LEADER JEFFRIES: “IF THE GOVERNMENT SHUTS DOWN, IT’S BECAUSE REPUBLICANS HAVE MADE THE DECISION TO SHUT THE GOVERNMENT DOWN”

Today, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries appeared on MSNBC's Alex Witt Reports, emphasizing that Democrats will continue to fight to save the healthcare of the American people while Trump and congressional Republicans engage in dangerous corruption and recklessly march us toward a government shutdown.

ALEX WITT: Joining me right now we have House Democratic Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York. Congressman, glad to have you here, sir. We are going to get to the government shutdown battle in just a moment. But first, President Trump said Comey's indictment was, quote, 'about justice, not revenge.' But his past words would suggest otherwise. And he hinted more charges against his political opponents are coming. How do you respond, sir, to this indictment? And is this the start of Trump's threat to use the Justice Department to go after his enemies?

LEADER JEFFRIES: Donald Trump and Republicans at the Department of Justice, who are behaving like corrupt political hacks, have launched this malicious prosecution against the former FBI Director as part of an ongoing revenge tour. Instead of President Trump being focused on actually funding the government, protecting the healthcare of the American people and lowering costs, he is engaging in this unhinged behavior and directing the Department of Justice, which continues to corruptly embarrass itself, to prosecute perceived political adversaries. The whole thing-the whole thing is shameful.

ALEX WITT: Can I ask you, on the heels of what my colleague Yamiche was reporting there at the White House. You had in 2024 December, you had the DOJ and the Inspector General report saying no undercover FBI employees were at protests or at the Capitol on January 6th. Where is Donald Trump getting his information? The fact that he just posts on Truth Social: It was just revealed the FBI secretly placed against all rules, regulations, protocols, standards 274 FBI agents into the crowd prior to, during the January 6th hoax. Where's that coming from?

LEADER JEFFRIES: Donald Trump is lying to the American people about the events of January 6th. He can't justify the fact that he helped to incite a mob of violent individuals who attacked the Capitol as part of an effort to try to reverse and undermine the results of the 2020 presidential election. And then on top of that, we know that the President, during his first day in office, pardoned hundreds of violent felons who brutally beat police officers and then released those violent felons back into communities all across the country, several of whom have been rearrested for doing harm to our communities. And so what we're seeing right now, Republicans are just peddling, led by Donald Trump and backed by all of the Republicans in the House and in the Senate, this baseless conspiracy theory, as part of this unhinged effort to assault continuously the American way of life, instead of actually being focused on doing the business of the people. It's one of the reasons why we're on the verge of Republicans shutting the government down, because they continue to be focused on the wrong thing and unleash chaos-chaos-on the American people.

ALEX WITT: Now we're going to get to that in just one moment because I know it's weighing heavily on you. But one more question about Friday, when Democrats on the House Oversight Committee released that trove of new Jeffrey Epstein documents. They include schedules mentioning figures like Elon Musk, Peter Thiel, Steve Bannon, and it comes after Adelita Grijalva's victory in that Arizona special election gave backers of the discharge petition that deciding 218th vote to compel the DOJ-release the complete files. What is your response to these new documents? Do you expect the House to pass the discharge petition soon?

LEADER JEFFRIES: Yes. Representative elect-Grijalva should be sworn in this Tuesday, we believe, which will be a pro forma session of the House of Representatives. It's been done before by Republicans. There's no dispute as it relates to her election, and she should be able to serve in the House next week. And the only reason that may not happen is because Republicans are concerned with the fact that she would be the 218th vote to compel the Trump administration to release the Epstein files. We just want to provide the American people with the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, and respect the wishes of the victims to make sure that there's full and complete and total accountability.

ALEX WITT: Okay, let's go to the shutdown battle now, sir, because the Trump administration has threatened to fire, not to temporarily furlough, tens of thousands of federal employees if the government shuts down. They're going to try to blame it on Democrats. The administration and DOGE-they've been pretty successful so far laying off government workers. So is this a real threat or is it just a pressure tactic?

LEADER JEFFRIES: It seems to me that it's an effort to try to intimidate Democrats, and we are not going to be intimidated away from our position, which is clear. We'll sit down with anyone, anytime, any place in order to try to find a bipartisan path forward to fund the government. But we will not support a partisan Republican spending bill that continues to gut the healthcare of the American people. We're going to stand up for Medicaid. Stand up for Medicare. Stand up for the Affordable Care Act. Stand up for our hospitals, our nursing homes and our community-based health clinics, all of which have been under assault. And stand up for the fact that if Congress doesn't act with respect to the Affordable Care Act tax credits, in a matter of weeks, tens of millions of Americans are going to experience dramatically increased premiums, co-pays and deductibles. Understand that the Trump administration has already been engaging in mass firings all throughout the year, and so a government shutdown has nothing to do with what they've already shown they are willing to do, which is why we just have to continue to hold the line and make it clear our position: cancel the cuts, lower the cost, save healthcare.

ALEX WITT: Do Democrats, though, risk being blamed if this government shuts down? And if so, how do you change that narrative?

LEADER JEFFRIES: We absolutely do not risk being blamed because the American people will not be fooled by the rhetoric coming from reckless Republicans. Republicans control the House. Republicans control the Senate. Republicans have a President at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Donald Trump. They control the entirety of the federal government. If the government shuts down, it's because Republicans have made the decision to shut the government down. And it's entirely unreasonable for them to expect that we're just going to simply go along to get along with the Republican healthcare crisis that they've created. No, we need to reverse the damage that has been done and stand up for people all across the country whose healthcare has been under assault. Black and brown communities under assault. Rural America under assault. Urban America under assault. Small town America under assault. The heartland of America under assault. That's why Democrats have drawn this line in the sand. And we're ready to sit down and have this conversation. It's Donald Trump who canceled the meeting and then decided to go to a golf event of all things rather than try to resolve this government funding issue.

ALEX WITT: So let me get to what Donald Trump said. You're right. He's the one that canceled the meeting. It was on the books for you and Senate Minority Leader Schumer to join him and discuss things at the White House. Trump said that a meeting would not be productive and accused Democrats of seeking to fund, quote, 'radical left views and policies related to healthcare, immigration and crime.' With so much on the line, how do you respond to the President saying, no, I'm not going to even talk with Democrats?

LEADER JEFFRIES: Well, Donald Trump and Republicans are lying to the American people. They know that their position is not defensible. We have repeatedly made clear we'll find a bipartisan path forward, but it's got to be related to funding the government in a manner that actually meets the needs of the American people in terms of their health, their safety and their economic well-being. Donald Trump knows, or at least I think he knows, that current federal law prohibits using taxpayer dollars for undocumented immigrants in connection with their healthcare. And no one is trying to change or reverse that law. What we are doing is fighting to protect the healthcare of everyday Americans in the midst of this Republican-caused crisis that is devastating hospitals and nursing homes and community-based health clinics. Largest cut to Medicaid in American history. And the fact that America's already too expensive and costs aren't going down under the Trump presidency, they're going up. And healthcare premiums are about to skyrocket and perhaps drive some people to medical bankruptcy. That should never happen in the United States of America.

ALEX WITT: So this is the banner that Democrats have chosen to carry here. But the New York Times writers are among those saying that healthcare may be the wrong issue to hinge this fight on, saying tariffs, for example, present a clearer case for Trump's authoritarian actions. Why is healthcare the right issue for Democrats to show voters they are standing up to Trump?

LEADER JEFFRIES: We're fighting on all of the things that matter. And certainly it is the case that the Trump tariffs are causing the cost of living for the American people to dramatically increase, in many instances, facing thousands of dollars in additional costs. And in fact, the Trump administration just announced the imposition of tariffs on October 1st on prescription drugs, which is going to increase the price of lifesaving medicine that people need to survive and to thrive. Now, it is in fact the case that we are about to enter into a period of time in a matter of days where notices will go out to people all across the country about what's going to happen with their health insurance and the fact that they're going to experience dramatically increased premiums, co-pays and deductibles. So this is something that has to be dealt with urgently, and at this moment. At the same time, we recognise the fight is around all of the things to protect the American way of life, and that's the fight we will continue to bring.

ALEX WITT: There is at least one Democrat, that being Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman, who says Democrats should avoid a shutdown because if it happens, it might empower the current administration to, quote, 'remake government in all kinds of ways.' Do you have the same fears?

LEADER JEFFRIES: I'm not sure what I'm missing here. The Trump administration, in the absence of a government shutdown, has been dramatically remaking government since January 20th in ways that are harmful to the American people. And now they're asking us to participate in it by signing off on their partisan Republican spending bill that continues to gut the healthcare of the American people. And we're not down with that. No way, no how.

ALEX WITT: Okay. Let me ask you, as I pivot quickly to ICE and that incident this week where an agent threw a woman to the floor at an immigration courthouse here in Manhattan. The agent has been relieved of his duties. The Trump administration has not said whether the agent was suspended or fired. But what is your reaction to this? Do you agree with other Democratic lawmakers who say that officer should be criminally charged?

LEADER JEFFRIES: The officer needs to be held accountable to the full extent of the law. I'm not as intimately familiar with the details, and so upon reviewing it, I'll have more to say. But what we do know is that we've seen this administration unleash unprecedented extremism on law-abiding immigrant communities all across the country in a manner that the American people are rejecting, and that is inconsistent with our values, both as a nation anchored in the rule of law and a nation of immigrants.

ALEX WITT: Democratic House Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York. I know your time is precious right now. You have so much on your plate, so we're very appreciative of your time here with us. Thank you sir.

Full interview can be watched here.

###