LEADER JEFFRIES: “THE AMERICAN PEOPLE HAVE HAD ENOUGH. AND DEMOCRATS ARE STANDING ON THEIR SIDE”

Today, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries appeared on CNN's The Source with Kaitlan Collins, where he emphasized that Republicans are to blame for the pending government shutdown and that Democrats are fighting hard to save the healthcare of the American people.

KAITLAN COLLINS: My congressional source tonight is the leader of Democrats in the House, Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries. And it's great to have you here, sir. Obviously, today's Friday. Government funding runs out midnight Tuesday. I don't have to tell you that. Is it fair to say that a government shutdown is inevitable at this point?

LEADER JEFFRIES: Well, I'm here in Washington right now. And Democrats are ready, willing and able to sit down with anyone, at any time, at any place here in Washington, D.C., in order to try to find a bipartisan agreement that actually meets the needs of the American people in terms of their health, their safety and their economic well-being. And our position has been clear: we will not support this partisan Republican spending bill because it continues to gut the healthcare of the American people. We will support an agreement that actually provides funding to keep the government open that is negotiated in a bipartisan way. The President agreed to a meeting, and then he pulled the meeting. Now he's fled town and is on the golf course at the Ryder Cup in New York. It makes no sense. They're trying to shut the government down. And Republicans, of course, control the House, the Senate and the presidency, which is why they will clearly be blamed.

KAITLAN COLLINS: Yeah, and the President returned to Washington earlier, but he canceled his meeting that was planned with you and Chuck Schumer. House Republicans are not in Washington. I think, given that, if there is no one to negotiate with, what power do Democrats have to stop a shutdown from happening?

LEADER JEFFRIES: Well, that's exactly the point: that Republicans are in the majority in the House and in the Senate, and Donald Trump is the President. If they decide to shut the government down, then the government is going to shut down. We believe we have a sense of responsibility in terms of trying to find a bipartisan path forward, which we've made clear to the White House and to our colleagues on the other side of the aisle in the House and in the Senate. But they've refused to have a conversation, and they've canceled votes on the eve of the government shutting down next Wednesday. We were scheduled to be in session on Monday and Tuesday. By the way, Democrats will be here in Washington, D.C., on Monday, ready to do our job. Unfortunately, House Republicans will be on vacation, scattered across the country and the world.

KAITLAN COLLINS: Just something you said to Punchbowl News stuck out to me earlier. Is it true that you have never actually met the President?

LEADER JEFFRIES: No, well, we haven't had a formal meeting during his time in office. We did spend some time together, along with the other legislative leaders, on Inauguration Day, both at the White House when he was greeted formally by former President Joe Biden and then, of course, at the Capitol during the inauguration, which, by the way, was like a supervillain convention that the American people had to witness, and it's been a national nightmare ever since.

KAITLAN COLLINS: One question on if Tuesday comes and there is no agreement. Once the government shutdown happens, if it does, do you and Senator Schumer have an exit ramp? Basically, how do you-how do you get out of it once the-once the government has shut down?

LEADER JEFFRIES: Well, we've continued to make clear our position: cancel the cuts, lower the costs, save healthcare. Republicans have launched an unprecedented assault against the healthcare of the American people. Largest cut to Medicaid in American history. Hospitals, nursing homes and community-based health clinics shutting down. Their refusal to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits, which is going to result in a matter of a few weeks, tens of millions of Americans experiencing dramatically increased premiums, co-pays and deductibles. They've canceled medical research, effectively, in the United States of America, and, because of their One Big Ugly Bill, have set in motion a possible $536 billion cut to Medicare. It's an extraordinary assault on healthcare for working-class Americans, urban America, rural America, suburban America, Black and brown America and the country. And all we're saying is let's find a path forward to actually fix the healthcare system that Republicans have broken for the good of everyone-Democrats, Republicans and Independents.

KAITLAN COLLINS: And there are some Senate Republicans who say they want to negotiate, actually, on those healthcare subsidies. They'd like to see them extended. But on the Medicaid funding cuts that were just passed in the President's signature bill, I think the question is, do you really think Republicans are going to vote to undo the legislation they just passed?

LEADER JEFFRIES: Donald Trump promised-I think it was on January 30-that he was going to love and cherish Medicaid. And then they turned around, passed their One Big Ugly Bill and enacted the largest cut to Medicaid in American history, along with stealing food from the mouths of children. And all of this was being done to reward their billionaire donors with massive tax breaks. It's deeply unpopular with the American people. And you have Republicans in the House and the Senate who have said we got to do something about these Medicaid cuts that we just voted for because hospitals, nursing homes and community-based health clinics in our communities are closing. We told them that was going to happen. Now they're starting to see the consequences. And so, yes, we do think that there's some bipartisan opportunity to deal with their assault on Medicaid and all of the things related to the healthcare of the American people.

KAITLAN COLLINS: Are you and Senator Schumer aligned on your strategy here?

LEADER JEFFRIES: Yes, House and Senate Democrats are in complete alignment. We voted together, all of us opposing the One Big Ugly Bill. We've been working closely together over the last several months, and Senator Schumer and I talk every day. House and Senate Democrats are in constant contact. And we believe this is the right fight on behalf of the American people: protecting their healthcare and addressing the Republican healthcare crisis.

KAITLAN COLLINS: Well, I ask because Senator Schumer faced a lot of blowback back in March from your party when he supported that Republican written bill to avert a government shutdown. Democrats clearly-at least the base-wanted a fight to at least see some kind of fight from Democrats. So, do you have confidence in Senator Schumer's handling this on the Senate side this time?

LEADER JEFFRIES: I have complete and total confidence in Leader Schumer, as well as in the partnership House Democrats have with Senate Democrats to stand up for the health, the safety, the economic well-being of the American people. I mean, this is an extraordinary thing that we're seeing. Just recently, Donald Trump announced that he's imposing tariffs on October 1 on prescription drugs, which is gonna increase prescription drug prices in addition to the healthcare price increases that we're experiencing, the increases in grocery cost, the increases in housing costs, the increases in electricity bills. Donald Trump promised to lower the cost of living on day one. Costs aren't going down. They're going up, and the American people have had enough. And Democrats are standing on their side.

KAITLAN COLLINS: You're obviously making these demands that Republicans say they're just unrealistic for-to keep the government funded for seven more weeks as you continue to negotiate. How long are you willing to fight for them?

LEADER JEFFRIES: Well, Republicans had an opportunity over the last several months to actually sit down and have a conversation with us to try to find a bipartisan path forward. They've refused, they've decided to go it alone. They dropped this reckless partisan bill that continues to gut the healthcare of the American people, and it went down in flames. And so, their bill is dead on arrival. And the only option at this moment in time is for them to actually have a conversation. And as we've pointed out, we're here, we're ready to talk, we were ready to go to the White House, we're ready to have a conversation in Washington, D.C. They need to come back to meet us so we can try to work this out, as opposed to staying out on vacation, having canceled votes that they previously scheduled.

KAITLAN COLLINS: House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, we'll see what happens on Tuesday. Obviously, please keep us updated. And thank you for your time and joining us tonight.

LEADER JEFFRIES: Thank you.

Full interview can be watched here.

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