LEADER JEFFRIES ON CBS: “WE’RE COMMITTED TO ACCOUNTABILITY AND TO HOLDING THE CROOKS ACCOUNTABLE”

Today, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries appeared on CBS Mornings, where he emphasized that Democrats are committed to holding the crooks accountable that are ripping off the American people and lowering the high cost of living.

NORAH O'DONNELL: Joining us now is the current House Democratic Leader, New York Congressman Hakeem Jeffries. He's expected to become Speaker of the House in January. Leader Jeffries, good to see you. Welcome.

LEADER JEFFRIES: Good morning, great to be with you.

NORAH O'DONNELL: Well, you heard the President. He says he's willing to work with Democrats on the issue of immigration. What do you think that looks like?

LEADER JEFFRIES: Well, we clearly have a broken immigration system that needs to be fixed in a comprehensive way. ICE is way out of control. We need to put an end to Donald Trump's violent mass deportation machine. And then we can find a path forward to make sure that immigration enforcement is fair, it's just and humane. We can begin by moving in the House, and ultimately in the Senate, the Dream and Promise Act in order to restore protection for DACA recipients and TPS recipients, and that should be a foundation for more, broader work that can be done together.

NORAH O'DONNELL: And yet, while you say you're willing to work with the President, you have said you're not willing to work with his new Chief of Staff, Stephen Miller, who is behind some of these toughest immigration enforcement policies. You've called him a 'dangerous xenophobe,' 'a reckless extremist who has American blood on his hands' and it should be-'he should be eradicated like a malignant tumor. Fire him today.' So, how are you going to work together?

LEADER JEFFRIES: We can work with the administration to the extent that they are willing to do things that make life more affordable for the American people and solve the problems that the American people have clearly demanded we address, as a result of the resounding results from Tuesday, without having to work with someone who is so clearly unqualified. And absolutely, in the context of being the architect of the violent mass deportation machine, it is fair to say that Stephen Miller has blood on his hands when we saw taxpayer dollars being used to brutalize and kill American citizens like Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti and violently target law-abiding immigrant communities.

GAYLE KING: Let's move on to the news this morning, Hakeem Jeffries good to see you, Mr. Leader-about Jensen Huang and the breaking news there that he apparently had, that he may have had a relationship with a Chinese spy. What is your take on that? What do you think needs to be done there?

LEADER JEFFRIES: Well, I haven't been fully briefed on that issue. However, we are having a classified briefing later on today with some high-level members of the administration. I'm sure that this is an issue that will come up, and I'll be prepared to address it more decisively subsequent to that classified briefing.

NORAH O'DONNELL: Well, let me ask you, though, Leader, President Trump was briefed a year ago that U.S. intelligence had electronic surveillance of this Chinese spy and that she was having a relationship with the CEO of NVIDIA. Then this spring, the Secretary of State Marco Rubio wrote a highly classified memo also about this relationship. Do you believe that damage was done to U.S. national security and that these high-end classified chips were provided to the Chinese government?

GAYLE KING: And did you see the memo?

LEADER JEFFRIES: I have not seen the memo. And, as I indicated, this is information that has not made its way to the Congress, certainly congressional leaders, in terms of any information that has ever been presented to us in either a classified or a non-classified setting. And I don't believe that that information has been presented to the leaders of the Intel committees, whether they be Democrats and Republicans. It just so happens that we have a classified briefing later on today. This will certainly be an area that is discussed and a significant issue of concern.

GAYLE KING: Let's move on to the issue of corruption. Jamie Raskin has made it clear that Democrats are going to go after corruption in the Trump administration. They talked about that on 60 Minutes last night. I'm curious about your feelings about that. Can we play a clip from the 60 Minutes interview about corruption?

RECORDING OF ROSS DOUTHAT: Your son manages or helps manage a cryptocurrency company called World Liberty Financial-

RECORDING OF DONALD TRUMP: Which son are we talking about?

RECORDING OF ROSS DOUTHAT: You are a co-owner of that company. Right?

RECORDING OF DONALD TRUMP: That's correct.

RECORDING OF ROSS DOUTHAT: That's correct, right? This company is also partially owned by investors connected to the government of the United Arab Emirates. I think if I told you that story, and it was about the Biden family, if I said Joe Biden is the part-owner of a company and it has all of these investments from the Middle East, you would say that sounds corrupt, right?

RECORDING OF DONALD TRUMP: Well, he did have a lot of different things-

RECORDING OF ROSS DOUTHAT: Sure, but you-

RECORDING OF DONALD TRUMP: But here's the difference-

RECORDING OF ROSS DOUTHAT: But why is it different for you?

RECORDING OF DONALD TRUMP: Well, here's, I'll tell you why, because I know nothing about it.

GAYLE KING: Does that answer satisfy you?

LEADER JEFFRIES: Certainly, I think it leaves a lot to be desired. We have to do three things and are committed to doing three things as House Democrats. We've got to fight to make life more affordable for the American people. Far too many people all across this country-they're working hard, they're playing by the rules, but they're struggling. They can't thrive, and they can barely survive. We've got to turn that situation around-lower the high costs of gas and groceries and housing and make healthcare affordable for every single American. At the same period of time, we've seen unprecedented corruption unleashed on the American people. And we've got to get to the bottom of it so we can actually deliver a government that is committed to solving problems for hardworking American taxpayers as opposed to enriching folks, their family members, their friends or their donors. So I think that Jamie-

GAYLE KING: Do you think the House can do both things? Because there's a lot of fatigue with corruption, investigations. The American people, as you said, have spoken. What they want-they want the country back on track. It really boils down to gas and groceries and how much everybody's paying. Can the Congress do both things at the same time, do you think?

LEADER JEFFRIES: Yes, and we have to. So we're going to focus aggressively and relentlessly on dealing with the affordability crisis. At the same period of time, we're committed to accountability and to holding the crooks accountable if you've been stealing from the American people, screwing over the American people or shortchanging the American people, so we can actually focus on the things that matter in terms of solving problems for hardworking American taxpayers. We're going to follow the facts, apply the law, be guided by the Constitution and then let the chips fall where they may, so we can deliver a government of the people, by the people and for the people.

NORAH O'DONNELL: And Leader Jeffries, one of the areas where the American people want progress is on healthcare, the high cost of healthcare, premiums going up double digits. You had a number of Democratic candidates, both in the House and the Senate, win by campaigning on something called Medicare for All. Will you support that? What kind of change will you lead on?

LEADER JEFFRIES: Well, I think all across the ideological spectrum, House Democrats are definitively committed to making sure that every single American can get access to high-quality and affordable healthcare. Now, in terms of the initial steps that we've promised to take, we've got to reverse the Medicaid cuts that are devastating people all across this country, including in rural America, forcing hospitals to close at record levels. We've got to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits so that we can provide relief to tens of millions of Americans who've been experiencing skyrocketing premiums, in some cases over $1,000 a month in terms of increase. That's unacceptable-

NORAH O'DONNELL: I hear you, but what about Medicare for All?

LEADER JEFFRIES: Right. And what I'm saying is that, and what we will do is then have a family conversation, Democrats in the House with Democrats in the Senate, led by our committee chairs in the House-that will be Richie Neal and Frank Pallone and in the Senate that's Ron Wyden and Bernie Sanders-to see what kind of consensus we can come to with respect to our shared commitment around universal access to high-quality and affordable healthcare.

GAYLE KING: Sometimes family conversations, as you know, can be difficult. Right now, you are the lead candidate for the Speaker position. Are you ready? Something you want?

LEADER JEFFRIES: Well, we're going to work hard to bring the country together. I put it in the hands of the American people. We also have to fight for a restoration of American values, and that's something that I'm committed to accomplishing. That's equal protection under the law. That's liberty and justice for all. That's a return to our great heritage as a nation of immigrants. And that certainly is making sure we protect the right to vote for everyone.

GAYLE KING: Alright, Leader Jeffries, right now we'll just say congratulations because it was a huge night for the Democrats. Thank you so much for your time this morning.

LEADER JEFFRIES: Thank you.

Full interview can be watched here.

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