Hakeem Jeffries Says Democrats 'Want To Be Reasonable' After Jim Jordan Fails Speaker Vote Transcript

Hi.

Oh, boy. A little bit of a crowd today. Oh, boy. The situation in the House of Representatives right now is unreal, unbelievable and unacceptable. The American people need the House of Representatives reopened so we can go about getting things done for everyday Americans and solving problems for hardworking American taxpayers. From the very beginning of this Congress, House Democrats have made clear that we are ready, willing and able to find bipartisan common ground on any issue in order to make a difference in the lives of everyday Americans. And we’ve proven our willingness to do that throughout this entire Congress. In terms of avoiding a catastrophic default on our debt, House Democrats were there. In terms of preventing a reckless government shutdown, House Democrats were there. In terms of providing $16 billion in disaster assistance for people all across the country whose lives were devastated by extreme weather events, House Democrats were also there. Paging my traditional Republican colleagues, it’s time to get off the sidelines, break away from the extremists, get in the arena so we can find a bipartisan path forward.

Is that bipartisan path-

Mr. Jeffries, are you open to the idea at all of empowering Patrick McHenry to be an interim speaker and giving him the authority to oversee legislation? Are you open to McHenry specifically?

Our focus right now relates not just to any one individual, but to getting the institution reopened. I have respect for Patrick McHenry, I think he’s respected on our side of the aisle. There are a whole host of other Republicans who are respected on our side of the aisle, Jim Jordan is not one of them.

But what would you say to some members of your caucus who have said that they’re open to McHenry? Have they come to you and said, “Hey, we want to do something that empowers him so we can just get things going again.”

We continue to say that we’re seeking a bipartisan path forward that’s authentic, genuine and that we want to agree upon in good faith.

So is that not good faith or likely?

There’re informal conversations that have accelerated over the last few days. My hope now that it’s clear Jim Jordan lacks the votes to be speaker, that those conversations will accelerate this evening.

When you say accelerate, what exactly does that mean? Do you have any meetings planned with McHenry perhaps or leaders on the Republican side who [inaudible 00:03:02]?

I have no meetings planned with McHenry, but high level members on the Democratic side of the aisle are ready, willing and able to have those conversations.

[inaudible 00:03:12] the administration’s readying its supplemental-

When you say a bipartisan solution, does that mean five or six Republicans should vote for you or are Democrats willing to vote for some kind of Republican?

We have not, from the very beginning of this, Congress made this about any one individual on the Republican side of the aisle and certainly not on the Democratic side of the aisle. House Democrats want to be reasonable here. We respect elections. We were disappointed that we failed to hold on to the House in November of 2022, but we’re not election deniers. We did overperform, we defied the rules of political gravity in a midterm election, in the President’s first two years in office, but the Republicans now hold the gavels. We recognize that, we respect that, but the Republicans are unable to function on their own right now. So there’s only two paths. Either you’re going to continue to bend the knee to the most extreme members of your conference who are not interested in governing or you can partner with Democrats to do the business of the American people.

Does Ukraine aid need to be part of this solution for you? Do you think the insurances from Republicans on Ukraine aid?

I think it’s important for us to reopen the House so we can take care of the health, the safety and the economic needs of the American people. It’s important to reopen the House so we can stand by Israel. It’s important to reopen the House so we can fully fund the effort of the Ukrainians who have bravely fought against Russian aggression.

Leader Jeffries, have you heard anything from the Republican side? Any members over the last couple of days that have come to you guys calling for a bipartisan compromise or looking to work with you on that?

There have been ongoing informal conversations that have been undertaken over the last few days. I think it’s a possibility those can accelerate now that Jim Jordan clearly does not have the votes to be speaker. For good reason. Jim Jordan is the poster child for MAGA extremism. He is a clear and present danger to our democracy. There are many good men and women on the Republican side of the aisle who are qualified to be the Speaker of the House of Representatives, there is no circumstance where Jim Jordan is one of them.

Have you had any conversations with Mr. Jordan?

[inaudible 00:05:35] conversations you’re referring to, are these about empowering a temporary speaker or a permanent speaker?

All options are on the table. Our objective is to reopen the House of Representatives.

Leader Jeffries, would supporting McHenry have to come part and parcel still with a power-sharing agreement for Democrats? Is that non-negotiable?

We’ve never used the phrase power-sharing agreement because we recognize that the Republicans temporarily hold the gavels. We respect that, we’re not election deniers. But what is clear based on the track record during this congressional session is that our Republican colleagues cannot govern on their own because they have members of the House Republican Conference who don’t want to do anything as it relates to advancing the needs of the American people. We saw that on the default crisis, we saw that in terms of keeping the government open, we saw that as it relates to disaster relief. What more do my traditional Republican colleagues who I respect need to see? A bipartisan path forward that’s anchored in reasonableness and common sense. Thank you, everyone.

Thank you, sir.

Thank you.