| Speaker | Time | Text |
|---|---|---|
|
unidentified
|
He's interviewed by author and George Washington University professor Matthew Dalek. | |
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| House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries held a news conference on the Trump administration's legislative agenda and executive actions in its first 100 days. | ||
| In his remarks, Leader Jeffries addressed pending federal budget legislation and his support for a ban on certain stock trades by members of Congress. | ||
| Heads up. Heads up. | ||
| Is that the great reveal there? | ||
| Morning, everybody. | ||
| Trump's first 100 days have been a complete and total disaster, and House Republicans own all of it. | ||
| Instead of functioning as a check and balance on an out-of-control executive branch, which was the intentions of the framers of the Constitution, including James Madison, who said that Congress at its best should be a rival to the executive branch, House Republicans have functioned as a rubber stamp for Donald Trump's extreme agenda. | ||
| Period, full stop. | ||
| That extreme agenda has done nothing to lower the high cost of living in the United States of America, notwithstanding all of the big, bold promises that Donald Trump and Republicans made on the campaign trail that they were going to make life more affordable for the American people. | ||
| What has happened is that life is getting more expensive for the American people. | ||
| Donald Trump and House Republicans are crashing the economy in real time, and they are driving us toward a painful Republican recession. | ||
| The whole thing is a complete and total disgrace. | ||
| And the American people are paying attention. | ||
| They see it. | ||
| They know it. | ||
| And House Republicans are going to be held accountable for it. | ||
| Questions? | ||
|
unidentified
|
Good morning. | |
| Thank you. | ||
| No mic today? | ||
|
unidentified
|
No mic today. | |
| No microphone. | ||
| We're short on cruise. | ||
| There's another guy there. | ||
| In any event, obviously you guys are arguing against the reconciliation package. | ||
| If you guys aren't able to convince voters to get to these Republicans, get to the president, say, you know, kill this bill, will you have failed in that mission? | ||
| No. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Why not? | |
| Our objective is to find four Republicans to do the right thing to stop the largest cut to Medicaid in American history, which will hurt families, hurt children, hurt seniors, hurt people with disabilities, hurt veterans, and hurt everyday Americans. | ||
| And if Republicans are successful in jamming down an extreme budget into signature into law, then they own that. | ||
| It's on them. | ||
| They're the ones that claim they have some big, bold, beautiful mandate. | ||
| They have no mandate to end Social Security as we know it. | ||
| They have no mandate to dramatically cut the health care of the American people. | ||
| They have no mandate to take food. | ||
| out of the mouths of children. | ||
| And at the end of the day, if they successfully jam this reckless budget down the throats of the American people, the voters will hold them accountable. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Mr. Leader, can you just clarify your position with a simple yes or no? | |
| Do you support your members going to El Salvador, particularly in terms of the situation involving Kilmar Obrego Garcia? | ||
| Just yes or no. | ||
| Support what members? | ||
| The members that went? | ||
| I've had nothing. | ||
| We'll cross that bridge when we get to it. | ||
| In terms of the report that alleged that members of House Democratic leadership had some phantom conversation with either the members who took a trip to El Salvador or any other members, that is a complete and total fabrication. | ||
| The only statement that was made to members who went to El Salvador was welcome back. | ||
| We are glad you have returned safely. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Vice President Harris gave a big speech in San Francisco last night. | |
| She re-entering the political scene, wants to get your reaction to that. | ||
| You talk about a more and more environment. | ||
| Do you welcome her back to the political scene? | ||
| Do you think that she's going to help the Democratic cause? | ||
| And she mentioned three of your members, Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez, Jasmine Crockett, and Maxwell Frost as members who she has found inspiration from for their work leading the resistance. | ||
| What is your reaction to that as well? | ||
| I think she's an incredibly important voice, and we, of course, continue to welcome her thoughts and ideas. | ||
|
unidentified
|
And on the members she mentioned as leaders of the resistance against Trump. | |
| It's a great shout out for them. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Thank you, Mr. Leader. | |
| With Congressman Shree Thanandar recently introducing articles of impeachment, is it productive for Democrats to be focused on this right now and why? | ||
| I gave an entire speech that was about 25 minutes long, laying out the moment that we find ourselves in after the debacle of Trump's first 100 days and also articulating our view about what needs to be done to make life better for the American people, | ||
| focused on this principle that in America, when you work hard and play by the rules, you should be able to have an affordable home, educate your children, have access to high quality health care, have a good paying job, and be able to retire with grace and dignity. | ||
| So I haven't had a conversation with Shree. | ||
| You'll have to talk to Shree about his perspective as to what he believes to be the right thing to do at this moment. | ||
| And until I have a conversation with Shree, there's really nothing further for me to add. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Thank you, Mr. Leader. | |
| This morning, the Colorado Sun reported a long, extensive story about the challenges facing Yadira Carabello, one of your former members who's running again for the seat. | ||
| Do you think she should drop out of the race given what's been reported based off treatment of staff, mental health challenges, et cetera? | ||
| I haven't read the story and I haven't had a conversation with Yadera, so it'd be inappropriate for me to comment until I've given her the respect of both reading the story and having a direct conversation with her. | ||
| She was a former colleague. | ||
| Thanks. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Mr. Leader, I know you said you didn't want to speculate about the future of the Oversight Committee, but now you have several of your members that are openly jockeying for that ranking member position. | |
| At what point do you think your leadership team will make a path forward for the future of the leadership of the Oversight Committee? | ||
| And are you entertaining the idea of allowing Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to have a waiver so that she can run for the ranking member spot? | ||
| I don't want to speculate about the future of the Oversight Committee. | ||
|
unidentified
|
At what point will you? | |
| Well, the rules are pretty clear that when there's a vacancy, the caucus under the leadership of Chairman Pete Aguilar would have to call an election within 30 days. | ||
| Thanks. | ||
| I'm sorry, I'm going to go to the back. | ||
| We'll come back to the front. | ||
| I'm going to go to the back. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Thank you. | |
| CBS News is reporting that National Security Advisor Mike Waltz is going to step down. | ||
| What are your thoughts on that, and should other people follow him? | ||
| Yes. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Leader Jeffries, thank you. | |
| House Republicans and the president's allies continue to blame DEI programs for stopping decisions at airports and air traffic control, calling in step four return to what they call merit-based hiring. | ||
| Stephen Miller actually talked about it at the White House this morning. | ||
| How do you respond to the idea that diversity initiatives and merit are mutually exclusive? | ||
| And what would you say to Americans who might be concerned about safety being compromised by these narratives? | ||
| Safety has been compromised by the complete and total incompetence of Donald Trump and his administration, who are dismantling the safety architecture of the FAA and jeopardizing the well-being of the American people who fly across America and the world. | ||
| From the very beginning of this administration, Donald Trump and his lackeys have been dismantling the FAA, jeopardizing flight safety and putting Americans in danger. | ||
| This group right now is falling apart despite all the concerns that somehow Donald Trump and Republicans had Democrats on the run and it was all inevitable and they have some big mandate. | ||
| In record speed, they've fallen apart. | ||
| No surprise to some of us who believe that all of the talk, that this was somehow the dawn of a new era, was actually what was going to occur in the United States of America. | ||
| Donald Trump is the most unpopular president in his first 100 days in American history. | ||
| What happened to that so-called mandate? | ||
| It never existed, one, and to the extent it existed in their mind in some MAGA thought bubble, it has completely evaporated. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Leader Jeffries, you recently came out and endorsed legislation to ban lawmakers from trading individual stocks. | |
| This idea has been out there for years. | ||
| I'm wondering why you decided to come out in favor of it now. | ||
| And since you're effectively the only leader of either party endorsing the ban, have you talked to your counterparts in leadership about moving forward with this? | ||
| I have not had a conversation with my counterparts in leadership on this, but it is something that I've long supported, including previously as House Democratic leader and prior to that as chair of the House Democratic Caucus. | ||
| So this has been a consistent position of mine for years, and I support the efforts led by Representative Casio-Cortez, Seth Magaziner, and others in the House Democratic Caucus to try to get this done. | ||
| Thanks. | ||
| Okay. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Leader Jeffries. | |
| Oh, I'm sorry, but go ahead. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Oh, I'm sorry. | |
| Go ahead. | ||
| We'll get both of you in. | ||
|
unidentified
|
So I know you talked about this earlier, but Al Green is planning on speaking in the House today about impeachment. | |
| Is there any point in the future when you plan on putting your foot down on this and giving a public statement of approval or disapproval? | ||
| I spoke yesterday for about 25 minutes to the country about my vision for the future, a blueprint for a better America, and encapsulated what I believe has occurred for America over the first 100 days. | ||
| I was also on the steps of the Capitol for 12 and a half hours, continuously talking to the American people with Senator Booker and others about what we believe to be important in the United States of America. | ||
| So there's a lot of footage out there of our views on what is occurring in America, and all of that information actually really does speak for itself because it's how we feel. | ||
|
unidentified
|
I want to ask about that blueprint. | |
| What form can we expect to see that in? | ||
| Who's going to be involved in drafting that if it is like a physical or a product? | ||
| Stay tuned. | ||
|
unidentified
|
There's this discussion going on right now among House Republicans about Medicaid work requirements. | |
| What are your issues with expanding Medicaid work requirements and what constitutes as reasonable work requirements for Medicaid? | ||
| House Republicans are not trying to impose work requirements. | ||
| They're not trying to root out waste, fraud, and abuse. | ||
| We all support making the federal government the most efficient that it can be. | ||
| House Republicans have proposed up to $880 billion in Medicaid cuts. | ||
| That's the largest Medicaid cut in American history. | ||
| Hospitals will close, nursing homes will shut down, communities will be hurt, and Americans will die. | ||
| These people are scrambling right now to try to explain to the American people the devastation that they've already voted to set in motion, not once, but twice. | ||
| And the American people aren't having it. | ||
| And so they're trying to spin their way out of this box that they've gotten themselves in, but it's not going to work. | ||
| $880 billion in cuts to Medicaid means you are taking health insurance away from children, families, seniors, women, veterans, people with disabilities, and everyday Americans. | ||
| Period, full stop. | ||
| It's one of the reasons why the overwhelming majority of House Republicans aren't having town hall meetings. | ||
| We're having town hall meetings in Democratic districts, and we're having town hall meetings in Republican districts because we're not afraid to talk to the American people. | ||
| We work for the American people. | ||
| House Republicans are a rubber stamp for Donald Trump's extreme agenda, and it's not working out for them. | ||
| But they're already on record. | ||
| No matter what lies and half-truths they try to tell to the American people, they're going to be held accountable for once again trying to take health care away from hardworking American taxpayers. | ||
| This is nothing new. | ||
| They attacked The Affordable Care Act for years because these people have some irrational obsession with taking health care away from the American people, which is why they find themselves in trouble right now. | ||
| And we're going to keep the pressure on them, do everything we can to stop these reckless Medicaid cuts from taking effect. | ||
| And if they jam their reckless budget down the throats of the American people, they will be held accountable next November. | ||
| Thank you. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Thank you. Thank you. | |
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