LEADER JEFFRIES ON MEET THE PRESS: “WE HAVE TO DRIVE DOWN THE HIGH COST OF LIVING”

Today, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries appeared on NBC's Meet the Press, where he made clear that House Democrats remain committed to ending the reckless and costly war of choice in the Middle East, driving down the high cost of living and pushing back on the extremism being unleashed on the American people by Donald Trump and sycophantic Republicans in Congress.

KRISTEN WELKER: And joining me now is House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York. Leader Jeffries, welcome back to Meet the Press.

LEADER JEFFRIES: Good morning, great to be with you.

KRISTEN WELKER: It's great to have you back. I want to start right there on Iran with President Trump saying a memorandum of understanding could be signed as early as today, which, based on all of the public information, based on what he has posted, would reopen the Strait of Hormuz, set a timeline for dismantling Iran's nuclear program. Based on what you know so far, Leader Jeffries, do you support this memorandum of understanding?

LEADER JEFFRIES: Well, we have to take a look at what the ultimate resolution is, if there is one. Donald Trump has now said 38 or 39 different times during the course of this war that it was about to come to an end and an agreement was about to be reached and that has never happened. In fact, Donald Trump told us that Iran's nuclear program had been completely and totally decimated. He said that last year. It was not true. Donald Trump told us that the Iranian regime was on the brink of collapse in the aftermath of the Ayatollah being killed. That, of course, has not happened. And so, at this point in time, all we can conclude is that this reckless and costly war of choice has been a disaster as it relates to strengthening the national security of the American people. Things aren't better for us, they're worse. In fact, Iran is stronger right now. What we have seen is gas prices skyrocket through the roof, and that has had an adverse impact on hardworking American taxpayers.

KRISTEN WELKER: Leader Jeffries, so if President Trump is able to strike a deal with Iran that ultimately leads to Iran getting rid of its nuclear enrichment program, will it have been worth it, and would you support that?

LEADER JEFFRIES: We actually had an agreement that was executed and led by President Barack Obama to constrain Iran's nuclear program. It was Donald Trump who made the decision to actually rip that agreement up because apparently he suffers from Obama Derangement Syndrome. That agreement that had been reached by President Obama actually resulted in Great Britain, France, Germany, South Korea, India, Japan and, thanks to the leadership from President Obama and his administration, China and Russia, all engaged with Iran to limit their nuclear aspirations. Donald Trump then enters us into this reckless and costly war of choice. And the question that the American people are understandably asking is, 'How has this in any way made things better?' Gas prices are through the roof. Iran is stronger now, not weaker. And the American people are less safe.

KRISTEN WELKER: The Iran nuclear deal that was struck during the Obama administration was not signed into law by Congress. Should it have been, and should any new deal be signed into law by Congress?

LEADER JEFFRIES: Well, there was a process by which Congress could either accept or reject the agreement, and I, of course, along with the overwhelming majority of Democrats in the House and the Senate, supported the Iranian nuclear agreement. And it clearly was the right decision at the time. And what we've seen is that Donald Trump promised not to start wars in the Middle East but to stop them. But he's turned around and done the exact opposite as opposed to actually focusing on the problems that the American people need to see resolved, which is driving down the high cost of living. The economy is broken. The American people know it. And as Democrats, we're committed to actually doing something about it.

KRISTEN WELKER: All right, well, let's look ahead to the midterms. We are, of course, in the middle of the primary season. You just heard my conversation with Steve Kornacki, which shows Democrats have a five-point lead on the generic congressional ballot. Early voting has, of course, already started in New York. Democrats failed to win the House majority back in 2024 by running largely campaigns against President Trump. Do you believe that candidates should replicate that same strategy in this election cycle?

LEADER JEFFRIES: Well, actually, House Democrats fell just three seats short of taking back the majority in 2024, outrunning the national political environment. When Donald Trump won in 2016, he lost the popular vote, but he came to Congress with 241 Republicans and only 194 Democrats. Of course, in Donald Trump's first midterm election, we flipped 40 seats. This time around, because of our overperformance in 2024 with candidates who are focused on the economy, we only need to flip a handful of seats. And we will, with a focus on driving down the high cost of living, fixing our broken healthcare system, getting ICE under control, ending this reckless and costly war of choice in the Middle East and cleaning up corruption. Fundamentally, we believe that America is far too expensive. The cost of living is way too high. There are far too many people who are working hard, they're playing by the rules, but they can't thrive and can barely survive. That's an unacceptable situation in America, the wealthiest country in the history of the world. And we're going to focus like a laser beam on actually making life better for working-class Americans, everyday Americans, middle-class Americans and all those who aspire to be part of the middle class.

KRISTEN WELKER: Leader Jeffries, I do want to ask you. If Democrats do in fact take back the House, I want to get an understanding of what your top priorities would be. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez-your colleague-said this back in April, quote, 'President Trump has launched a massive war of enormous risk and of catastrophic consequence without reason, rationale or congressional authorization, which is as clear a violation of the Constitution as any. All of these incidents and plenty more have clearly driven our country past the threshold for impeachment.' Do you agree? If Democrats take back the House, will you move to impeach President Trump?

LEADER JEFFRIES: We haven't ruled anything in or ruled anything out in terms of accountability. What we have said is that our focus is going to be to make life more affordable for the American people. We have to drive down the high cost of living. We have to restore the American dream, which a lot of people understandably have concluded is broken right now. When you work hard and play by the rules in this country, we believe that you should live an affordable life, a comfortable life and a good life. That means a good-paying job, good housing, good healthcare, a good education for your children and, when it's all said and done, a good retirement. That's what brings Democrats together in the House, in the Senate, Governors all across the country, and that's what we'll focus on when the American people give us an opportunity to govern on their behalf in the majority.

KRISTEN WELKER: Alright, I want to ask you about the big news this week out of the Senate, Graham Platner winning his primary in Maine. Of course, he has faced allegations of being physically threatening to ex-girlfriends, which he denies among other controversies which have followed him. Here's a campaign ad being run by Senate Republicans. Take a look.

VOICEOVER: Susan Collins doesn't have a Nazi tattoo, and she doesn't have an account on a notorious predator's paradise app. Graham Platner did for years. And this was his profile picture. Oh, gosh, please, please get that off the screen. Anyway, Susan Collins, a Senator we can be proud of.

KRISTEN WELKER: Does Graham Platner have the character to be a U.S. Senator, Leader Jeffries?

LEADER JEFFRIES: First of all, I thought you were going to say the big news of the week is the Knicks winning the NBA championship-

KRISTEN WELKER: We're going to get to that, too.

LEADER JEFFRIES: -for the first time in 53 years. I appreciate that. In terms of the Maine Senate race, listen. The voters of Maine are ultimately going to be the ones to decide what's in the best interest of the people of Maine. At this period of time, I'm just focused on making sure we take back control of the House of Representatives, so we actually have a Congress that is a check and balance on an out-of-control executive branch consistent with who we were meant to be according to the framers of the Constitution, as opposed to what we've seen House Republicans do, which is to serve as nothing more than a reckless rubber stamp for Donald Trump's extreme agenda.

KRISTEN WELKER: Let me ask you, though, Leader Jeffries, because under Maine's election laws, Democrats still have enough time to replace Graham Platner. Given all of the controversies that he has faced, do you think they should replace Graham Platner or stick with him?

LEADER JEFFRIES: Well, the voters of Maine elevated him in the primary, and, ultimately, Senators are going to have to make that collective decision, I assume, in terms of what happens, and again, I think I have a responsibility-we have a hard enough job pushing back against Donald Trump's extremism and the sycophantic behavior of my Republican colleagues in the House. We need to focus on that job, and we need to make sure we're doing everything possible to win back control of the United States House of Representatives in November.

KRISTEN WELKER: Alright. Now, let's talk about the Knicks. Congratulations, they won for the first time-their first title in 53 years last night. Mayor Mamdani is planning a ticker-tape parade. Are you planning to be there, Leader Jeffries?

LEADER JEFFRIES: I certainly hope to be there. Trying to work out some logistical things in terms of previously committed travel, but it's an ongoing celebration for New York City fans. Basketball is the city game, the Knicks are the city team, it's a team that showed a lot of heart and soul and grit, the resilience of New York Ccity shone through in terms of how this team launched this incredible playoff run and we're all thankful that it ended in a championship.

KRISTEN WELKER: Alright, well congrats to the Knicks and Knicks Nation. Leader Jeffries, thanks so much for being here. We appreciate it.

LEADER JEFFRIES: Thanks so much.

Full interview can be watched here.

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