House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) on Monday tore into Trump and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth over their role in a deadly “double-tap” strike on a suspected drug boat in the Caribbean in September, suggesting the attack violated the law and that Hegseth should face consequences. “It’s already been crystal clear that Pete Hegseth is the most unqualified secretary of Defense in American history. I called for him to be terminated months ago,” Jeffries told reporters in the Capitol. “And now we have real evidence that extrajudicial killings are taking place. That’s the stain on America’s leadership in the free world, which is why our international standing is plummeting.”
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NewsTranscript
00:00The clock is ticking on the expiration of the Affordable Care Act tax credits in just
00:2030 days. Tens of millions of Americans are about to experience dramatically increased
00:28health care costs because of the Republican refusal to extend the Affordable Care Act
00:34tax credits. From the very beginning of this presidency, Republican control of the House
00:41and the Senate, as well as the administration, has been a disaster
00:47for the American people. These extremists promised all last year that costs were going to go down
00:55on day one. Costs haven't gone down in America. Costs have gone up. The Trump tariffs are
01:02increasing expenses on everyday Americans by thousands of dollars per year. Housing costs
01:09are out of control. Grocery costs are out of control. Childcare costs are out of control.
01:16Electricity bills are through the roof. And now Republicans refuse to do a thing
01:24to prevent health care costs from dramatically increasing in a way that will deprive tens
01:34of millions of Americans of the ability to go see a doctor when they need one. Republicans
01:42have done nothing over the last several months to address the health care crisis that they have
01:51created. And they continue to refuse to take yes for an answer. Democrats have an active discharge
02:01petition. And all we need are a handful of House Republicans to join us. And we can trigger an up
02:09down vote on a three year extension of the Affordable Care Act tax credits to save the health care of the
02:17American people in every single state in this country and protect the health care of people who these so-called
02:26Republican members allegedly represent, but who have failed to do a single thing to make their life better.
02:38Questions. Leader Jeffries, your Senate Democrat colleagues, they've previously expressed openness to
02:46reforming the credits, working through differences. Why propose a three year clean extension?
02:53Time has run out on Republican inaction. They have done nothing over the last 60 days,
03:01but stumble, fumble and bumble as it relates to addressing the health care crisis that they've
03:09created. Understand that this year, House Republicans enacted the largest cut to Medicaid in American
03:18history. These extremists have thrown 14 million people off of Medicaid. At the same period of time,
03:28hospitals, nursing homes and community based health centers are closing all throughout the country,
03:34including in rural America, because of what Republicans have done in their one big ugly bill.
03:40They've launched an unprecedented assault on the Centers for Disease Control and the National Institute of
03:49Health, jeopardizing the well being of the American people. Vaccines are increasingly unavailable
03:56in the United States of America. Children are getting sick unnecessarily all across the country.
04:04And now on top of all of that, that parade of horribles, Republicans refuse to extend the Affordable Care Act
04:14tax credits, which are going to expire this month. Time has run out on Republicans playing partisan games.
04:24We have a discharge petition that if it received an up or down vote in the House of Representatives,
04:33we are confident we'll pass. But obviously, Mike Johnson has zero interest in protecting the health
04:42care of the American people. Instead, these extremists are gutting the health care of the people that
04:47they represent, including in the state of Louisiana. Senate Democrats next week will be able to put up
04:57a vote for the ACA subsidies. Do you think there's any plan that Republicans would actually get on board with
05:03to have a bipartisan bill? And if not, what should Democrats put up on the floor in the Senate?
05:08There are Republicans in the House and the Senate who, during the Trump-Republican shutdown, consistently said
05:18that once the shutdown ends that they caused, that they'd be willing to address the health care crisis
05:28that they've created, most immediately by extending the Affordable Care Act tax credits.
05:34Now, we hear nothing but crickets from them. It even appears that the Trump administration was ready to put
05:44forth a plan that would at least have been worthy of consideration, and that Mike Johnson tanked it.
05:51So now, Mike Johnson wants to act like he's the Speaker of the House? Really? When it comes to
05:58the health care of the American people and possibly doing something bipartisan, he wants to act like
06:04he's in control, when the reality is he's done nothing but bend the knee to Donald Trump since
06:13January 20th? I mean, House Republicans have been nothing but a rubber stand for Donald Trump's extreme
06:20agenda since January 20th. And when it appears that Donald Trump actually might be willing
06:25to enter into a good-faith bipartisan negotiation to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits,
06:33House Republicans detonate the agreement. These people aren't serious about anything
06:37other than providing massive tax breaks to their billionaire donors. That's not a hypothetical statement.
06:47That's not hype. That's not hyperbole. It happened. They enacted the largest cut to Medicaid in American
06:57history. They ripped food out of the mouths of hungry children and seniors and veterans this year in their
07:04one big ugly bill. $186 billion cut to SNAP. And why did they do all of that? So they could reward their
07:12billionaire donors with massive tax breaks. And so the extremists are just showing the American people
07:20who they are. And as a result, the only viable path forward, it appears, in the House and in the Senate
07:31is a straight extension of the Affordable Care Act tax credits. Let's see what Senate Democrats put on the
07:39floor next week. And we'll continue to press our case on our side of the Capitol.
07:48Thank you, Leader Deputy. Sorry. Thanks. I just wanted to ask if there's been any kind of formal or informal
07:53back-channeling with Republicans who might be supportive of the discharge petition going on at all?
07:59Well, you had 13 Republicans a few weeks ago indicate in a letter that they wrote to Deputy Speaker Mike
08:06Johnson that as soon as their shutdown was over, they wanted to address the Affordable Care Act tax credits.
08:14But now it's nothing but silence from these people because they're not serious about helping the American
08:23people, the hardworking American taxpayers that they purport to represent.
08:28This has become painfully obvious to the American people, which is why Republicans are getting wiped out
08:35electorally all across the country, as we saw last month. Literally in every single state in the union,
08:44destroyed up and down the ballot across the country. Statewide races to local races and everything in between.
08:54Because the American people are done with these people. They've been a disaster.
08:58They lied about fighting the low at a high cost of living. Instead, they've just jammed their extreme
09:04right-wing policies down the throats of the American people who are being hurt as a result.
09:12And, you know, our view about the situation, as we've repeatedly said, is that we're open to finding a bipartisan
09:21path forward. But the extremists continue to refuse to take yes for an answer.
09:27They had an opportunity, right, to accept a very reasonable proposal that Leader Schumer put on the table a few weeks ago,
09:37which was a straight one-year extension of the Affordable Care Act tax credits and then a bipartisan commission
09:46to discuss improvements to the health care of the American people over a multi-year period of time.
09:54What was objectionable about that?
09:58Well, Republican extremists rejected it because they have no interest in doing anything to make life better
10:04for working-class Americans, everyday Americans, and hard-working American taxpayers.
10:08And that's a shame.
10:12Thank you, Mr. Weger. On the discharge petition, is it your expectation that all House Democrats will sign,
10:19as of today, I believe 212 of 213 have signed? Is it your expectation that all members of your caucus will sign it?
10:26And following up on the question about back-channel conversations,
10:30is it your position that the fact that the subsidies expire in 30 days, the urgency that you say, you know,
10:40the moment requires, is that enough for Republicans to sign on?
10:45Or will it require some proactive conversations on the part of House Democrats to get them to break ranks with leadership
10:51and sign on to this effort?
10:53Well, there certainly haven't been any leadership conversations because Mike Johnson has zero interest
10:58in protecting the health care of the American people, and he's repeatedly made that clear.
11:02Now, in terms of whether there are conversations member-to-member between the House Democratic Caucus
11:10and members of the House Republican Conference, there certainly have been some informal conversations
11:15led by folks like Tom Swasey, who has floated a two-year proposal with some, you know, modest reforms
11:23that we'd have to take a look at, but there's no indication that even that proposal has support
11:33from House Republican leadership.
11:36These people have zero interest in making life better for everyday Americans,
11:42and they repeatedly make that clear.
11:46They're in the face of the American people about it.
11:49Meanwhile, you got Donald Trump issuing reckless pardons, destroying half of the White House,
11:56bailing out Argentina, posting erratically on Thanksgiving, like this guy can't even give us a break
12:06on Thanksgiving when we're with our families.
12:11And the American people have had enough of it.
12:14These people have gone way too far.
12:16They've broken every single promise that they've had.
12:21And so I guess we can always hope that there are a handful of Republicans who actually do what they said
12:30that they would do once their shutdown ended, which is to work with Democrats to find a path forward.
12:35But that path right now is an extension of the Affordable Care Act tax credits.
12:41I think our discharge petition in record time is now up to about 2-12, 2-13.
12:46It is my expectation that we will have complete and total unity amongst House Democrats.
12:52Thank you, Mr. Leader.
12:53Thanks.
12:54Thanks, Mr. Leader.
12:56You just mentioned how Republicans are getting wiped out across the country.
13:00You've seen that in past elections.
13:01What's your expectation tomorrow in Tennessee?
13:03Do you think that the Democrat there could potentially pull it off,
13:07given the polling that we have seen in recent weeks?
13:09It seems to me that it's going to be an unexpectedly close election, a single-digit election.
13:14That's shocking.
13:17In deep red Tennessee, Mark Green's district.
13:24By the way, this is a district literally that Donald Trump just won by 22 points last November.
13:35This is not a district that anyone believes should be competitive.
13:44No rational person believes this district should be competitive.
13:48And yet, it's apparently very competitive.
13:52It's going to be a much closer than expected race.
13:57Republicans have already lost the fact that they are spending millions of dollars to hold a seat that Donald Trump just won by 22 points is extraordinary.
14:08And more evidence that Republican extremists are completely and totally on the run because they have failed the American people.
14:18And it's Democrats who are making the case all over the country that we are actually the ones fighting to lower the high cost of living,
14:27fighting to fix our broken health care system, and fighting to clean up the type of corruption that has the American people disgusted.
14:35What I don't understand is that Republicans keep doubling and tripling down on their extremism, and it ain't working.
14:45They are losing all over the place.
14:48Donald Trump's approval rating in the most recent Gallup poll is 36%.
14:5460% of the American people disapprove of this guy.
14:59He's a disaster, and now the president and Mike Johnson are holding a rally tonight in Mark Green's district that Trump just won by 22 points
15:14because they're scared to death about what could happen.
15:20If these people, these extremists, were actually rational, instead of doubling and tripling down on their extremism,
15:27continuing to lie to the American people, why don't they just change direction and actually partner with Democrats to solve problems on behalf of the American people?
15:41When the Congress convened at the start of the year, we made very clear we'll work with anyone, anytime, anyplace,
15:51new administration, other side of the aisle, to make life better for the American people.
15:59But Republicans have refused.
16:01They've gone down this my way or the highway approach.
16:06And we basically, we're not down with that because we're not going to go along to get along
16:12when their policies are hurting the American people.
16:17So, Peter, I wanted to talk to you a little bit about Trump's immigration plan to ban third world citizens.
16:25I mean, America, a lot of them are trying to come here to be able to make a better life and have your thoughts on that, sir.
16:32Yeah, our view is that, one, of course, we support the notion of having strong border security.
16:41No one ever disputes that.
16:42We have a broken immigration system.
16:46We need to fix it.
16:46But it should be fixed in a comprehensive and bipartisan way.
16:51But at the same period of time, we are going to stand up for law-abiding immigrant families and communities
17:00who have been under assault by Donald Trump and the so-called Secretary of Homeland Security.
17:08They're a disgrace.
17:09We're going to stand up for dreamers.
17:12We're going to stand up for farm workers and for farmers who have been crushed by Donald Trump's extreme policies.
17:20And in this country, it shouldn't be that complicated that we are both a nation anchored in the rule of law
17:27and a nation of immigrants, a gorgeous mosaic of people from all across the world.
17:30It's why we're the envy of the world, because that is one of the ingredients in American exceptionalism.
17:38And the American people actually don't want us to lose it, which is why even Donald Trump's immigration policies right now are deeply unpopular and underwater.
17:49The White House is denying that Secretary Hegseth had anything to do with the double-tap strikes on alleged Venezuelan drug boats in the Caribbean.
18:01A, do you believe that?
18:03And B, if he or any other administration officials are found to have been culpable for any war crimes,
18:09do you think that Democrats will take any sort of punitive legislative action against them?
18:13The White House is lying, but that's no surprise, because they lie for a living, and the American people know it.
18:22It's my understanding that Pete Hegseth, the so-called Secretary of Defense, was absolutely involved.
18:28I think he may have even recently acknowledged that, because the facts are incapable of being disputed.
18:37And so the question in front of us, and I believe there will be bipartisan investigations,
18:43in both the House and in the Senate, in order to determine whether war crimes were committed,
18:54and either U.S. law or international law, or both, were violated.
19:01It's already been crystal clear that Pete Hegseth is the most unqualified Secretary of Defense in American history.
19:09I called for him to be terminated months ago, when the Signalgate scandal first broke out.
19:18Everybody on Capitol Hill knows he should have never been confirmed.
19:22It's a shame.
19:24It's because these Senate Republicans, just like House Republicans, are nothing more than puppets for Donald Trump's extreme policies.
19:31That's why they put Pete Hegseth into that position, when they knew he was woefully unqualified.
19:39And now, we have real evidence that extrajudicial killings are taking place.
19:44That's the stain on America's leadership in the free world, which is why our international standing is plummeting.
19:55And, of course, the standing of the Republican Party is a complete and total disaster here in the United States of America.
20:03Thank you, Leader Jeffries.
20:06Following up on immigration, one of the more controversial policies President Trump announced in recent days
20:11is his intent to potentially strip citizenship away from anybody he feels isn't a benefit to the United States.
20:18I'm just curious, what's your reaction to that?
20:20That was an unhinged statement by Donald Trump.
20:22He knows he doesn't have the capacity to strip citizenship away.
20:26He's behaving like a wannabe king, and the American people are rejecting that.
20:31Thanks.
20:31I think it was your last press conference, you made mention of the need to clean up the ethics of Washington.
20:38Do you support the Chip Roy bipartisan bill, and do you have any evidence that a bill like that
20:44could actually make it this time after years of failure?
20:48Yeah, it's not clear to me that the legislation introduced by Chip Roy
20:54is actually going to make it out of the Republican-run committee
21:01yet alone on the House floor because Mike Johnson and Steve Scalise and Republicans oppose the legislation.
21:09These people have zero interest in cleaning up the corruption that is benefiting members of their party in real time.
21:16We know that's the case because Donald Trump and his administration is the most corrupt administration in American history.
21:23It's not even close.
21:25Richard Nixon is way down in the distance.
21:30It's wild, the corruption that we're seeing in real time.
21:36And we don't hear a peep from Mike Johnson, Steve Scalise, or any of them about the corruption that's taking place in the administration,
21:45in the Supreme Court, or in the Congress.
21:48House Democrats have made clear, we overwhelmingly support a ban on congressional stock trading.
21:59And as soon as we can bring a bipartisan bill to the floor, and that may have to wait until we take the gavels back after November of 2026,
22:09we plan to do it, we plan to do it.
22:12Thanks.
22:14Kevin?
22:15When it comes to the HECSF and the attacks in the Caribbean, you talked about the bipartisan approach here.
22:23Are you confident that Republican-led committees are going to actually do a dutiful and complete review of this?
22:28And to what extent, given the nature and the control of the House right now, would impeachment even be an option?
22:35Well, Republicans will never allow articles of impeachment to be brought to the floor of the House of Representatives.
22:41And we know that's the case, because Donald Trump will order them not to do it.
22:47So what's on the table is a meaningful investigation, which we can hope would be bipartisan.
22:52I have full and complete trust in Adam Smith, the once and future chairman of the House Armed Services Committee.
23:01I can't speak to whether I've got any confidence as to what Republicans will do on the other side of the aisle.
23:09The one thing that should be clear to all of these Republican extremists and sycophants and the people who are either actively involved in corruption,
23:18violating the law, engaged in extrajudicial activity,
23:22is that the statute of limitations for any crimes being committed now in five years,
23:27it will extend well beyond the end of the Trump administration.
23:34Thank you, all.
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23:52We'll see you next time.
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