LEADER JEFFRIES TO DONALD TRUMP: “SHOW SOME LEADERSHIP…AND END THIS REPUBLICAN MADNESS”

Today, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries held a press conference, in which he reiterated that Democrats are committed to protecting healthcare and lowering the high cost of living to deliver Americans a country that works for the working class.

LEADER JEFFRIES: Nancy D'Alesandro Pelosi will go down in history as the greatest Speaker of all time. Her tenure has been iconic, legendary, historic and transformational. The incredible pieces of legislation that she has moved into law through her brilliance, her wisdom and her incredible grasp of how to get things done for the American people is too numerous to list right now, but it includes the Affordable Care Act, the American Rescue Plan, the PACT Act to provide healthcare to our veterans, the Chips and Science Act that has brought domestic manufacturing jobs back to the United States of America and, of course, the Inflation Reduction Act, which included the largest investment in combating the climate crisis in the history of the world. As a result of Nancy Pelosi's historic tenure, the nation is better off today than the one she found upon her arrival in 1987. It's been an honor and a privilege to be able to serve with her, work with her, be mentored by her, learn from her and get things done for the American people alongside her historic tenure as Speaker.

This is day 37 of the Trump-Republican shutdown, and the position of House Democrats remains the same. We will not support a partisan Republican spending bill that continues to gut the healthcare of the American people. We're ready, we're willing, we're able to sit down with our Republican colleagues anytime, anyplace in order to reopen the government, to find a bipartisan path forward and to decisively address the Republican healthcare crisis that continues to crush people all across the country. Tens of millions of Americans who are in the open enrollment period right now are seeing their premiums, copays and deductibles skyrocket, in some cases by $1,000 or $2,000 per month. That is unsustainable, particularly in this country right now, which is experiencing an affordability crisis. Life has gotten more expensive under Donald Trump and Republican policies. This is from a group of people led by Donald Trump, who promised that costs were going to go down on day one. Costs haven't gone down in America. Costs are through the roof. Housing costs are up. Grocery costs are up. Child care costs are up. Electricity bills are skyrocketing. And now, because of the Republican refusal to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits, healthcare premiums are going to drive some people into medical bankruptcy, and tens of millions of folks won't be able to provide a doctor when they need one. That's why we have to decisively address the Republican healthcare crisis. And that's why we need Donald Trump to show some leadership. Stop hiding, show some leadership, direct Mike Johnson and John Thune, both of whom work for you-Donald Trump is the puppet master of Congressional Republicans-show some leadership. Direct them to sit down so we can authentically enter into a bipartisan negotiation and end this Republican madness now.

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Lastly, let me just say Trump has stunningly made the point that the economy in this country is going well. It ain't going well. Everyday Americans know that they are working hard, they are playing by the rules and they cannot get ahead. They can barely get by. The cost of living in this country is way too high, and Republicans are clearly out of touch, focused solely on the wealthy, the well-off and the well-connected. And as Democrats, we are going to continue to work hard to drive down the high cost of living to fix our broken healthcare system and to clean up corruption to deliver an America that works for working-class people.

Full press conference can be watched here.

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