LEADER JEFFRIES: “TAXPAYER DOLLARS SHOULD NOT BE SPENT TO BRUTALIZE AND KILL AMERICAN CITIZENS. TAXPAYER DOLLARS SHOULD BE SPENT TO MAKE LIFE MORE AFFORDABLE”

Today, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries held a press conference, where he emphasized while life in America is more expensive than ever, Donald Trump is using taxpayer dollars to fund ICE brutality and lawlessness and not to make life more affordable for the American people.

LEADER JEFFRIES: The Republican Congress began with the extremists holding the narrowest majority of any party since the Great Depression in 1930. And later on today, as a result of the victory by Christian Menefee, who we congratulate on this significant accomplishment, that narrow Republican majority will get even narrower. And the question for Republicans will continue to be, are you going to continue to double or triple down on your extremism, which is getting you nowhere with the American people? Or try to find a bipartisan path forward to actually address the issues that matter when it comes to making life better for everyday Americans? House Democrats are going to continue to fight hard to lower the high cost of living, to fix our broken healthcare system and to clean up corruption everywhere that it is found in this town. Republican policies on the economy have been a failure. Republican policies on healthcare have been a failure. And Republican policies on immigration enforcement have been a complete and total failure. Taxpayer dollars should not be spent to brutalize and kill American citizens. Taxpayer dollars should be spent to make life more affordable for everyday Americans, something that Republicans have refused to do from the very beginning of Donald Trump being sworn into office last January.

Donald Trump and Republicans promised that they were going to lower the high cost of living in the United States of America on day one. That's what they promised. They lied to the American people. Costs haven't gone down, costs have gone up across the board. Housing costs, out of control. Grocery costs, out of control. Utility bills, out of control. Child care costs, out of control. And healthcare costs, out of control. Republicans have refused to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits in the Senate and, as a result, tens of millions of Americans are now experiencing dramatically increased health insurance premiums. In some cases, the monthly costs have increased by $1,000 or $2,000 per month. That is completely and totally unacceptable brought to you by the Republican Party. At the same time, it's Republicans, led by Donald Trump, who in their One Big Ugly Bill enacted the largest cut to Medicaid in American history. They literally have ripped healthcare away from more than 14 million Americans. And as a result of their policies, hospitals, nursing homes and community-based health clinics are closing all across America.

In that One Big Ugly Bill, they also cut SNAP by $186 billion, the largest cut to nutritional assistance in American history. The extremists, they literally snatched food out of the mouths of hungry children, seniors and veterans. And why did they do all of that? For at least two reasons. So they can provide massive tax breaks to their billionaire donors, and, at the same time, create a $191 billion slush fund that went to the Department of Homeland Security, including $75 billion to ICE, so that masked agents could unleash brutality and lawlessness on the American people. Everyday Americans have had enough with the failed policies of Donald Trump and Republicans in the House and the Senate. And the only real question that needs to be answered right now is when will Republicans have enough with the extremism and the cruelty and the chaos and the corruption that has failed the American people?

Full press conference can be watched here.

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