Today, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries appeared on MS NOW's The Last Word, where he made clear that Democrats will continue pushing back against this reckless and costly war of choice in the Middle East that continues to take American lives and fight to drive down the high cost of living and end the rampant corruption plaguing our government.

JACOB SOBOROFF: Leading off our discussion tonight is Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries. Leader Jeffries, it's good to see you. Thanks for being here.

LEADER JEFFRIES: Great to be with you.

JACOB SOBOROFF: Thanks so much. The news today is that more Americans have been killed in this endless war, as Fox put it now. And it seems to be escalating. Donald Trump is doing, in your estimation, what exactly?

LEADER JEFFRIES: Well, Donald Trump has gotten us into this reckless and costly war of choice that has resulted in Iran being stronger now than they were before this war started, and, of course, the economic well-being of the American people being much weaker. Donald Trump promised America that he wasn't going to start endless wars, he was going to stop them. And then he turned around, and, of course, has started this endless, reckless, costly war of choice in the Middle East. And he's got no way out. And now, tragically, you have more American heroes being killed.

JACOB SOBOROFF: The words that he spoke on the tarmac here as he departed the Tri-State area were this: 'What we're doing now is we're ending any chance where they can have a nuclear missile.' Is that what he's doing?

LEADER JEFFRIES: It's really not what he's doing. And, in fact, Donald Trump is the same person who told us last year after the United States bombed Iran that the nuclear program of the Iranian regime had been completely and totally obliterated-his words not mine. And now, a year later, he's basically saying that we spent over a hundred billion dollars in taxpayer money. We've got more than 18 or so people who've been killed, dozens more, perhaps hundreds, seriously injured. And, of course, gas prices are through the roof as a result of this endless war that Donald Trump has now started. And so no, there never was any plan, there never was any strategy, there never were any obtainable objectives. It's just Donald Trump getting us involved in a mess over in the Middle East. And the American people are now clearly rejecting it.

JACOB SOBOROFF: And you know I talk to, I spend a lot of time talking to people across the country in my day job. And you just mentioned the gas prices, you posted about this earlier today too. You said, 'Gas prices are back above $4 a gallon. The Republican war of choice in Iran is making life more expensive. Why is Pete Hegseth still around?' You know he seems to be the most, I don't know, unbothered wartime Defense Secretary. There's no Republicans demanding a resignation, nobody's asked for a course correction. He's focused on low-T testosterone, hormone tests, prayer sessions. I ask this only I guess half facetiously-are Republican lawmakers you speak with aware of how the war in Iran is going?

LEADER JEFFRIES: Yeah, it's a really good question. It's unclear. Democrats, of course, successfully advanced a War Powers Resolution as part of our effort to end this reckless and costly war of choiceover in the Middle East, and just a handful of Republicans have joined us. They continue to bury their heads in the sand, it appears, or just function like a reckless rubber stamp to Donald Trump's extreme agenda even though it is hurting the very people that House Republicans currently represent. And the whole situation with Pete Hegseth, who seems to specialize in bravado but deliver nothing other than rhetoric-there's no reason for him to be around at this point in time. It was clear at the beginning he should have never been confirmed. He's deeply unqualified, in fact the most unqualified Secretary of Defense in American history. And now you see the lack of ability, the lack of expertise, the lack of strategic planning having real-life consequences in terms of what's been unfolding as it relates to Operation Epic Failure in Iran.

JACOB SOBOROFF: I want to talk about the money because the President wants $95 billion, I think, if I have it right, just for the supplemental. What is the actual price tag that Americans are being asked to pay for the war without, it seems, any real oversight at all?

LEADER JEFFRIES: Yeah, it's incredible to me that Donald Trump and Republicans would have the nerve to bring a reckless budget to the Floor of the House of Representatives this week where they will allocate over $70 billion in additional money for this failed and costly and reckless endless war of choice over in the Middle East. House Democrats, needless to say, are going to strongly oppose it. And we just need a handful of enlightened Republicans, if there are any, to join us on behalf of the American people. Because we believe that taxpayer dollars should actually be used to make life more affordable for everyday Americans because the Trump economy is suffocating them right now. People are drowning, can't thrive and can barely survive because of the high cost of living that Donald Trump and Republican policies continue to make worse.

JACOB SOBOROFF: You may have that chance in 106 days if I got my numbers correct because that is when the midterm elections are going to be, and the polls are saying that you're on track to be elected the next Speaker of the House on that day. And of course, obviously there are many voters who are thinking about what Donald Trump and Republicans have done on redistricting, what they're gonna possibly try to do to thwart that outcome, that crazy speech that he made last Thursday night. What would you tell those voters that are worried not just about their futures but about the integrity of the election that could determine them?

LEADER JEFFRIES: Well, we're gonna work incredibly hard to make sure that we have the largest voter protection effort in the history of the country to ensure that there's a free and fair election in November. We believe that it's the American people who should decide who gets to represent them in Congress, not Donald Trump and MAGA extremists. We're working with our colleagues over in the Senate, with the Democratic Governors Association, of course, with the Secretaries of State, with Democratic Attorneys General, with the DNC, as well as with civil society-that includes good government groups, civil rights groups, democracy protection groups, civil liberties groups, organized labor and the faith community-to ensure that we do have a free and fair election. We do need everyday Americans to show up and produce an outcome that is too big to rig. That's exactly what happened over in Hungary. And we believe that we're going to work hard, do everything that we need over the next days, the next few weeks, the next few months, win the hearts and minds of the American people and we can produce a victory for the American people in November and Donald Trump won't be able to do anything about it.

JACOB SOBOROFF: Lay out the stakes, if you would, if the Democrats don't win control of the House nor the Senate. What are the next two years of Donald Trump's presidency going to look like. What is the biggest existential threat? What are you worried about the most?

LEADER JEFFRIES:We're in the middle of a national nightmare right now, and in order to take steps to decisively end it, we absolutely have to take back control of the House of Representatives. And hopefully things are moving in the right direction as well over in the United States Senate, so we can change direction. The American people clearly do deserve better. And we're going to fight to drive down the high cost of living. We're going to fight to make sure that healthcare is affordable for everyone all across the United States of America. We're also going to fight to end the rampant corruption that is taking place right now. Donald Trump and the cartel that he oversees has undertaken the largest smash-and-grab corrupt program in American history. And here's the problem for the American people-that if you've got folks in government who are more focused on trying to enrich themselves, their family members, their friends and their donors, one thing that's not happening is that these government officials are focused on making life better for everyday Americans. That's why we're committed to ending the corruption plague that exists in Washington, D.C. right now because it's hurting our ability to actually make life more affordable for the American people and it's costing them more such as when you see this corrupt war that's going on right now over in the Middle East.

JACOB SOBOROFF: Alright, the House Democratic Leader, Hakeem Jeffries, it's great to see you tonight. Thanks for being here.

LEADER JEFFRIES: Thanks for having me.

Full interview can be watched here.

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