bring the country together, the best of what a democracy should represent, and those who are trying to tear us apart. But in the history of this country, we're not a perfect country, but we've continued to march toward a more perfect union. And the reason is,
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House Democratic Leader Jeffries on Democratic Plans
Part of the problem is that we're dealing with a group of people in the House Republican Conference. and over in the Senate, where for far too many of them, facts don't matter. Hypocrisy is not a constraint to their behavior. They'll say one thing and then do something entirely different. And many of them have actually come to the conclusion that their shamelessness is a superpower.
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Dems Finally Smack Down the GOP Over Trump Disaster
Here's what he had to say. We understand that people are anxious, scared, concerned, upset at the state of affairs as a result of the flooding of the zone and the unleashing of this extremism from the Trump administration and the failure of House Republicans or Senate Republicans to actually serve as a check and balance on an out of control executive branch.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Dems Finally Smack Down the GOP Over Trump Disaster
We hear you, we see you, but most importantly, we are committed to making life better for you. We're gonna turn this national nightmare around and make sure we can bring the American dream to life for every single person in this great country.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
MAGA Mike Gets Humiliated by His Own Party on Vote
How late will you stay? How late will you stay tonight?
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MAGA Mike Gets Humiliated by His Own Party on Vote
And the Republican budget proposal that would enact the largest Medicaid cut in American history in order to pass massive tax breaks. for your billionaire donors like Elon Musk. Mr. Speaker, I'm ready to yield. I'm ready to debate one-on-one on this House floor. And I promise not to rebuke you in the name of Jesus. Here in America, we were told, we were told by Donald Trump and House senators
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MAGA Mike Gets Humiliated by His Own Party on Vote
Republicans, that you were going to lower the high cost of living for everyday Americans. In fact, we were told that you were going to do it on day one. And it hasn't happened.
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Dem Leader Hakeem Jeffries Reacts to Trump Crashing Markets
To be with you, man, you know, Donald Trump is a complete and total disaster on all the things. But at this moment, as it relates to the economy, this is someone who spent all of last year promising to address the high cost of living in the United States of America. In fact, he said that costs are going to go down on day one of his presidency. That's not happening.
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Dem Leader Hakeem Jeffries Reacts to Trump Crashing Markets
In fact, costs aren't going down. They're going up. Inflation is going up. As you pointed out, what's happening is that the stock market is collapsing. And what that means is that the retirement savings of everyday Americans are disappearing by the hour. And this is all because of Trump's reckless mismanagement of the economy. And now these tariffs are
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Dem Leader Hakeem Jeffries Reacts to Trump Crashing Markets
that are being imposed are going to raise the cost of goods on everyday Americans by some estimates by thousands of dollars per year. This is out of control in terms of this guy who should be leading us to a better place in terms of an affordable economy, but instead is crashing the economy in real time. Liberation Day, it's recession day because that's where we're headed.
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Dem Leader Hakeem Jeffries Reacts to Trump Crashing Markets
Niagara Republicans can't be trusted with a thing other than trying to take away your healthcare and your social security. These are people who spent all of their time on the campaign trail, promising to address the high cost of living while at the same time, acting like project 2025 did not exist. And then this year, now they've got majorities in the house, the Senate and the presidency.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Dem Leader Hakeem Jeffries Reacts to Trump Crashing Markets
have done nothing to drive down the high cost of living and instead are talking about inflicting pain on the American people. Where was that talk before the election? This is why people in the country are so cynical about their elected leaders because MAGA Republicans just lied.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Dem Leader Hakeem Jeffries Reacts to Trump Crashing Markets
And by the way, what they've been doing is every day trying to implement the most extreme parts of Project 2025, which they claim they did not know anything about This is why the American people we're starting to see all across the country are holding them accountable electorally. And we are going to keep the pressure on every single one of them.
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Dem Leader Hakeem Jeffries Reacts to Trump Crashing Markets
Absolutely. There is a through line what we've seen. Uh, in the special elections that have taken place throughout this entire year, culminating of course, with the crescendo of what occurred in Wisconsin is incredible democratic energy amongst the base and swing voters, independent voters, and even some moderate Republican voters supporting us.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Dem Leader Hakeem Jeffries Reacts to Trump Crashing Markets
And that is why we've seen in January, we won a special election in Iowa. in the state Senate seat that Donald Trump had previously won that November by 21 points. We won that race by four, 25 point democratic over performance. We had a special election for the Westchester County executive seat in February. It's a seat that has been held within the last 10 years by a Democrat and by a Republican.
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Dem Leader Hakeem Jeffries Reacts to Trump Crashing Markets
It can go in either direction, Donald Trump endorsed The Republican candidate, the Democratic candidate won by 30 points. And then of course, last week we saw in Pennsylvania in a state Senate district that Donald Trump had won in November by 15 points that the Democratic candidate wins in Lancaster County.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Dem Leader Hakeem Jeffries Reacts to Trump Crashing Markets
By the way, a county that in the history of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, one of the original 13 states has never elected a Democrat to represent it in the state Senate from Lancaster County. And then it all culminates with the results that occurred in Florida, massive overperformance.
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Dem Leader Hakeem Jeffries Reacts to Trump Crashing Markets
And of course, in Wisconsin, a 50-50 state that Donald Trump just won, which was a significant repudiation in the results. The enlightened candidate prevailed and prevailed decisively. It was a 10-point victory. Nobody saw that coming. It was stunning. The people rejected Donald Trump.
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Dem Leader Hakeem Jeffries Reacts to Trump Crashing Markets
rejected Elon Musk and rejected the extreme mega Republican brand, which is rapidly deteriorating across the country.
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Dem Leader Hakeem Jeffries Reacts to Trump Crashing Markets
That's absolutely right. And the notion that everyday Americans need to absorb pain brought to us by Donald Trump and his group of mega billionaires is ridiculous. It's outrageous.
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Dem Leader Hakeem Jeffries Reacts to Trump Crashing Markets
Every single one of the House Republicans and Senate Republicans supporting this kind of reckless approach, this unnecessary trade war, need to be thrown out of office and held accountable for the pain that they are intentionally inflicting on the American people. We have to ask the question. This is probably the first time in our history that an American president
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Dem Leader Hakeem Jeffries Reacts to Trump Crashing Markets
is intentionally crashing the economy and driving us toward a recession. He didn't tell us about this when he was on the campaign trail last year. They have no mandate for any of this, no mandate to cut Medicaid, no mandate to try to take away Social Security.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Dem Leader Hakeem Jeffries Reacts to Trump Crashing Markets
Certainly, they don't have any mandate to drive this country into a recession, which is going to hurt hardworking American taxpayers and families all across the land.
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Dem Leader Hakeem Jeffries Reacts to Trump Crashing Markets
It does appear to me that this is what Donald Trump does. He somehow sold himself to significant numbers of Americans as a businessman, but he's a failed businessman, bankrupted multiple companies, and now Donald Trump is trying to literally Bankrupt America. And we do have to ask the question, is there some financial gain involved here?
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Dem Leader Hakeem Jeffries Reacts to Trump Crashing Markets
Because we've seen significant corruption coming out of this administration. I mean, they're peddling Teslas on the White House lawn. You've got the cryptocurrency schemes that are underway. He's even trying to sell Easter. And so all of these things are happening. This is the most corrupt administration already in American history. They are going to be held accountable.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Dem Leader Hakeem Jeffries Reacts to Trump Crashing Markets
I can promise that to the American people. And we are gonna get to the bottom of why these reckless tariffs have been put into place, which are spiraling us toward economic collapse.
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Dem Leader Hakeem Jeffries Reacts to Trump Crashing Markets
Definitively. And this has got to continue. It's every hour. It's every day. It's every week. It's every month. It's this year. It's next year. We get to the midterm elections. And then, of course, we can try to begin to end this national nightmare and redeem the American dream for people all across the country. And the fight has to continue.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Dem Leader Hakeem Jeffries Reacts to Trump Crashing Markets
And we've maintained it's in the Congress, it's in the courts, and it's in communities all across the country to win the hearts and minds of the American people.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Dem Leader Hakeem Jeffries Reacts to Trump Crashing Markets
And that does require, as we've been doing, getting on the road in districts represented by Democrats, in districts represented by Republicans, in blue states, in swing states, in red states, town hall meetings, days of action, telephone town hall meetings, in-person events, rallies.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Dem Leader Hakeem Jeffries Reacts to Trump Crashing Markets
Iconic speeches delivered on the floor of the United States Senate, strong democratic opposition in the House to the things that the MAGA Republicans are trying to do, including defeating a bill on the House floor yesterday, or a rule that they brought to try to block expectant mothers and new mothers from being able to vote. Outrageous stuff, strong democratic opposition.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Dem Leader Hakeem Jeffries Reacts to Trump Crashing Markets
that stopped that bill and forced the Republicans to actually cancel votes for the rest of the week and run home. But we're going to continue to intensify these efforts while at the same time winning over the hearts and minds of the American people. This lawsuit, it was brought by myself, by House Democrats, Senate Democrats, the Democratic Governors Association, and the DNC, all hands on deck.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Dem Leader Hakeem Jeffries Reacts to Trump Crashing Markets
captioned in part Jeffries versus Trump, but it's all of us. And we're suing him in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia around his unconstitutional and unlawful executive order that relates to voter suppression. Donald Trump is not a king and we're not going to bend the knee to this guy. And he issued an executive order as if he can change how elections are governed.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Dem Leader Hakeem Jeffries Reacts to Trump Crashing Markets
No, you can't. And the courts are going to rule in our favor. That executive order will never go into effect. And it's only the state legislatures or the Congress or voters who have an ability through referendums to decide how elections are governed in a particular state. And I'm confident that the federal court will see it our way
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Dem Leader Hakeem Jeffries Reacts to Trump Crashing Markets
and that Donald Trump's unconstitutional and unlawful voter suppression executive order will never, ever see the light of day.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Fox News Panics on Air Over Trump’s Health Issues
Donald Trump spent the last year and a half questioning the cognitive ability of President Joe Biden, notwithstanding many of the legislative accomplishments that Donald Trump could only wish he got over the finish line.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Fox News Panics on Air Over Trump’s Health Issues
And so I think it's fair that a lot of Americans across the country that I run into are questioning whether Donald Trump is actually fit at this point to be able to carry out the duties of the United States of America in terms of being the president and the commander in chief.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
House Republicans TANK Trump and Musk Bill and SHAME THEM
The Musk Johnson proposal is not serious. It's laughable. Extreme MAGA Republicans are driving us to a government shutdown.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Dems CALL Trump’s BLUFF… Trump SURRENDERS FAST
This reckless Republican driven shutdown can be avoided if House Republicans will simply do what is right for the American people and stick with the bipartisan agreement that they themselves negotiated.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
GOP Leaders Nuke Congress on Live TV... Dems Strike Back
Democrats are committed to driving down the high cost of living. for working class Americans, middle class Americans, and everyday Americans all across the land. Our Republican colleagues are not serious about lowering the high cost of living. They've done nothing, introduced not a single bill, not put forth a single policy proposal.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
GOP Leaders Nuke Congress on Live TV... Dems Strike Back
They've done nothing as it relates to lowering the high cost of living.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
GOP Leaders Nuke Congress on Live TV... Dems Strike Back
We've been waiting for this so-called budget proposal for weeks. When is it coming? And what's the problem? What's the problem? We've been lectured for months by Republicans that they have a big mandate. Where is your bill? Where's your budget proposal? What we've seen from Republicans in terms of the budget
The MeidasTouch Podcast
GOP Leaders Nuke Congress on Live TV... Dems Strike Back
is that they want to end Medicaid as we know it, are considering eliminating the mortgage interest deduction, and want to take away veterans benefits and nutritional assistance from children and families. Is that something that Democrats will support? No.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
MeidasTouch Full Podcast - 4/11/25
We need to get to the bottom of the possible stock manipulation that is unfolding before the American people, including what if any advanced knowledge did members, of the House Republican Conference have of Trump's decision to pause the reckless tariffs that he put into place.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
MeidasTouch Full Podcast - 4/11/25
There are several members of Congress who will be aggressively demanding answers and transparency, particularly as it relates to stock purchase decisions that may have occurred over the last few days.
The NPR Politics Podcast
Dems Face Pressure To Fight Trump
I'm trying to figure out what leverage we actually have. What leverage do we have? Republicans have repeatedly lectured America. They control the House, the Senate, and the presidency. It's their government.
The Rachel Maddow Show
Democrats not immune from voter wrath as pressure to impede Trump mounts
There have been more than 75 different lawsuits that have been filed by democracy reform groups, civil rights reform groups, by attorney generals like Tish James and others. And we're winning in court. They're losing. More than 35 different unconstitutional and unlawful executive orders and administrative actions have been challenged.
The Rachel Maddow Show
Democrats not immune from voter wrath as pressure to impede Trump mounts
And they're not winning those cases in terms of the Trump administration. They're losing over and over and over again. That's been a forceful pushback. And that, of course, will continue. The congressional battles will continue. And the mobilization in the communities will continue.
The Rachel Maddow Show
Democrats not immune from voter wrath as pressure to impede Trump mounts
Well, listen, public sentiment is everything. As Abraham Lincoln once said, with it, nothing can fail. Without it, nothing can succeed. I don't think anyone needs additional steel put in their spine. Let's be clear about that.
The Rachel Maddow Show
Democrats not immune from voter wrath as pressure to impede Trump mounts
And I think, you know, the House Democrats under the leadership of Nancy Pelosi during the prior Trump administration, continuing to where we are at this moment, are going to continue to push back forcefully using every tool available. I think it does help, for instance, that our House Republican colleagues are held accountable.
The Rachel Maddow Show
Democrats not immune from voter wrath as pressure to impede Trump mounts
Rachel, you appropriately mentioned we've got the narrowest majority that any party has had in the Congress since before the Great Depression. Narrowest majority. 218 Republicans, 215 Democrats. The Democrats are holding together.
The Rachel Maddow Show
Democrats not immune from voter wrath as pressure to impede Trump mounts
We're holding together, for instance, on this reckless Republican budget, which is a betrayal of working class Americans, and cuts to Medicaid, cuts to SNAP, cuts to veterans benefits. That's not theoretical. That hurts real people. that I represent and that every single member of the House Democratic Caucus represents. That's not a theoretical fight. That's a real fight. But here's the thing.
The Rachel Maddow Show
Democrats not immune from voter wrath as pressure to impede Trump mounts
On any given issue, like the budget, we only need three. Not all 218 Republicans. We only need three to do the right thing for their constituents. And so the activity that we've seen over the last few days, over the last week or so, I think is going to let the Republicans know that no one is going to remove the spotlight from them. They shouldn't be able to escape accountability.
The Rachel Maddow Show
Democrats not immune from voter wrath as pressure to impede Trump mounts
And as Democrats, we're going to make sure that they don't.
The Rachel Maddow Show
Democrats not immune from voter wrath as pressure to impede Trump mounts
Thank you so much.
The Rachel Maddow Show
Democrats not immune from voter wrath as pressure to impede Trump mounts
Good evening. Great to be with you.
The Rachel Maddow Show
Democrats not immune from voter wrath as pressure to impede Trump mounts
Well, I think we understand the passionate outcry that we are seeing all across the country as it relates to the flood of extremism that's being unleashed on the American people by this administration, by this president, by his allies like Elon Musk. And of course, it's creating chaos and confusion and crisis. And there's corruption that's connected to it as well.
The Rachel Maddow Show
Democrats not immune from voter wrath as pressure to impede Trump mounts
And so we're going to continue to operate in an all hands on deck way. That's what we've said from the beginning.
The Rachel Maddow Show
Democrats not immune from voter wrath as pressure to impede Trump mounts
It means that we've got to push back aggressively in the Congress, as we're doing, and certainly we'll have a budget fight that will be on the floor as early as tomorrow, where every single Democrat, I believe, is going to stand in firm opposition to this GOP tax scam, which is all about rewarding their billionaire donors and wealthy corporations and undermining working class Americans by sticking it
The Rachel Maddow Show
Democrats not immune from voter wrath as pressure to impede Trump mounts
to them and cutting Medicaid and things that are important to their health, their safety and their economic well-being. It's all hands on deck in the Congress. It's all hands on deck in the courts. And it's certainly all hands on deck in communities across the country. And you are seeing that kind of mobilization take place, as you've illustrated.
The Rachel Maddow Show
Democrats not immune from voter wrath as pressure to impede Trump mounts
Well, one of the things that's important is we have to tell the story of the everyday Americans who are at risk of dealing with the pain and the suffering that these extreme MAGA Republican proposals and cuts will unleash on them and the American people. If you just take, for instance, the proposal to cut as much as $1 trillion from Medicaid, if not more,
The Rachel Maddow Show
Democrats not immune from voter wrath as pressure to impede Trump mounts
in connection with the Republican budget resolution proposal, that's going to hurt children, hurt everyday Americans with disabilities. It's going to hurt seniors. It's going to close hospitals, including in rural America. It's going to shut down nursing homes. It's going to hurt veterans and others who rely on Medicaid benefits.
The Rachel Maddow Show
Democrats not immune from voter wrath as pressure to impede Trump mounts
And so we've got to be able to tell that story, of course, with urgency, of course, on the floor of the House, certainly in committees. But we also have to take the case directly to the American people. And tomorrow at 12, that's exactly what we're going to do. Having stories told through the voices of those Americans impacted the most.
The Rachel Maddow Show
Democrats not immune from voter wrath as pressure to impede Trump mounts
Listen, I represent neighborhoods in central Brooklyn and beyond. I'm in those neighborhoods. I was there over the last few days, of course, and in other parts of the country. And so I understand that there's a lot of anxiety that has been caused. Communities that I represent in many ways have been dealing with trauma and anxiety for a long period of time.
The Rachel Maddow Show
Democrats not immune from voter wrath as pressure to impede Trump mounts
And this is a moment where that anxiety, of course, has been heightened across America. And so we're going to continue to rise to the occasion to meet the moment. The next three weeks will be critically important because we have the budget fight this week. And then, of course, Donald Trump will be on the Hill next week.
The Rachel Maddow Show
Democrats not immune from voter wrath as pressure to impede Trump mounts
And then after that, we'll have to figure out where we're going to land in advance of the March 14th funding deadline. Three critical weeks.
The Rachel Maddow Show
Democrats not immune from voter wrath as pressure to impede Trump mounts
to push back against the extremism and also to define ourselves as a party that actually wants to make life better for everyday Americans, drive down the high cost of living, solve problems for those hardworking American families who want us to give them a real shot at the American dream.
The Rachel Maddow Show
Democrats not immune from voter wrath as pressure to impede Trump mounts
Well, it's certainly the case that we understand the scale of the threat. That can't be doubted. The CBC, which I'm a part of, definitively understands the scale of the threat. Our communities have been under siege, as you pointed out, since before the Civil War. I'm a direct descendant of those very communities.
The Rachel Maddow Show
Democrats not immune from voter wrath as pressure to impede Trump mounts
So we understand the struggle, the history, the strength of people like John Lewis, which we're going to channel. That's my experience. That's my personal experience. That's my family's experience. And so we understand that. And as a caucus, it's definitively the case that we understand that. Listen, we launched a rapid response task force and litigation working group.
The Rachel Maddow Show
Democrats not immune from voter wrath as pressure to impede Trump mounts
It's going to be led by Joe Neguse and, of course, a brilliant constitutional lawyer, Jamie Raskin, to be able to respond to and work with our allies like Tish James and others in part of what we are responding to. Listen, Elon Musk and Donald Trump, they're flooding the zone in part to create distress, to create a sense of invincibility and inevitability. But the reality is,
The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart
Confronting the Chaos with Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY)
Where have we been? So politically, I think one of the reasons why we've seen the pendulum swing back and forth It went from George H.W. Bush to Bill Clinton, Bill Clinton to George W. Bush, George W. Bush to Barack Obama, Barack Obama to Donald Trump, Donald Trump to Joe Biden, Joe Biden back to Donald Trump. You're getting me dizzy. It's a dizzying swing of the pendulum.
The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart
Confronting the Chaos with Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY)
with very different people who have very different ideologies, what's consistent? The American people have a constant desire for change. Why? Because no one has solved the fundamental problem. That's interesting. All right, quick break, and then we're right back. We are back, Leader Jeffries. Now here's the thing about Democrats.
The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart
Confronting the Chaos with Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY)
Under Barack Obama, we did deal with the healthcare affordability crisis. The Affordable Care Act has been transformational. It has ensured that tens of millions of people who otherwise would not have had access to high quality healthcare, have it. That's progress for the American people, but we of course have to do more.
The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart
Confronting the Chaos with Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY)
Under Joe Biden, you did see steps that were taken to try to bring down costs, particularly in the area of prescription drug pricing and steps to bring jobs back to the American people through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the CHIPS and Science Act, all designed, how do we bring domestic manufacturing jobs back home to America enough with our jobs going in the other direction?
The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart
Confronting the Chaos with Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY)
So we were doing the work. Perhaps we were not speaking as forcefully as necessary to say, you know what? We understand that y'all have been getting jammed up in the communities that I represent. It's been happening. And John, here's the thing. You can actually point to several different ways in which the deck has been stacked against everyday Americans.
The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart
Confronting the Chaos with Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY)
Poorly negotiated trade deals, the outsourcing of good paying American jobs, the dramatic decline in unionization and the rise of automation. And yes, the innovation economy is important and we have to continue to lead. developments in the innovation economy, but automation has cost good paying American jobs. No question.
The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart
Confronting the Chaos with Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY)
You add those factors together and you have a middle class that has been in decline in relative terms. And the American people are smart enough to know, wait a second, my life was supposed to be better the lives of my parents, whose lives were better than their grandparents', and my children's lives, consistent with the American dream, should be better than mine. But that appears to be broken.
The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart
Confronting the Chaos with Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY)
So we have to fix it. And we have to fix it decisively. But in order to convince the American people that we're prepared to fix it, we have to be very clear that we understand that this has been a problem for a long period of time, and we haven't yet collectively been able to turn around this dynamic with the comprehensive, decisive action necessary.
The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart
Confronting the Chaos with Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY)
Well, I think the Affordable Care Act has been an interesting opportunity journey. I like that. I like that phrase. No, and a very important one. Yes.
The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart
Confronting the Chaos with Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY)
In terms of what has happened, transformationally, you're talking about more than 100 million Americans with pre-existing health care conditions who now have coverage because of the Affordable Care Act, who otherwise would be left to the public market, the insurance market, and health care insurers, many of whom would have no intention
The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart
Confronting the Chaos with Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY)
of allowing them affordable access to the healthcare that they need to live. That's more than 100 million Americans. Young people who have transitioned out of college or hit age 21, but were in the workforce since high school, at that point, they would generally have lost their insurance coverage. They could not continue to be on their parents' plan. Now that was extended to the age of 26.
The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart
Confronting the Chaos with Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY)
That's been transformational. We've made the point through the Affordable Care Act that being a woman is not a pre-existing condition. It is not a reason to deny healthcare coverage. And before the Affordable Care Act, it had been. But I think the biggest...
The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart
Confronting the Chaos with Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY)
Success in some ways of the Affordable Care Act, which Republicans for eight years obsessed about taking down until finally politically the American people said enough. And we took the House back in 2018 and they've pretended not to want to touch the Affordable Care Act ever since. But if they got a chance, they would.
The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart
Confronting the Chaos with Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY)
is that when that battle was being waged, and I wasn't in Congress at the time, it was still unclear, John, in America, whether healthcare was a right or a privilege. That was an open question. It's no longer an open question. We at least understand that access to high quality, affordable healthcare is a right in the United States of America.
The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart
Confronting the Chaos with Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY)
Now we have to continue to bring that right fully to life.
The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart
Confronting the Chaos with Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY)
I think it's a fair question, certainly, that you're asking. But the way that healthcare has developed in the United States of America has been a far too cumbersome and complicated system. And what we've seen is a series of steps that have been taken to try to make it as equitable as possible.
The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart
Confronting the Chaos with Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY)
You've got Medicare and then Medicaid and then the child health insurance program that was put into place during the Clinton era. And then the transformational work of the Affordable Care Act and then the subsidies that were enhanced during the Biden administration. Now, this is a long journey.
The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart
Confronting the Chaos with Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY)
But that's taken us to a place where about 90% to 95% of the American people now have access to insurance, in addition to, of course, what takes place in the private market with employer-based health care. But there are still gaps. There are still flaws.
The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart
Confronting the Chaos with Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY)
Yeah, well, I think that point that you make about leveraging the ability of the government to bring about the best possible result for the American people is something that certainly we have to continue to lean into in the healthcare space and in every other space as it relates to improving the quality of life for the American people.
The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart
Confronting the Chaos with Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY)
I will say that one of the most important things that was accomplished in the previous administration is to give the federal government the ability to negotiate drug prices on behalf of the American people using the federal government's bulk price purchasing power. Right. The idea was, now it's limited to Medicare recipients. Right. That's tens of millions of people, and we got to expand it out.
The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart
Confronting the Chaos with Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY)
Right? We got to expand it out. Yes. But here was the theory, John. Wait a second. Walmart- And Target and Best Buy are able to use their bulk price purchasing power to negotiate lower prices that they then present to the consumers and it increases their profitability because they can get a broader share of the market.
The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart
Confronting the Chaos with Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY)
Shouldn't the federal government be able to use that same market-based principle on behalf of the American people? No. So that is what we're working on. We have made progress in that direction because now the federal government can do it for Medicare recipients. The Republicans rejected expanding out that power to everyone. We'll continue to press forward for it.
The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart
Confronting the Chaos with Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY)
We definitely got to make the system as clean as possible and continue to build upon the work that has been done. I will say that given the flood of outrageous behavior, extreme behavior, you know, thinking about 2028 at this moment for me is a luxury. Yeah. It's a luxury.
The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart
Confronting the Chaos with Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY)
Was that the House and the Senate or just the House? That was just the House. That was last week. It was a virtual meeting because we were all spread out across the country, back home in our districts. And that was in response to the unlawful, illegal Office of Management and Budget so-called funding freeze that was clear overreach. The American people rose up.
The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart
Confronting the Chaos with Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY)
I think it was announced on January 27th, this funding freeze. By January 29th, it was rescinded.
The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart
Confronting the Chaos with Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY)
Yeah, well, I think what they were referring to is that the blanket freeze is gone. Now, it's temporarily gone, and we're going to continue to press forward to make sure that it's permanently gone. What has not been rescinded were some of the executive orders that froze precise funding in certain areas that he issued on day one and day two. For example, the freeze as it relates to foreign aid.
The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart
Confronting the Chaos with Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY)
It's a reasonable question to ask. Who's actually running things right now? Because Elon Musk seems to have an extraordinary amount of power. And certainly my colleagues on the other side of the aisle, House Republicans, are bending over backwards to do his bidding. And they...
The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart
Confronting the Chaos with Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY)
It's an all hands on deck effort. We got to make sure that we push back in the Congress, push back in the courts, and push back in the community, particularly as it relates to shaping public sentiment, which we have seen can be decisive. Abraham Lincoln once made the observation that public sentiment is everything. With it, nothing can fail. Without it, nothing can succeed.
The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart
Confronting the Chaos with Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY)
Public sentiment rose up in response to the funding freeze. They backed off. Public sentiment rose up in response to the overly broad tariffs related to our North American allies, the market also weighed in and all of a sudden they backed off two days later. So we are seeing that public sentiment can be an important vehicle, but we also have to push back in Congress.
The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart
Confronting the Chaos with Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY)
And by the way, at the end of last year, when both the incoming president at the time and Elon Musk tried to tank a spending agreement that had been negotiated in a bipartisan way because they demanded the nerve of these people. They demanded that we give the president a $4 or $5 trillion blank check by suspending the debt ceiling for the entirety of his presidency-
The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart
Confronting the Chaos with Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY)
So he could pass massive tax cuts for his billionaire friends and wealthy corporations. Our response was not simply no, politely, it was hell no. And the Congress defeated that bill. The Democrats... and a handful of Republicans, but Democrats could have done it on our own. And we showed that in that context. And so there will continue to be legislative pushback.
The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart
Confronting the Chaos with Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY)
And I think it's also important, John, to understand that, listen, Donald Trump won the popular election vote this time around. He lost the popular vote in 2016. He lost the popular vote in 2016. He comes into Congress. There are 241 Republicans in the House, only 194 Democrats. This time around, so-called mandate, he wins the popular vote.
The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart
Confronting the Chaos with Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY)
And currently there are 218 Republicans in the House and 215 Democrats. It's the narrowest majority since the Great Depression.
The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart
Confronting the Chaos with Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY)
Not a good sign. And then what happened immediately thereafter was FDR's election bringing about a true golden age for America or the beginnings of it as he battled through the Great Depression. So I think we certainly are going to stick together. Listen, we'll work with anyone in order to solve the core problems, which how do we drive down the high cost of living? for the American people.
The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart
Confronting the Chaos with Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY)
How do we bring the American dream to life? But we're going to push back against far-right extremism whenever necessary. The courts will do that as well. I think that executive order related to birthright citizenship was issued either on January 20th or January 21st, two or three days later. A judge appointed by Ronald Reagan Thank you.
The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart
Confronting the Chaos with Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY)
Thank you. Thank you.
The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart
Confronting the Chaos with Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY)
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart
Confronting the Chaos with Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY)
Thank you very much. Thank you.
The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart
Confronting the Chaos with Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY)
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart
Confronting the Chaos with Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY)
Well, I definitely think that People feeling safe and secure in their community shouldn't be an ideological issue. It's the reality of how real Americans think about their life. Listen, I grew up in central Brooklyn, Crown Heights, went to church in Bedford-Stuyvesant, came of age in the mid to late 80s into the early 90s, golden era of hip hop music, but also
The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart
Confronting the Chaos with Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY)
In the midst of the crack cocaine epidemic, the streets were hot. It was violent. You're talking about 2,000 plus homicides. And you never knew when you left your home or left school or left church or left work whether you'd get struck down by a bullet as a result of some gang turf war that was taking place.
The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart
Confronting the Chaos with Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY)
And every single person in those predominantly black communities that I grew up in cared about public safety. And nothing has changed. And so, of course, that has to be a foundational principle that we're committed to keeping communities safe. And there's got to be some semblance of order, of course, in the context of what we're dealing with right now, order at the border.
The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart
Confronting the Chaos with Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY)
But at the same period of time, also make clear that dreamers add amazing value to our communities. Farm workers add amazing value to our country and our communities. Why are we breaking up families when we should actually be going after violent felons? And that's what we're going to hold the administration to account. as it relates to some of the activity that we're seeing.
The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart
Confronting the Chaos with Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY)
There's work to be done as it relates to making sure the American people understand we're committed to securing the border and we're committed to fixing our broken immigration system. But we need to do it right in a bipartisan way. We also are committed to a criminal justice system that doesn't just lock people up, that has unleashed mass incarceration on the American people. And that's hurt.
The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart
Confronting the Chaos with Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY)
Communities of color, Black and Latino communities, poor white communities who have been swept up into the failed war on drugs and mass incarceration. And by the way, John, during the first Trump administration, I worked with Doug Collins. who is now a member of the Trump cabinet. Georgia. From Georgia.
The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart
Confronting the Chaos with Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY)
VA secretary. Yeah. I think, you know, you'll probably be interacting with him a lot and you may disagree with him on some issues, but he's a very thoughtful individual in my experience. I worked with him on criminal justice reform. We passed the First Step Act. It brought together the left and the right, progressives and conservatives, Democrats and Republicans, the NAACP and the Koch brothers,
The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart
Confronting the Chaos with Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY)
on a bill that was ultimately signed into law by Donald Trump. And so we can find common ground on the issue of public safety and on criminal justice reform. We've done it. In the past, and we're committed to it.
The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart
Confronting the Chaos with Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY)
But we do have to make sure that the American people don't think that Republicans have some monopoly on keeping people safe, particularly when we've seen a Republican Party, by the way, that has signed off on pardons that were issued. to violent felons who brutally beat police officers and have now been unleashed on communities all across the country where they're continuing to commit crime.
The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart
Confronting the Chaos with Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY)
Yeah, I think that we should have this conversation that America is both a nation of immigrants. That's our story. That's our journey. That's been a big part of American exceptionalism. And it's one of the reasons why we remain in the envy of the world. But at the same time, we're also a nation anchored in the rule of law and we should be able to do both.
The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart
Confronting the Chaos with Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY)
And that's why we have to have a broader discussion legislatively. And we're going to lean into this around fixing our broken immigration system. And we've got to do it in a comprehensive and a bipartisan way that recognizes the value of pathways toward citizenship.
The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart
Confronting the Chaos with Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY)
for people who are simply trying to come here, be part of the continuing American journey, and based on what we've seen for centuries, will add value to our communities.
The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart
Confronting the Chaos with Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY)
Well, listen, I think on the policy, you got to deal with nuance, but we definitely have to lean in in terms of the messaging in an aggressive way, in a clear way. We say often in these parts, if you're trying to break through with a message... You gotta deal with simplicity and repetition, a simple message that you repeat over and over and over again.
The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart
Confronting the Chaos with Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY)
At this moment at least, we're committed to making clear to the American people, we're gonna drive down the high cost of living, The Republicans talked about it. They haven't been about it. Right. Because they are all about rewarding their billionaire donors and wealthy corporations.
The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart
Confronting the Chaos with Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY)
And if they are allowed to continue to do that, they're simply going to continue to jam up the American people, which has been happening for decades. And we've got to bring an end to it.
The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart
Confronting the Chaos with Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY)
Yes, that's right. Listen, a lot of my constituents ride for the Nets. I'm all day, every day for the Knicks.
The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart
Confronting the Chaos with Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY)
I appreciate you. And yeah, no, listen, I'm all day, every day. I didn't get one of my favorite Nick quotes in, but maybe next time. Oh, let's hear it. The great Michael Ray Richardson, the ship be sinking. I think at the end of the day, that's what's going to go on with the Trump administration. The ship be sinking.
The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart
Confronting the Chaos with Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY)
Yeah, it's intense, probably as intense as I've experienced during my time here in Washington, D.C., which included the first Trump administration, included serving as an impeachment manager during the first impeachment trial, included being here during the violent attack on the Capitol on January 6th. But this is a flood the zone strategy that's very intentional.
The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart
Confronting the Chaos with Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY)
And they are trying to overwhelm the American people with a parade of horribles. And we've got to push back. We've got to be strategic.
The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart
Confronting the Chaos with Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY)
But we also have to be relentless in how we push back and define what's happening for the American people, why it's wrong, why it will hurt them, and of course, offer a positive vision for what life could be like if you had more enlightened policies in Washington, D.C.
The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart
Confronting the Chaos with Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY)
It's a great observation. It's a great question. I think there are three periods of time that many far-right Republicans or even some traditional Republicans would like to roll back. There's the FDR New Deal period. There's the civil rights slash Great Society moment in the 1960s. And then there's the Obama era. And there's a real effort, I think, to try to strike back at all of those things.
The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart
Confronting the Chaos with Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY)
The Republicans have had a problem with Social Security for decades. They have a problem with Medicare and Medicaid, which came out of the Great Society era in the 60s, the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act for decades.
The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart
Confronting the Chaos with Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY)
And they certainly are trying to do everything that they can to either launch a frontal assault against those issues to end Social Security as we know it, end Medicare as we know it. Certainly they want to end Medicaid as we know it, as well as rolling back the progress that has been made in society.
The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart
Confronting the Chaos with Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY)
Well, there's definitely a strategy, which is... Demonize, downsize, privatize, right? They want to demonize the functions of government, local government, state government, federal government. And look, of course, can we find additional efficiencies? Yes. Do we need to make sure government is effective in every possible way? Yes.
The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart
Confronting the Chaos with Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY)
We need an efficient government, an effective government, and an equitable government. But they want to attack government, and in this case, civil servants. demonize the government as part of their effort to then downsize the government.
The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart
Confronting the Chaos with Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY)
When they downsize the government so that it can't function properly, so that it can't deliver services that the American people rightly deserve and need, then you make the argument, well, because government is so ineffective and inefficient, because we downsized it, now we should privatize it. So it is definitively a scheme. It's a scheme. Now, What's at the root of the scheme?
The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart
Confronting the Chaos with Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY)
What's at the root of all that we're seeing, the effort to steal taxpayer dollars, to freeze funds, right, to shrink these agencies? At the core of it, I believe, is that the Republicans in the House, the Senate, the administration, They want to enact massive tax cuts for their billionaire donors and wealthy corporations. Follow the money. That's the reality of what's taking place.
The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart
Confronting the Chaos with Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY)
And in the process, they want to stick working class Americans with the bill. And this is a continuation of an effort where there have been people in this country in power who've been jamming working class people, middle class people, and those who aspire to be part of the middle class, jamming them up for decades. And so, as you've indicated, John, consistently,
The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart
Confronting the Chaos with Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY)
The American people are understandably frustrated. They are understandably upset. They know that the deck has been stacked against them. Now, as Democrats, we probably have to do a better job of explaining that we understand that, and we certainly have a plan to tackle and dismantle it so we can bring economic opportunity to life for every single American.
The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart
Confronting the Chaos with Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY)
Well, I think there's a few things going on here in terms of how we better communicate with the American people. Maya Angelou said it best. People won't remember what you say. They may not even remember what you do, but they will always remember how you make them feel. And I think what we have to do a better job of is making the American people feel that we understand them.
The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart
Confronting the Chaos with Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY)
the pain that they've been in economically for a long period of time. Now, this moment, you have a situation where you have post-pandemic inflation that hit everyday Americans hard. And of course, many Americans are gonna see the economy not through the lens of macroeconomic numbers. What am I paying for food or groceries or gas or housing? And the cost of living in America is too high.
The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart
Confronting the Chaos with Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY)
And we've got to be clear that our top objective is to do something about it, to make life more affordable for the American people, to bring down housing costs and food costs and gas prices and childcare costs and utility costs and the cost of insurance, where it's out of control and it's robbing people of the ability to own homes.
The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart
Confronting the Chaos with Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY)
But we also have to zoom out a little bit because there's been a decades-long march to sticking it to working class people. And I think as a result, you have every now and then people who can come along the political scene and exploit the pain economically that people are in for their own political gain. But you make a great point.
Verdict with Ted Cruz
Bonus Episode: Daily Review with Clay Travis and Buck Sexton
I haven't seen his comments. What Democrats opposed was unleashing sexual predators on girls throughout the United States of America.
WSJ What’s News
Why A Surge in Bond Yields Matters to Trump, Investors and You
The Republicans are trying to jam this big... ugly bill down the throat of the american people and because of the fact that almost 14 million people will lose their ability to access healthcare people will die