LEADER JEFFRIES: “THIS HAS BEEN AN ALL-OUT REPUBLICAN ASSAULT ON THE HEALTHCARE OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE”

Today, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries appeared on PBS NewsHour, where he emphasized the need for Republicans to negotiate toward bipartisan legislation that successfully reopens the government while protecting Americans' healthcare.

GEOFF BENNETT: Leader Jeffries, welcome back to the NewsHour.

LEADER JEFFRIES: Thanks for having me on.

GEOFF BENNETT: When you were on this program nine days ago, you said there'd been no communication from either the White House or Republican leaders in the House or the Senate about ending this shutdown. It doesn't appear that that's changed, has it?

LEADER JEFFRIES: It has not changed, unfortunately. This is day 10 of the Trump Republican shutdown. Clearly, they don't want to reopen the government. As Democrats, we've made clear we'll sit down with anyone, any time, any place, to have a bipartisan negotiation about enacting a spending bill that makes life better for the American people, reopens the government and addresses the Republican healthcare crisis. Unfortunately, House Republicans, who canceled votes last week, canceled votes this week and have now canceled votes next week, remain on vacation, missing in action, and Donald Trump has shown no interest in actually trying to resolve this situation.

GEOFF BENNETT: What do you make of these Republican proposals to partially reopen the government, funding select agencies while leaving other ones shuttered?

LEADER JEFFRIES: I think it's important for us to make sure that we actually pay our men and women in uniform in a manner consistent with what has been done in prior shutdowns. That should be priority number one at this moment. More than 1.3 million people who are on active duty and have been asked to work without pay because of the Republican refusal to address this issue. And so I think we need to take that step forward and then evaluate whatever other proposals come forward relative to reopening the government. But we have to reopen the government in a way that also addresses the Republican healthcare crisis and the Republicans' continued refusal to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits, which is going to have a devastating impact on premiums, copays and deductibles for tens of millions of Americans all across the country.

GEOFF BENNETT: As we speak this afternoon, the OMB Director, Russ Vought, tweeted moments ago, 'The RIFs have begun,' making good, apparently, on the threat of mass layoffs by the Trump administration. An OMB spokesperson says that the layoffs will be significant. Do you have a sense of which agencies would be affected, how many people would be affected? And beyond that, this is a clear power play by the administration to force the hand of Democrats. Does this play any role in your decision-making?

LEADER JEFFRIES: Donald Trump and his corrupt administration have been engaging in mass firings and layoffs of federal employees since January 20. They've been targeting hardworking federal employees, pressuring them, dismissing them without justification and violating the law. So this is just a continuation of the chaos, the crisis and the confusion that we've seen during the entirety of the Trump administration. We're going to continue to stay the course as Democrats-that's what House and Senate Democrats have done together-to address the situation that Republicans have created. Largest cut to Medicaid in American history. Hospitals, nursing homes and community-based health clinics closing all throughout America, particularly in rural parts of this country. The fact that Republicans refuse to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits, resulting and dramatically increased healthcare premiums for tens of millions of Americans that will cost double, triple, or quadruple what they are currently paying. Some will face medical bankruptcy. Many others will be unable to get the insurance and the access to the doctors that they need. And on top of all of that, they're targeting the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control in ways that are going to undermine the public health infrastructure in the United States of America. This has been an all-out Republican assault on the healthcare of the American people, which is why it needs to be decisively addressed right now, because it impacts everyone.

GEOFF BENNETT: When you talk about Democrats and Republicans working together on healthcare, Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, who, as you well know, no fan of Democrats, not typically aligned with Democrats, says she supports preserving the ACA subsidies, in large part because she says the insurance premiums of her adult children are set to skyrocket. Does that signal any real opening for bipartisan cooperation?

LEADER JEFFRIES: I think what it signals is a growing recognition amongst my Republican colleagues that we have a healthcare crisis. Unfortunately, it's a healthcare crisis that they've created, and it needs to be decisively addressed. House Republican leaders continue to bury their heads in the sand, unfortunately, and they're joined by Senate Republican leadership that continues to force vote after vote on their partisan Republican spending bill that Democrats aren't supporting because that partisan Republican spending bill continues to gut the healthcare of everyday Americans. And that's not an acceptable situation in this country, the wealthiest country in the history of the world.

GEOFF BENNETT: I want to ask you about the politics of all this, because just the other day, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, he said that Democrats have the momentum, and he said, 'Every day gets better for us.' Republicans are seizing upon that, including the Senate Majority Leader, John Thune, who was on this program last night, and they're accusing Democrats of politicizing the shutdown. Do you worry that a moment like that, a statement like that undercuts what you see as Democrats having the moral high ground?

LEADER JEFFRIES: Well, House Democrats and Senate Democrats, led by Leader Schumer, are in this fight to make life better for the American people, to lower healthcare costs, to address the Republican healthcare crisis, to cancel the cuts, and to save the healthcare of the American people. That's the reason why we're in this fight.

GEOFF BENNETT: For federal workers who risk missing a paycheck, for military families facing uncertainty, for everyday Americans who want to visit a national park, they are all wondering, 'When will this shutdown end?' What would you tell them?

LEADER JEFFRIES: We need Donald Trump and Republicans to come to the negotiating table. We want to reopen the government. We want to reopen it now. We want to reach a bipartisan agreement in a way that spends taxpayer dollars that actually improve the quality of life of the American people, that addresses the cost-of-living crisis that we're confronting in this country. You know, Donald Trump and Republicans promised that costs would go down on day one, but costs aren't going down under Republican control of government here in Washington. Costs are going up, inflation is going up. The Trump tariffs are making life more expensive for millions of Americans who are paying thousands of dollars in additional expense per year. And now, we're on the brink of this massive increase in premiums, copays and deductibles because of a Republican refusal to sit down and negotiate an extension around the Affordable Care Act tax credits. We stand by our hard-working federal employees. We will continue to support them. We stand by the American people, and we want to bring this to a close, but we need good-faith partners on the other side of the aisle to sit down and negotiate a bipartisan path forward.

GEOFF BENNETT: House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, thanks again for your time. We appreciate it.

Full interview can be watched here.