LIVE: House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries Holds Weekly Press Conference

Good morning, everyone. Good morning, everyone. There's an ongoing active shooter situation in Washington, D.C. The Capitol complex, as we understand it, is safe. I'd certainly go out, anyone who's victimized by this tragedy, all of the family members and loved ones, as well as our thanks go out to the Capitol Police, as well as, of course, the Metropolitan D.C. Police Department and all of our law enforcement. We continue to work incredibly hard. To keep the American people safe for their service, encourage their bravery in their work. Earlier on the floor today, House Democrats once again successfully forced a vote on a piece of legislation designed to make life better for the American people. We will always stand up to make sure our veterans are treated with dignity and respect. We're appreciative of the service of our veterans. We will continue to move legislation like the Major Richard Starr Act. It is designed to bring that commitment. America voted for dramatic change last Tuesday. And House Democrats are going to work hard to deliver it. We know that life is way too expensive. There are far too many people in this great country of ours working hard, playing by the rules, can't thrive, can barely survive. They're suffocating in this failed Republican economy. And the American people have had enough, had enough of the corruption, had enough of the extremism. We've had enough of Republicans in Congress focused on the wealthy, the well-off, and the well-connected. House Democrats are going to focus on making life more affordable for working-class Americans, middle-class Americans, all those who aspire to be part of the middle class, and everyday Americans in every part of this great country. We're going to fight for small-town America. We're going to fight for rural America. We're going to fight for urban America. We're going to fight for the heartland of America. We're going to fight. For black and brown communities all across America, we're going to fight to make this country affordable, to drive down the high cost of living, and at the same period of time, make sure that we're holding the crooks accountable, who have visited unprecedented corruption on the American people. Any concerns that the president or the White House may have been compromised by the Chinese government over the Jensen Wong buy situation? Congressman Greg. The next chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, along with Congressman Jim Himes, the next chair of the House Intel Committee, are leading the effort to get to the bottom of what has happened. There certainly are more questions than answers. We had a classified briefing earlier this week. It was focused primarily on the situation in Iran. We need a classified briefing made available to members of Congress as it relates to the NVIDIA situation. And to the extent that our national security has been compromised, the American people deserve answers, and we're going to work to make sure that happens. You've been asked a couple times about raising the minimum wage, and you've said it's a priority. What specific number or what's the floor of the minimum raise that you need to see? Well, that's a great question, and it's one of the things that we're working out between the House and the Senate, led by the current chairman, or soon to be. I would like to say that the legislation that has previously been introduced to raise the wage act does have substantial support within the House Democratic Caucus family. It is clear that we have to raise the minimum wage, $7.25, unacceptable, hasn't changed in In 20 years, and we need to actually make life more affordable by lowering costs. And by raising the wages that the American people who are working hard and playing by the rules receive. And so we'll have more to say about what the legislation will ultimately look like, but we need dramatic change. We're committed to ending the reckless and costly war of choice in Iran. It's been a disaster for the American people. It's raised costs, made life more expensive, the American people are less safe, the Iranian regime is stronger now than it was before the war. We should have never entered into it. House and Senate Democrats have strongly opposed it, and we're going to do everything we can to end it. I assume we're going to have conversations all across the country. What comes next in terms of when Democrats, as a result of what the American people have have the ability to govern on their behalf beginning on January 30th. That's our focus as House Democrats because we know the American people voted for dramatic change and have completely and totally repudiated MAGA extremism. We've made clear as Democrats that we're going to focus on affordability, accountability, and lifting up American values. We need to end the war of choice in Iran. We need to stop the Trump tariffs. We need to reverse the Medicaid cuts. We need to reverse the SNAP cuts. We need to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits. We need to take substantial steps toward bringing about our commitment to universal health care so that every single American in this country can afford to go see a doctor when they need one or when their family needs one. We've got to get big money out of politics and end Citizens United. We have to make sure that we're cleaning up the mess. Here in the Congress, with the executive branch, and at the Supreme Court, and that should begin by prohibiting members of Congress from trading stocks. So what comes next? There's a lot that is on the table that we plan to deliver meaningful, bold, transformational change for the American people. A lot of hands today. One of the things you could do. Some progressives are saying to end the war in Iran is to have a rider on an appropriations bill in a month. What do you think about that? That could risk it. Are you willing to go there? We need to end the reckless and costly war of choice in Iran. That's been a commitment that we've made. We've been strongly opposed to this war from day one. And we will continue to do everything we can to end it. With respect to the appropriations process, right now there are four corners negotiations that are ongoing, Led by Rosa DeLauro. The House top appropriator for Democrats, and she's working through all of our Democratic priorities to see what's possible in advance of December 11th. I don't want to get out ahead, Congresswoman DeLauro, but House Democrats have uniformly opposed providing any additional money to Donald Trump's war machine, to Pete Hegseth's war machine over in the Middle East. Taxpayer dollars should be spent to make life more affordable. We've got to do all of the above, but we've made clear consistently, and I think this is a position shared by House and Senate Democrats, that we have to drive down the high cost of living because life is way too expensive. And as part of that effort, we've got to deal with accountability, because there's a cost to corruption. When you have people in government who are stealing from the American people, screwing over the American people, and shortchanging the American people, they should be held accountable for ripping off taxpayers, as opposed to putting the focus on actually making life better for everyday Americans, where people are drowning in this failed Republican economy. Congress has a responsibility to serve as a check and balance on an out-of-control executive branch. That's not a partisan thing. It's a patriotic thing. During the very beginning of the journey that we've now been on for 250 years, James Madison made the observation that, at its best, Congress effectively should be a rival to the executive branch. Rival. These Republicans have been nothing more than a reckless rubber stamp For the extreme MAGA agenda, that's unacceptable. That's not just Hakeem Jeffries saying it. The American people made that clear, that they want a dramatic change in direction. So we've got to relentlessly focus on affordability, and we've got to make sure that we are delivering the type of accountability that the American people are demanding take place beginning in the new Congress. Barbara. It was the right thing to do. Now we have to get to the bottom of whether America's national security has been compromised. Thank you, Mr. Leader. You're about to potentially take hard care of a very big House Democratic majority. Can you just explain to us a little bit of your thinking? Thank Quite an opportunity, but also a number of challenges. You've got this opportunity that gives you some wiggle room. You won't potentially have these narrow margins that we've seen in the past Congress. you, Yet at the same time, you have the challenge of a lot of voices, a lot of opinions coming from across the country. you. Can we just address that? How are you approaching? The House of Representatives is a righteously exuberant place. That's a beautiful thing. That's what the framers demanded in constructing the institution, that the House would reflect most directly the passions of the American people. That's why the House, to this day, remains the only institution where one can be directly elected as the only way to serve in the architecture of the federal government. And the House Democratic Caucus in the new Congress is going to reflect most intimately The gorgeous mosaic of the American people and to channel the hopes, the dreams, the aspirations, the fears, the concerns, the anxieties, the life experiences in such an incredible way, which is what this new class of members represent, and the passions of the American people as the framers articulate it. And so we embrace the fact that the House of Representatives and the House Democratic Caucus is going to be a passionate place to debate ideas, but always focused. I'm trying to find the highest common denominator so we can make bold progress on behalf of the American people, advance the ball, and get things done. Leader Jeffries, obviously there will be a new rules package in the next Congress. Do you support new parent proxy voting? And additionally, there are several Democrats who have committed during their campaigns to introducing impeachment resolutions. You think individual members should continue to be able to introduce privilege? I certainly will continue to strongly support, and I'm thankful for the leadership of Brittany Pedersen and Sarah Jacobs and other members of the House Democratic Caucus in this regard, support proxy voting for expectant mothers and for new parents. And with respect to the privilege that currently exists, in the conversation that I've had With Jim McGovern and others, there's no expectation that that will change. I usually go back and forth, but y'all are overwhelming me right now. Thank you, Mr. Leader. I'm Laura Kelly with The Hill. Senator Van Hollen has called for removing provisions in the NDAA related to people's cooperation. Do you support those? I haven't had a conversation with Senator Van Hollen, but what I have said is that things have to dramatically change over in the Middle East. Do we need dramatic change in the West Bank? That's why I strongly support the West Bank Violence Protection Act. We need dramatic change in Gaza, and we need dramatic change with respect to the Memorandum of Understanding as it winds down, all of which I previously said publicly. And we'll work as a caucus to make sure that we can bring about the just and lasting peace that Israelis and Palestinians deserve over in the Middle East. The status quo is unacceptable, and we need dramatic change. And that looks like, as far as I'm concerned, making sure you have a safe and secure Israel living side by side as a Jewish and democratic state with an independent Palestinian state that provides dignity and self-determination for the Palestinian people. As we said earlier, you know, you are on the precipice of perhaps becoming speaker. You don't seem to be opposed right now, but there is grassroots frustration with the current, you know, current leadership where you're talking to you. What message do you have for the grassroots and perhaps some of these incoming members who have expressed frustration or a lack of understanding of what your leadership will mean? We're going to continue to talk to every single member of the House Democratic Caucus, both current members and incoming members, about what we all can do together for the American people in the 120th. Confident that we're on a positive trajectory as it relates to the vote next Wednesday. And then the vote on the floor in January, but we take nothing for granted because all of us in the House of Representatives are on a two-year employment, and we have to continue to make our case, both with respect to our track record up until this point, as well as, perhaps even more importantly, our vision for the future. We as House Democrats were written off in January of 2025. And when I stood here at this podium and said, they have no mandate. We overperformed. The political environment in 2024, which is why we came back and held them to the narrowest majority of any party since 1930 in the Great Depression. I said in February of 2025, confidently, that House Democrats were going to take back control. And we did. I made clear that we were going to battle Republicans and MAGA extremism on every issue. And we battled them on the one big ugly bill, which became the most unpopular piece of legislation in modern American history. We battled them on the Medicaid cuts, battled them on the Affordable Care Act tax credits, and forced Republicans to vote on it over the objection of Mike Johnson and Donald Trump, and it passed. We forced votes on extending TPS for Haitian migrants, forced votes to extend benefits to veterans successfully, forced votes to override Donald Trump's executive order on collective bargaining. We've forced votes with respect to making sure we fund our allies as opposed to supporting brutal dictators like Vladimir Putin. We've forced votes repeatedly and successfully to end the reckless and costly war of choice in Iran, and we're not going to stop until we prevail. We've successfully forced votes on Epstein transparency, and the Epstein files, and we want to continue to work with the brave and courageous survivors. until they get the transparency and the accountability that they deserve. We battled them on ICE funding. We said we were not going to provide an additional dime to Donald Trump's violent mass deportation machine. And we haven't. We've battled them on every issue, We made clear to the American people, despite all the skepticism that was out there. That the Republican gerrymandering scheme was not going to be successful. You had Republican operatives close to the president saying that the gerrymandering scheme was going to yield them 16 seats. 16 seats? Every single Democratic incumbent in a gerrymandered district came back. Every single one. In Texas. In North Carolina. In Ohio. In Florida. Every single one came back. And in those states that were gerrymandered, we flipped seats in Ohio, we flipped a seat in Tennessee, we flipped seven seats in North Carolina, we held every single gerrymandered seat in Florida, we flipped seats in Texas, and of course we flipped five seats in California. I stood here and said, Republicans have started this gerrymandering war, Democrats were going to end it. Promise made, promise kept. So the record speaks for itself. But that doesn't mean it's not important to talk to every single member of the House Democratic Caucus family about what the future looks like and how we can build upon this record where everyone doubted our ability to aggressively fight back and continue to bring about the type of bold, dramatic... Thank you, everyone.