Speaker 1: Bloomberg Audio Studios, podcasts, radio news.
Speaker 2: Sticking with the shutdown, his tensions are rising on at
Speaker 2: Capitol Hill. House Minority Leader Hakim Jeffries of New York
Speaker 2: is confident a spending bill can pass, but says Republicans
Speaker 2: must first address what he calls healthcare crisis. House Leader
Speaker 2: Jeffries joins US now. Congressman, thank you so much for
Speaker 2: being with us. House Leader, I want to just start
Speaker 2: with whether you feel confident that you can complete some
Speaker 2: sort of agreement in the next few days. Do you
Speaker 2: have a time frame as these discussions do continue.
Speaker 1: Welcome morning, great to be with you. You know, as Democrats,
Speaker 1: we've repeatedly made clear we will sit down anytime, any
Speaker 1: place with anyone, either here at Capitol Hill or back
Speaker 1: at the White House, in order to reopen the government,
Speaker 1: to enact the spending bill that actually meets the needs
Speaker 1: of the American people as opposed to hurting everyday Americans,
Speaker 1: and of course, that spending bill must decisively addressed the
Speaker 1: Republican healthcare crisis that is hurting working class Americans and
Speaker 1: middle class Americans all throughout the country, including as it
Speaker 1: relates to the urgent need to reauthorize and extend the
Speaker 1: Affordable Care ACTAX credits.
Speaker 3: Well, the Speaker told us yesterday that Congress is having
Speaker 3: these talks when it comes to subsidies reform. Are you
Speaker 3: part of these talks? And just a quick condolences because
Speaker 3: I know you, like me, were up late watching the
Speaker 3: Yankees lose and I know you're a huge fan. Minority
Speaker 3: Leader Jeffries, Well, thank you.
Speaker 1: They had a great season. Unfortunately it didn't end the
Speaker 1: way that we expected, but on to next year. With
Speaker 1: respect to what the Speaker has indicated, there's been no
Speaker 1: conversation between House Republicans and House Democrats. Are between the
Speaker 1: Republican Party, Donald Trump, the administration, and any of us
Speaker 1: on Capitol Hill, including conversations that should be taking place
Speaker 1: with Leader Schumer and Senate Democrats since that White House
Speaker 1: meeting that occurred last Monday. That's unfortunate, and the behavior
Speaker 1: of Republicans since that point in time has been unseerious
Speaker 1: and erratic, and we continue to urge them to find
Speaker 1: a path forward, to sit down, let's talk, exercise common
Speaker 1: sense on behalf of the American people. But anything that's
Speaker 1: done has to address this urgent need. You know, the
Speaker 1: open enrollment period starts on November first. Over the next
Speaker 1: few weeks, tens of millions of Americans are going to
Speaker 1: receive notices indicating that their premiums, copaids, and deductibles are
Speaker 1: about to skyrocket, in many instances by thousands of dollars
Speaker 1: per year. People are going to go without health insurance,
Speaker 1: face medical bankruptcy, and be jammed up in a situation
Speaker 1: where they need care for themselves, their children, and their families,
Speaker 1: but will be unable to access it because they'll be
Speaker 1: without health insurance.
Speaker 4: It was a democratic policy.
Speaker 3: Though your party voted for this temporary subsidy increase, Do
Speaker 3: you regret having an expiration.
Speaker 4: Date on this No.
Speaker 1: We were able to extend it through the end of
Speaker 1: this year in full anticipation that any reasonable member of
Speaker 1: Congress will understand that you cannot kick tens of millions
Speaker 1: of Americans off of healthcare that's become affordable for them
Speaker 1: as a result of the tax credits. Unfortunately, Republicans chose
Speaker 1: earlier this year to pass their one big, ugly bill,
Speaker 1: largest cut to medici in American history, ripped food away
Speaker 1: from the mouths of hungry children and seniors and veterans,
Speaker 1: and they did all of this to pay for massive
Speaker 1: tax breaks that they made permanent for their billionaire donors
Speaker 1: well at the same time refusing to extend the Affordable
Speaker 1: Care Act tax credits, which is why we find ourselves
Speaker 1: in this situation right now.
Speaker 4: Leader Jeffries.
Speaker 2: Some people would argue that what the Republicans are offering
Speaker 2: is to have a clean, continuing resolution and to continue
Speaker 2: negotiating this given the fact that at the same time,
Speaker 2: they're going to be service members who are not going
Speaker 2: to be paid. There's going to be a question around
Speaker 2: food stamps and whether they're going to be funded. Air
Speaker 2: traffic controllers are calling out sick because they're not receiving paychecks.
Speaker 4: At what point do you just say.
Speaker 2: Look, we need to keep people getting paid, and we
Speaker 2: can keep talking.
Speaker 1: We want to reopen the government, and we want to
Speaker 1: reopen it immediately, but we also need to enact a
Speaker 1: spending agreement that actually improves the quality of life of
Speaker 1: the American people as opposed to hurting everyday Americans, which
Speaker 1: Republicans have been doing all throughout this year, and they've
Speaker 1: they've refused to negotiate at every step of the way
Speaker 1: throughout this year. They've taken a my way or the
Speaker 1: highway approach. They've gone it alone, and now we find
Speaker 1: ourselves dealing with this mess of this Republican healthcare crisis,
Speaker 1: and time has run out.
Speaker 2: Leader Jeffries, do you think that you've gotten more leverage
Speaker 2: as this process has gone on, or do you think
Speaker 2: that it's actually waiting?
Speaker 1: Well, it's actually not about leverage for us. It's about
Speaker 1: the American people. That's the fight that we're waging, particularly
Speaker 1: in an environment where the cost of living is way
Speaker 1: too high. People are already paying too much for groceries,
Speaker 1: for housing, for their electricity bills, and now, of course
Speaker 1: they're confronting the very real possibility of being bankrupted by
Speaker 1: the rising costs of their health insurance. So we're just
Speaker 1: asking Republicans to sit down and negotiate. That's what should
Speaker 1: take place, not simply a my way or the highway approach,
Speaker 1: particularly when they're asking Democrats to support a partisan Republican
Speaker 1: spending bill that continues to gut the health care of
Speaker 1: the American people.
Speaker 3: Right now, Republicans are asking is to support a clean
Speaker 3: continuous resolution, a scop gap funding measure, which we've seen
Speaker 3: time and time again that Democrats also wanted Republicans to
Speaker 3: support in the fast past. Why are Democrats choosing to
Speaker 3: keep the government shut?
Speaker 1: That's a Republican talking point, unfortunately, that they are putting
Speaker 1: into the public domain. It's not a clean continuing resolution.
Speaker 1: Why isn't it in large Well, I'd be happy to
Speaker 1: explain that. In March, the Republicans passed a partisan bill
Speaker 1: in the House that Democrats strongly opposed. We opposed that
Speaker 1: spending bill because it hurt veterans, hurt children and families,
Speaker 1: it hurt housing affordability, and it hurt healthcare because of
Speaker 1: the cuts that were included in it. There was actually
Speaker 1: a bipartisan spending agreement that we reached last December that
Speaker 1: passed overwhelmingly in the House and in the Senate. It
Speaker 1: was signed into law by President Joe Biden, and it
Speaker 1: had to support of then President elect Donald Trump. That
Speaker 1: would have been a clean spending agreement that could have
Speaker 1: been put before the Congress. Instead, they passed this partisan
Speaker 1: Republican spending bill in March that we strongly opposed, and
Speaker 1: now they want us to continue to sign off on
Speaker 1: that particular bill that also includes five hundred million dollars
Speaker 1: in cuts to law enforcement grants. To support police officers
Speaker 1: all across the country. That's just not something for a
Speaker 1: variety of reasons we can support at this particular point
Speaker 1: in time.
Speaker 3: Do you think the Democratic Party could commit to broader
Speaker 3: reforms when it comes to the Affordable Care Act and
Speaker 3: keeping less of the subsidies.
Speaker 4: Could this be potential off ramp for a deal.
Speaker 1: I think that our view, certainly in the House, is
Speaker 1: that we will evaluate in good faith any bipartisan proposal
Speaker 1: that is sent over to us from the Senate if
Speaker 1: it decisively addresses the Republican healthcare crisis with respect to
Speaker 1: the Affordable Care Act, tax credits, extensions, or any other
Speaker 1: issues that may be put on the table. Because of
Speaker 1: the enormity of the attack on the healthcare of the
Speaker 1: American people that Republicans have waged this year, it's got
Speaker 1: to be meaningful. It's got to actually improve the lives
Speaker 1: of the American people. But unlike Republicans who have adopted
Speaker 1: this my way or the highway approach, we are actually
Speaker 1: willing to down and evaluate in good faith anything that
Speaker 1: could advance the ball here for working class Americans, middle
Speaker 1: class Americans, and everyday Americans.
Speaker 3: Is there an opportunity for standalone legislation to make sure
Speaker 3: that the more than one million active duty service members
Speaker 3: get paid next week.
Speaker 1: Certainly, our view in the House is that we should
Speaker 1: stand by our men and women in uniform and make
Speaker 1: sure that they do not miss a paycheck. Unfortunately, Speaker
Speaker 1: Johnson has ruled that out, saying it's not really an
Speaker 1: issue that he's prepared to deal with, in part because
Speaker 1: Republicans cancel votes last week, cancel votes this week, Apparently
Speaker 1: they may not be coming back next week. And what
Speaker 1: is that all for. Why are they on vacation in
Speaker 1: the middle of a government shutdown, particularly as it relates
Speaker 1: to the real possibility that our military families might miss
Speaker 1: a paycheck that they cannot afford to miss. We're urging
Speaker 1: Republicans to get back into town us to deal with
Speaker 1: the military pay issue, allow us to deal with the
Speaker 1: Republican healthcare crisis, and allow us to reopen the government
Speaker 1: so we can enact the spending agreement that meets the
Speaker 1: needs of the American people.
Speaker 3: Peter Jeffries, we also saw a pretty explosive argument between
Speaker 3: you and the fellow New York Congressman Mike Lawler, and
Speaker 3: then you proceeded to call Lawler an embarrassment on television.
Speaker 3: Was this fight representative the state tensions that are going
Speaker 3: on within the Republican Party in New York State right now?
Speaker 1: Well, Maga, Mike Lawler is an irrelevant individual. He's a
Speaker 1: clout chaser, and he was stalking the Democratic leadership press
Speaker 1: conference in ways that are unhinged. And you know, at
Speaker 1: the end of the day, our view is the people
Speaker 1: who need to sit down and have the conversation with
Speaker 1: US Republican leadership in the House and in the Senate.
Speaker 1: The Trump administration, including the President or the Vice president
Speaker 1: or anyone that they designate, are the ones who are
Speaker 1: ultimate going to determine how we can find a biprotesstant
Speaker 1: path out of it. And we look forward to having
Speaker 1: those conversations, but unfortunately Republicans to date have declined to
Speaker 1: do that.
Speaker 3: Well, what was he doing that you deem unhinged? And
Speaker 3: have you spoken to him since? Have tensions cooled? It
Speaker 3: doesn't sound like they have.
Speaker 1: Isn't a relevant individual And as I indicated, his behavior
Speaker 1: clearly speaks for itself, complete and total embarrassment. As a
Speaker 1: description was a polite use of words leader.
Speaker 2: There's a question here about how difficult it is to
Speaker 2: get to unify the Democratic Party because this is somebody
Speaker 2: who is a Republican.
Speaker 4: He's not irrelevant in his district.
Speaker 2: And there is a question here, especially in New York,
Speaker 2: how to get some sort of cohesive.
Speaker 4: Message as a Democrat.
Speaker 2: I'm just wondering from your perspective, especially as it relates
Speaker 2: to the Democratic mayoral race in New York City.
Speaker 4: You have an endorsed or on Mumdannie, how.
Speaker 2: Difficult is it to get sort of a leadership view
Speaker 2: of where the Democratic Party.
Speaker 4: Is going to go?
Speaker 1: Oh well, listen. As Democrats, what unites us is that
Speaker 1: we believe in a strong flow and no ceiling. At
Speaker 1: the end of the day, in America, you work hard,
Speaker 1: you play by the rules, there should be no ceiling
Speaker 1: to your success in terms of what you can achieve
Speaker 1: for yourself, for your family, and for your children. At
Speaker 1: the same point in time, we also believe that in
Speaker 1: this great country, the wealthiest country in the history of
Speaker 1: the world, that we need a strong flow. That strong
Speaker 1: flow includes social security and Medicare, Medicaid, supplemental nutritional assistance,
Speaker 1: veterans benefits, and of course the Affordable Care Act. And
Speaker 1: what unites Democrats at this particular point in time is
Speaker 1: the fact that Republicans are assaulting the flow that we
Speaker 1: should have for everyday Americans while at the same time
Speaker 1: rewarding their billionaire donors, and by the way, in doing so,
Speaker 1: skyrocketing the debt by more than three trillion dollars in
Speaker 1: such a fiscally irresponsible fashion.
Speaker 3: Leader Jeffries, you did tell reporters last month you plan
Speaker 3: to address the mayor race in New York soon.
Speaker 4: Do you have a plan to endorse Zoramamdani.
Speaker 1: We're in the middle of a government shutdown. People are
Speaker 1: being hurt all across the country because Trump and Republicans
Speaker 1: decided to shut down the government rather than provide healthcare
Speaker 1: to working class Americans. And so what I've indicated, particularly
Speaker 1: most recently when Mayor Adams decided that he wouldn't seek
Speaker 1: re election, is that I will have more to say
Speaker 1: about the mayor's race in advance of early voting in
Speaker 1: New York City, which begins at the end of this month.
Speaker 2: Host Minority Leader haw Keem Jeffrey, thank you so much
Speaker 2: for your time