House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) held his weekly press briefing on Friday.
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NewsTranscript
00:00As members of Congress, we have a responsibility to at all times protect the health, the safety,
00:13the national security, and the economic well-being of the American people.
00:18As part of that responsibility, we need, each and every year, to pass a bipartisan national
00:26defense authorization act.
00:29The National Defense Authorization Act legislation, pending before the Congress, advanced out
00:36of the Armed Services Committee on a strongly bipartisan vote, 57 to 1, and contained the
00:48types of provisions that earned bipartisan support in order to make sure that we had
00:56the military readiness necessary to protect the American people in an increasingly dangerous
01:03world.
01:04The National Defense Authorization Act advanced out of the Armed Services Committee, 57 to
01:131, and laid a foundation to be able to move bipartisan legislation through the House of
01:21Representatives.
01:22But the extreme Magna Republicans are not interested in governing.
01:27They do not care about the health, the safety, the national security, and the economic well-being
01:33of the American people, and so they have hijacked the National Defense Authorization Act in
01:40order to jam their extreme right-wing ideology down the throats of the American people.
01:49Extreme Magna Republicans are trying to, once again, march us toward a nationwide abortion
01:58ban and restrict the reproductive freedom of women serving in the military.
02:09Extreme Magna Republicans are once again attacking the LGBTQ community with a particular
02:19focus on bullying transgender children.
02:27Something is really wrong with these individuals.
02:31Extreme Magna Republicans want to undermine principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion
02:39within the military when black and Latino citizens of the United States of America disproportionately
02:50serve in uniform.
02:54Something is really wrong with these individuals on the other side of the aisle.
02:57They are not serious about governing.
03:01Instead, all they care about is bending the knee to Donald Trump.
03:11Question?
03:12Thank you.
03:13We'll talk about the ball game later.
03:19In any event.
03:20Chad, it would be you who would want to bring up the ball game.
03:23Or the next, but that's not true.
03:25In any event, there have been some Democrats really hammering the Supreme Court, questioning
03:30the ethics of Justices Alito and Thomas.
03:34There was a proposal by Senator Blumenthal yesterday encouraging the Chief Justice of
03:38the United States to restrict Justice Alito from authoring majority opinions, from presiding
03:44over his circuit.
03:45Do you think that that is a push too far, and are Democrats trying to make some political
03:50hay about this because, as you alluded to, the abortion decision, everything, some Democrats
03:54and some on the left-wing quarters, talks?
03:57The American people almost uniformly agree that the right-wing justices on the Supreme
04:02Court are completely and totally out of control.
04:06It appears that Justice Alito is an insurrectionist sympathizer, joined by his right-wing buddy,
04:17Clarence Thomas.
04:18I have been on record making it clear that Justices Alito and Thomas, who have a clear
04:29conflict of interest, or at least the appearance of a conflict of interest, which is what federal
04:36statute indicates is the standard for recusal, should have no role in deciding any case that
04:44relates to the violent insurrection that took place on January 6th, incited by former
04:51President Donald Trump.
04:54Thank you, Mr. Leader.
04:55Now, on Wednesday, you met with Usher to discuss type 1 diabetes screenings.
05:00What came out of that meeting, and in your opinion, why is it important that the Screening
05:05for Type 1 Diabetes Act pass?
05:08Well, it was a wonderful opportunity to sit and talk with Usher, who has chosen to come
05:18to the Hill and travel to other parts of the country to use his experience as a father
05:26of a child with type 1 diabetes, to elevate the importance of screening, identification,
05:36and treatment so that anyone faced with the challenges that arise from a health perspective
05:45in connection with type 1 diabetes have the awareness and then the capacity to seek the
05:52treatment necessary to live a life of dignity and respect.
05:57I'm thankful as well for the leadership of Representative Kim Schrier, who is partnering
06:05in a bipartisan way with Representative David Joyce to advance the legislation, and I look
06:12forward to standing completely behind it.
06:15Usher's presence on Capitol Hill, meeting with stakeholders on both sides of the Capitol,
06:21will help advance and elevate the importance of type 1 diabetes screening, and hopefully
06:29we can find a way to get the legislation over the finish line sooner rather than later.
06:33Thank you.
06:34Thank you, Mr. Leader.
06:35Going back to the Supreme Court, we're approaching the one-year anniversary of the student loan
06:40decision, the decision to overturn the prison advisory program and affirmative action.
06:44Can you just speak to the impact on everyday Americans?
06:48I know you travel the country a lot.
06:49I know you speak to members a lot.
06:50Can you just kind of crystallize the impact of those two decisions over the last year
06:55on everyday Americans as it pertains to student loan debt and affirmative action?
06:59The extremists on the Supreme Court have decided that they're going to carry out an ideological
07:06crusade to undermine basic American principles related to a woman's freedom to make her
07:14own reproductive health care decisions, President Biden's ability to provide student loan debt
07:21relief to millions of young people of every race across the country, and the Supreme Court
07:33has chosen to undermine the ability of our institutions of higher learning to have a
07:40diverse student body that reflects the diversity of the nation and, of course, the world.
07:50The Supreme Court and its right-wing majority is clearly out of control and out of step
07:58with the American people, which is why its approval rating is even lower than that of
08:04the United States Congress.
08:06Clearly, work needs to be done to rein in the Supreme Court, particularly as it relates
08:16to its inability to police itself with respect to ethics.
08:22In terms of the aggressively partisan right-wing extreme decisions that have been rolling out
08:32of the Supreme Court that was stacked by justices, nominated by Donald Trump, the American people
08:40will have a full opportunity to evaluate the adverse impact that the Supreme Court
08:47has had electorally in November.
08:52In fact, the Supreme Court, in its decision in Dobbs, which detonated Roe v. Wade, made
09:03clear that women in this country have a political voice, and they expect that it could be exercised
09:14at the ballot box.
09:16Women have a political voice, young people have a political voice, communities of color
09:23have a political voice, the American people have a political voice, and it will be exercised
09:30on November 5th.
09:33Your colleagues back in the Senate talking about the Gaza Pier, they're saying that it's
09:38just not working.
09:40Republicans are saying President Biden needs to take a different angle with this.
09:44Soldiers are being put in harm's way, some have been hurt.
09:47Its humanitarian aid is being taken by Hamas.
09:51What's the Democrats, House Democrats' reaction to all this, and should President Biden take
09:56a different angle?
09:57The most important thing that can be done at this point is for the peace plan that was
10:02put into the public domain by President Joe Biden, which has the support of the United
10:09Nations Security Council, and had previously secured the unanimous support of Israel's
10:17War Council, meaning it has the type of credible affirmation by important stakeholders in the
10:29Middle East and across the world, such that we have a real opportunity to create a path
10:39toward a just and lasting peace.
10:43The peace plan, in its first phase of three, would allow for an immediate ceasefire, lock
10:53in the military gains that have been made by the Israeli Defense Forces in its effort
11:01to decisively defeat Hamas, allow for humanitarian assistance to be surged immediately and consistently
11:11on behalf of Palestinian civilians in Gaza, and, quite importantly, provide a path so
11:21that every single hostage can be returned.
11:27Instead of always trying to politicize an issue, which is what is being done by my Senate
11:36Republican colleagues, with respect to a matter of important foreign policy, perhaps
11:45the extreme right Republicans should be leaning in to lifting up a peace plan that has significant
11:53stakeholder support.
11:56It's also important to note that the obstacle to peace right now is the failure of Hamas
12:02negotiators to agree to a peace plan that has support all across the region, including
12:11amongst Arab partners in Egypt and Qatar.
12:17Thank you.
12:19Hey, Congressman.
12:20Hey, Leader.
12:22I talked to Congressman Glenn Thompson earlier, and he was talking about the progress made
12:26with the Farm Bill.
12:27It came across with large bipartisan support.
12:30Obviously, there's been talk in the Senate as well about their version.
12:33Can you tell me about Democrats with their priorities when it came to the Farm Bill?
12:37And after that, can you also touch on...
12:39G.K. Thompson thinks the Farm Bill came out of his committee with large bipartisan support.
12:44That, in fact, is an inaccurate statement, but no surprise.
12:49The Farm Bill that emerged from the Ag Committee was decisively opposed by the overwhelming
12:58majority of House Democrats because it was a highly partisan Farm Bill that would cut
13:06$30 billion in food and nutritional assistance, largely and disproportionately impacting children
13:18and veterans.
13:21That partisan Farm Bill is dead on arrival.
13:25No one believes with any degree of credibility that the Farm Bill that emerged out of the
13:32Ag Committee has a shot on the House floor or in the United States Senate.
13:38It's time for House Republicans to get serious about legislating because these reckless legislative
13:47joyrides that we are now seeing with the National Defense Authorization Act as well as the Farm Bill
13:56have no shot, zero shot, of being enacted into law.
14:04Why are we wasting time when we should be solving real problems for the American people
14:16and building a healthy economy?
14:18That's what House Democrats are all about, but unfortunately, many of my Republican colleagues
14:24continue to play reckless, unnecessary political games.
14:29To follow up on that, though, is there something that would make it more appealing for you,
14:33or does there need to be more prioritization for these programs or for farmers?
14:37We are not going to allow draconian cuts to food and nutritional assistance programs
14:48for the American people that are designed to benefit children and veterans to go forward,
14:53and we are not going to allow extreme-magnet Republicans to devastate our ability to address
14:59the climate crisis with the fierce urgency of now, which is also part of the extreme-magnet
15:05Republican objective.
15:06Why?
15:07Because many of them have been sent to Congress to do the bidding of big oil.
15:15The only way that a Farm Bill is going to advance into law is for the Four Corners to sit down
15:22and have a bipartisan discussion, led by Senator Stabenow, in partnership with Representative
15:31David Thompson, in order – David Scott, in order – just making sure you guys are
15:40paying attention – in partnership with David Scott, in order to arrive at a bipartisan
15:48common goal.
15:50Thank you.
15:52Going back to the NDAA, do you have any plans to try and meet with Republican leadership
15:56in the coming days, coming weeks?
15:58And if so, what would that meeting look like?
16:00Do you want to communicate to them about the NDAA?
16:02With respect to the National Defense Authorization Act, we are ready, willing, and able to have
16:06a discussion about moving a bipartisan bill that meets the needs of America's military
16:19and protects our national security.
16:24It's time for the extreme-magnet Republicans to abandon the effort to jam their right-wing
16:29ideology down the throats of the American people.
16:33These Republican amendments that have been attached to the National Defense Authorization
16:39Act are completely out of control.
16:42A hundred and ninety-two Republicans voted to restore a Confederate monument to Arlington
16:51National Cemetery, including Representative D'Esposito, Representative Molinaro, and
17:00Representative Williams from New York.
17:03What is the rationale in a time where America is facing a dangerous world with challenges
17:18all across the globe, to decide you want to restore a Confederate monument to Arlington
17:31National Cemetery?
17:34What tradition are extreme-magnet Republicans, including Representative D'Esposito, Representative
17:45Molinaro, and Representative Williams upholding?
17:49What Confederate tradition are you upholding?
17:54Is it slavery, rape, kidnap, Jim Crow, lynching, racial oppression, or all of the above?
18:07What exactly is the Confederate tradition that extreme-magnet Republicans in 2024 are
18:16upholding, and you want to use the National Defense Authorization Act to turn back the
18:24clock on progress that has been made in the United States of America?
18:29It's shameful.
18:32Yesterday, former President Trump returned, had his meetings with House Republicans and
18:40Senate Republicans.
18:42You were there on January 6th.
18:45You were huddled, as was all of them who were in the chamber at the time, in safety from
18:52the insurrectionists.
18:53What was it like for you personally to see some of these people that you saw that day
18:59come back and greet Trump as a conquering hero on the way back?
19:05It was shameful and a complete embarrassment that my extreme-magnet Republican colleagues
19:12decided to welcome the insurrectionists and chiefs back to the Capitol as a conquering
19:20hero, not someone who lied about the 2020 presidential election and incited a violent
19:29mob to attack the Capitol in order to halt the peaceful transfer of power.
19:38The Republican Party no longer exists in its traditional form.
19:44This is the Trump Party, and it's not focused on solving problems for the American people.
19:54It is focused singularly on doing the bidding of Donald Trump.
20:02And there is no bottom.
20:06There is no low.
20:10There is no value that the extreme-magnet Republicans aren't willing to abandon in service
20:22of Donald Trump.
20:24And that's very unfortunate, but they're going to have to defend this approach that they've
20:31taken over the next several months in advance of November before the American people.
20:40The fate of this country and the fate of our democracy, the fate of reproductive freedom,
20:46the fate of Social Security, the fate of Medicare, the fate of the Affordable Care Act are in
20:54the hands of the American people.
20:57Yeah, kind of along those lines, Speaker Johnson's headed back up to your city and the suburbs
21:03very soon for a series of fundraisers for those moderate Republicans.
21:07They call themselves moderates.
21:09Is there any drag, beginning along the lines you just expressed, on those Republicans with
21:16ties to Speaker Johnson?
21:21The drag on the so-called moderate Republicans in New York will be the anchor of the extremism
21:32with respect to reproductive freedom, Donald Trump, and the other right-wing votes that
21:39they continue to take here in Washington, but try to hide from the American people and
21:48the electorate they are supposed to serve in New York.
21:52Is Speaker Johnson a drag himself on them?
21:55That's a question that New Yorkers will have to decide, and I'm certain that that's going
22:00to be litigated.
22:01Thank you.
22:02Thanks.
22:03Going back to the Supreme Court for a second, another decision that could come around the
22:07corner any moment has to do with the Chevron test, and kind of depending on what the Supreme
22:12Court decides there, that could change how specific Congress has to be with respect to
22:17what it delegates to regulatory bodies and what isn't.
22:20Have you given any thought to how that might change the job of Congress here, and how big
22:24of a change would that be in your view?
22:27To the extent that the Chevron doctrine is undermined or eliminated, it will provide
22:32another example of the MAGA extremist movement, including on the United States Supreme Court,
22:40trying to jam their right-wing ideology down the throats of the American people, often
22:46in an undemocratic fashion, as opposed to allowing the elected representatives of the
22:53people of this country, in partnership with the elected administration, to enact public
23:02policy.
23:05We are witnessing significant judicial overreach, led by right-wing extremists on the Supreme
23:16Court, and the American people reject it.
23:20It's one of the reasons why Democrats, in election after election after election, since
23:32the fall of Roe v. Wade in 2022, are winning, winning, and overperforming, as was the case
23:45in Ohio, when the Democratic Party didn't even contest the race in the most recent special
23:57election, and yet we saw a 26-point overperformance by a Democratic candidate who spent $25,000
24:08against a well-known Republican state senator who spent over $700,000.
24:18And it was the most recent of many examples of what is likely to come in November.
24:28Last question.
24:29There's a number of members of your caucus who are signaling that they will skip Prime
24:34Minister Netanyahu's joint address next month, and perhaps even hold counter-programming.
24:38Do you support their decision to do so?
24:40As I've repeatedly said, as is the case with respect to any joint address to Congress,
24:48every individual member will make a decision as to whether they will participate or not
24:57participate.
24:58Thanks.
24:59Just quickly, if you could.
25:01So you're critical of the MAGA Republicans who are bending the knee to Trump.
25:05What do you say to these voters, and could you court some of them, if you're putting
25:10them in this category of being extreme MAGA Republicans?
25:14How do you kind of pitch that to voters who might come on the Democratic team?
25:18We are not saying to traditional Republicans or conservatives to leave the Republican Party.
25:23The Republican Party has left them.
25:26The extreme MAGA Republican movement is different than the traditional Republican movement,
25:34which is why you are seeing traditional Republicans leave the Congress, leave the Republican Party,
25:44or indicate that in 2024 they're going in a different direction.