WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries appeared on CNN This Morning where he emphasized that while extreme MAGA Republicans continue to push partisan political stunts and move forward with their sham impeachment effort, House Democrats are committed to finding bipartisan solutions to deliver for everyday Americans.
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PHIL MATTINGLY: Mr. Leader, appreciate your time this morning. I want to start there because I think the question right now, both with what the House Republicans would be willing to do, where Senate Republicans are, is there any path forward, given the significance of what's in this package? Do you see one right now?
LEADER JEFFRIES: Well, we have a broken immigration system, and common sense dictates that we should address it in a comprehensive and bipartisan way so we can have a secure, a strong and a humane border. For months, the extreme MAGA Republicans were demanding that Democrats sit down and have a discussion about ways to address the challenges at the border. Under the leadership of Senator Schumer, that's exactly what has happened. And now, because the House Republicans have been ordered by Donald Trump not to do anything to fix our broken immigration system, they are walking away from the issue. And in doing so, they're walking away from the American people.
PHIL MATTINGLY: If you were able to get this bill on the floor in the House, I think it's notable that Majority Leader Scalise is saying we're not going to put it on the floor. They're not saying we're gonna put it on the floor and kill it and vote for it, they're not even gonna put it on the floor. If it got to the floor do you think it will pass?
LEADER JEFFRIES: Well, let's cross that bridge when we get to it. It certainly is the starting point for conversations amongst House Democrats, and should be the case for all of us here in the Congress who recognize that we have a broken immigration system and that we need to fix it. It should be done in a manner consistent with our values as a nation of immigrants and as a nation anchored in the rule of law. But what the extreme MAGA Republicans have done is basically to say, we would rather chaos prevail than exercise the common sense that should exist in a period of divided government and sit down with Democrats, led by President Biden, to have a conversation about the path forward.
PHIL MATTINGLY: The reason I ask about potential passage, if it ever got to the floor, is because you have essentially become kind of a default Speaker on some level in the last couple of weeks, as many of the bills that have passed have required a suspension of the rules, meaning two thirds of lawmakers need to vote, Democrats are providing the majority of all of those votes, and I'm not sure, given how far Senate Democrats have gone on this, in terms of restrictive border measures, that all Democrats would be on board. In fact, Senator Padilla was saying this to our colleague Abby Phillip last night. Take a listen.
[video] SENATOR PADILLA: It's not something that I support. Both for reasons of what's in the package, like Trump-era policies of regular border closures, lack of due process. But also for what's not in the bill, you know, historically we've bound some border enforcement proposals with some legal pathways. For example, not a single Dreamer will benefit or receive relief through this measure.
PHIL MATTINGLY: The Chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus has also announced her opposition. What the senator is saying is accurate. I haven't seen Democrats move this far on this issue. It's not comprehensive in how the term was always understood. I think there's questions from some about whether it is humane. You're talking about, whether or not it's humane. What are you hearing from the members of your Caucus?
LEADER JEFFRIES: Well, we're going to sit down over the next few days and have a conversation about the path forward in terms of fixing our broken immigration system and addressing the challenges at the border. Today, of course, we're dealing with a sham political stunt in terms of the impeachment effort of Secretary Mayorkas. An impeachment effort, I should note, that was demanded by Donald Trump and is being led by Marjorie Taylor Greene. What does this impeachment effort have to do with fixing the challenges at the border? Absolutely nothing. But it's another example of the fact that House Republicans aren't really interested in solving those challenges. We are ready, we're willing we're able to sit down with our Republican colleagues and have a conversation about fixing our broken immigration system, addressing the challenges at the border, making sure that the border is strong, it is secure and it's humane.
PHIL MATTINGLY: When you talk about impeachment, and a White House official pointed out that in the impeachment report, it says, quote, 'The Committee, through these articles of impeachment, begins the process of deporting Secretary Mayorkas from his position.' You know, I think it's not subtle. The fact that Secretary Mayorkas is the first immigrant from his family to serve as a DHS Secretary. Well, when you hear that, what do you think?
LEADER JEFFRIES: Well, that's outrageous. And it's consistent with the type of xenophobic rhetoric that extreme MAGA Republicans in this town have become known for utilizing and deploying. Certainly, that's been the case since 2015. Again, what does the impeachment of Secretary Mayorkas have to do with building a healthy economy? Nothing. What does the impeachment of Secretary Mayorkas have to do with addressing the inflationary pressures that have existed on the economy since the shutdown of the economy as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic? Nothing. And it has nothing to do with fixing our broken immigration system. And so, we at this point really need our Republican colleagues to choose to walk away from chaos, which is what they want, and their purveyors of chaos, of dysfunction and extremism, and join us in a common sense approach to meeting the needs of the American people.
PHIL MATTINGLY: Was it a mistake for the White House to tie immigration, this extraordinarily volatile and intractable issue, to its national security, significant national security threat request with Ukraine, the Indo-Pacific and Israel?
LEADER JEFFRIES: That was a decision that was made by the previous Speaker, who made clear that he would not, or Republicans would not, provide any support for our democratic ally, Ukraine, in its war against Russia and pushing back against Russian aggression without us dealing with the issue of border security. That was a decision that was made by Republicans months ago. They've held up our national security priorities based on a decision that they wanted to have a discussion about the border. But then when Donald Trump stepped into the situation because, for political reasons, the Republicans do not want to address the challenge at this moment, they're walking away from their own idea.
PHIL MATTINGLY: Immigration has become such a central issue, and I think Democrats and Republicans alike acknowledge that is a significant problem down at the border. There's a special election going on. You talk about the economy, you talk about the legislative wins of the Biden administration in the House in the first two years of this administration. People are talking about immigration up in NY-03. Our colleague Manu Raju, he's usually standing right next to you, trailing you with a microphone was up there for a piece earlier this week. And Tom Suozzi, your candidate, was talking about it. The Republican was talking about it as well. Does it concern you that that's a problem for your candidate up there?
LEADER JEFFRIES: It's certainly a problem for the Republicans at this point in time that there is a bipartisan bill that has been introduced and negotiated over a period of several months, supported by conservative Senators like Lankford and that the Republicans are walking away from it. Tom Suozzi is running for all the right reasons. Ultimately, the people of the Third Congressional District will make the decision as to the best path forward. But we know that Tom Suozzi is someone who wants to come back to Washington to solve problems, to fix the challenges that are confronting the American people and to work in a bipartisan way. We need more of that, not less. But unfortunately, the extreme MAGA Republicans have shown no interest in working with House Democrats to address the challenges facing the American people.
PHIL MATTINGLY: Do you think voters are as keen observers of the legislative process that they will key on that? Right? This has been such a significant issue, Republicans have such an advantage on it. Now they'll say, well, now they're blocking that bill. You think people are paying that close attention to this?
LEADER JEFFRIES: I think the American people understand the difference between common sense and cynicism. And this is a cynical political effort by Republicans. Donald Trump has been very vocal about the fact that he wants the extreme MAGA Republicans in the House to block any effort at fixing our broken immigration system. And I think the American people see that for exactly what it is, a reckless political stunt. We're going to continue, as Democrats, to put people over politics and to fight for the issues that matter, lower costs, growing the middle class, safer communities and getting things done.
PHIL MATTINGLY: House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, we appreciate your time, sir. Thank you.
LEADER JEFFRIES: Thank you.
