‘The Fight Starts Now’: Jeffries Launches Warning Shot At Trump And Republicans | WORLD NEWS | US

A few moments ago, yet again, another reckless Republican bill went down to defeat on the floor of the House of Representatives. House Democrats are in the minority, but continue to control the floor as if we were in the majority. Making progress on behalf of the American people, including by extending the Affordable Care Act tax credits earlier this year to protect the health care of more than 20 million Americans by passing successfully a War Powers Resolution as part of our continuing effort to stop Donald Trump's reckless and costly war of choice in the Middle East. No more stupid wars that make life more expensive for the American people. Perhaps for the first time in the history of the United States of America, the majority party was forced to pull a bill relating to veterans because House Democrats, led by Mark Takano, have made clear all week that this bill doesn't benefit hardworking veterans in the United States of America. It would actually hurt them. In advance of Donald Trump's speech, let me also be clear about one thing. Donald Trump lost the 2020 presidential election. Something's really wrong with this guy. I think he actually needs to be checked out. Why does he continue to focus on a conspiracy theory related to a 2020 presidential election that every rational person in the United States of America knows he lost? And yet, instead of focusing on actually driving down the high cost of living in an economy where hardworking American taxpayers are suffocating from the affordability crisis, Donald Trump continues to peddle election conspiracy theories. House Democrats are committed to making sure that we have a free and fair election in November. And when that occurs, we're confident that we're going to take back control of the United States House of Representatives. What Republicans are doing, since they were once again neutered on the floor of the House of Representatives, is to advance an America Last budget resolution that will actually provide $60 billion in additional taxpayer money for Donald Trump's reckless and costly war of choice in the Middle East that has left Iran in a stronger position than they were in before this reckless war started, and the American people in a weaker position economically as a result of high gas prices. And yet Republicans continue to double and triple down on Operation Epic Failure. The war in Iran has been a disaster for the American people, and House Democrats will strongly oppose their America Last budget resolution and fight to actually restore the devastating cuts to Medicaid and to nutritional assistance that Republicans jammed down the throats of the American people with their one big ugly bill last year. Questions? I think in the dear colleague letter that I sent to the caucus, I laid out the position that I believe we as House Democrats will take as we move forward, anchored in several different principles, including our support for Israel's right to exist as a Jewish and democratic state and homeland for the Jewish people, and at the same time, pressing the urgent need to establish an independent Palestinian state that allows the Palestinian people to live with dignity, respect, and self-determination. And that needs to be dealt with urgently, and the conditions to establish a just and lasting peace need to be acted upon immediately, and that involves surging humanitarian assistance into Gaza to alleviate the suffering of Palestinian civilians. It means not just the reconstruction of Gaza, but the modernization of Gaza and investing along with our partners in the Gulf states and moderate Arab nations in a path toward prosperity for the Palestinian people. Hamas needs to be disarmed and completely removed from power, and we need to deal with the out-of-control settler violence that the Netanyahu administration has allowed to take place in the West Bank. And perpetrators of that violence should be sanctioned and criminally prosecuted. These are all things that I've laid out in the letter that I wrote to the House Democratic Caucus, and I believe provide a foundation for a path forward to get to the place that we need to get to, which is a just and lasting peace with Israel and the Palestinian people living in a safe and secure fashion in peace and prosperity. Based on the conversations that I've had with the top Democrat on the Intel Committee, Jim Himes, who I believe published a very thoughtful opinion piece earlier today, none of the things that Donald Trump has said or may say later on today with respect to election interference have any merit. Donald Trump is the conspirator-in-chief right now. He's the one fanning the flames of conspiracy theories, as opposed to being focused on making life better for the American people. For us, we're committed to making sure it's a free and fair election. And we will have the largest voter protection effort in the history of the country, because Donald Trump and Republicans know they cannot win this election fairly, and we're not going to let them steal it. There's a lot of bass in your voice today. It's perfect for the rhythm. You talk about restoring the health care and the food assistance, and you talk about the defense increases, but if Democrats—but there have been two killings by ISIL. Republicans had $70 billion in increases. If Democrats take back the House, will they claw back some of the money that was in the reconciliation bill earlier this year and in the OBVDA that was included last year? Will Democrats claw back some of that? We've made clear that ICE is completely and totally out of control, that taxpayer dollars should be used to make life more affordable for the American people, not to brutalize or kill American citizens or violently target law-abiding immigrants, as we most recently have seen in Maine. That's been our position. We believe in a safe and a strong and a secure border. We also believe, at the same time, that immigration enforcement in this country should be fair, just, and humane. That's not what's taking place right now. And our position throughout the year has been very clear, that entire situation with respect to ICE and their brutal behavior toward American citizens and law-abiding immigrant families has to come to an end, that ICE needs to be forced to conduct themselves like every other cop, police officer, and law enforcement agency in the country, and that's our objective. We've also made clear that Donald Trump's violent mass deportation machine doesn't get a dime from House Democrats. That was our position this year, and unless things change next year in terms of the way in which ICE conducts itself, our position as House Democrats, I assume, is not going to change. I think the letter pretty clearly laid out, as I amplified in my remarks earlier today, how we plan to proceed in terms of fundamental values on these issues. The situation relative to the United States' relationship with Israel, the Palestinian people, and policy in the Middle East has to change, because the current status quo is unsustainable. And our approach will be one that is broadly inclusive, lift up the values that I talked about in the letter, lift up some of the bills that I've talked about in the letter, while also recognizing that Israel is an ally of the United States of America in the fight against terrorism, whether that's Iranian-backed proxies, Hezbollah, Hamas, or the Houthis. And I think the way in which we'll try to approach this issue is similar to the way in which we try to approach every issue, thoughtful, inclusive, involve dialogue across the entire spectrum of the House Democratic Caucus, and then be able to land on the highest common denominator, but being guided by the effort to actually create a just and lasting peace between Israel and the Palestinian people. Sorry, I'll go back to this side, yeah. I think in the context of the 10-year memorandum of understanding that was originally entered into by President Barack Obama, I've kind of laid out the path that I think we need to take moving forward in the letter, and I believe that that's a foundation for us to talk about how things can be done differently when we move forward under the leadership of the once and future chair of the Appropriations Committee, Rosa DeLauro. Well, it's all hands on deck in terms of the effort, and as House Democrats, as Senate Democrats, as the governors, as the Democratic Attorney General's Association, as the Democratic Secretaries of State Association, we're working with our state and local legislators, mayors. Of course, we're working with civil society. That includes good government groups, civil rights groups, democracy protection groups, organized labor, and the faith community. It's all hands on deck. It's been ongoing for months, and we'll continue to intensify our efforts as we get inside of 100 days a week from this upcoming Sunday. At the same period of time, I was not part of the exercise, but was involved, of course, working with Congressman Joe Morelli in the preparation for it. He's been doing a tremendous job in working on this issue, both with caucus members traveling the country and working with stakeholders. Stay tuned. There'll be more to come. Thanks. Sorry. Donald Trump and Republicans are trying to steal the midterm elections. Yes, it's a high honor and a great privilege to have served with Congressman John Lewis. I mean, such a phenomenal thing. I had his support, actually, when I first ran in 2012, and to have earned his support in that race, in my entry into Congress, in and of itself was amazing. And then to have the opportunity to serve with him, learn under John Lewis, be inspired by him, was an incredible experience and will always be one of the most important parts of my public service journey, no matter what happens moving forward. And he's a heroic, iconic figure, one of the greatest leaders the country has ever seen. And tomorrow, across the country as House Democrats, we will pause to recognize it's the sixth anniversary of his death, and also lean in to the good trouble that John Lewis would want us to get into to turn around these Republican-inspired voter suppression efforts, to turn around these Jim Crow-like tactics, and to make America the best version of herself. The stock trading ban that Republicans are going to put forward potentially on the floor next week. We've heard a lot about bills that they're going to advance, and that continues to fall apart. They were supposed to bring a regressive veterans bill to the floor today, and we forced them, along with a handful of Republicans, to stand down because Democrats were unified. Now, next week, we'll see whether they're ultimately able to move anything. But if Republicans were serious about cleaning up corruption in this town, they would start at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Donald Trump has unleashed an unprecedented smash-and-grab offensive on the American people. And instead of Republicans focusing on trying to drive down the high cost of living and make life more affordable for the American people, what Republicans have consistently done is allow for the most corrupt administration in American history to act freely. Donald Trump is running a crime family in terms of his administration. He's an organized crime boss. And House Democrats are going to hold him accountable and are going to clean up corruption and make sure that when we pass a stock trading ban, it will apply to members of Congress, along with the president, the vice president, and members of his corrupt administration. Thank you, everyone.