Latest news with #HakeemJeffries
CNN
3 hours ago
- Business
- CNN
Interviews with White House Budget Director Russ Vought; House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries; Senator Chris Murphy - State of the Union with Jake Tapper and Dana Bash - Podcast on CNN Audio
Interviews with White House Budget Director Russ Vought; House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries; Senator Chris Murphy State of the Union 47 mins On CNN's State of the Union, Dana Bash sits down for an exclusive interview with the man seen as the architect behind President Trump's scorched-earth effort to upend the federal government, White House Budget Director Russ Vought. Then, House Democratic Leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries joins Dana to detail his party's plan to counter Trump's agenda, as well as respond to a new CNN poll showing Americans frustration with the Democratic Party. Next, Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy pushes back against Republican messaging around President Trump's massive spending and tax cut bill. Finally, Democratic Rep. Debbie Dingell, CNN Senior Political Commentator Scott Jennings, and CNN Political Commentators Jamal Simmons and Shermichael Singleton weigh in on Elon Musk's exit from the Trump administration, as well as early 2028 moves by Democrats.
CBS News
7 hours ago
- Business
- CBS News
Expected Medicaid cuts in President Trump's tax bill draw the ire of Gov. Kathy Hochul, Rep. Hakeem Jeffries
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries spoke out Sunday against expected cuts to Medicaid in President Trump's budget bill. CBS News New York discussed the legislation with New Yorkers who would be directly impacted. Here's some of what's in Mr. Trump "big, beautiful bill" The spending bill that Mr. Trump calls one "big, beautiful bill," narrowly passed the House by one vote in late May. Opponents say it includes hundreds of billions of dollars in cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program -- also known as SNAP -- and Medicaid. Hochul and Jeffries addressed New Yorkers at Interfaith Medical Center in Brooklyn, calling the cuts devastating. "Have they no heart? No compassion? Were they not raised in a country where people take care of each other?" Hochul said. On "Meet the Press," House Speaker Mike Johnson defended the bill. "Our legislation preserves Medicaid, strengthens Medicaid, for the people who actually need it and deserve it and we're gonna get rid of the fraud, waste, and abuse and that is a long time overdue," Johnson said. The legislation requires at least 80 hours a month of community service for what's considered "able bodied" people who are unemployed in order for them to qualify for Medicaid. "You're telling me that you're gonna require the able bodied, these young men for example, to only work or volunteer in their community for 20 hours a week and that's too cumbersome for them? I'm not buying it. The American people are not buying it," Johnson said. "All we needs is four to do the right thing" Before the bill moves to a Senate vote this month, Jeffries is asking that Republicans not in favor of it vote against it. "All we need are four Republicans in the United States Senate. There are 53. All we needs is four to do the right thing," Jeffries said. Republican Sen. Rand Paul from Kentucky is among the handful of Senate Republicans who who are against the bill, saying the cost is too high. "Look, I want to vote for it. I'm for the tax cuts. I've voted for the tax cuts before. I want the tax cuts to be permanent, but at the same time, I don't want to raise the debt ceiling $5 trillion," Paul said. Some New Yorkers upset over expected cuts to Medicaid Denise St. Bernard is a health care workers who has a 31-year-old son who suffers from severe mental illness which keeps him from living on his own, and working. "Losing Medicaid, it would be devastating, to him and also me," St. Bernard said. "If they cut Medicaid, then he'll be on the street, he'll be homeless. I can no longer house him because of the severity of his mental illness," St. Bernard said. For now, New Yorkers in need of the funds are not backing down. The Senate is slated to vote on the bill in late June.
New York Post
10 hours ago
- Politics
- New York Post
Vast majority of Americans don't see Dems as a party with strong leaders that get stuff done: CNN poll
Fewer than a fifth of Americans view Democrats as a party with strong leadership that is able to get things done, with Republicans scoring roughly double on both of those metrics, a new poll has found. When asked about which party has strong leaders, 40% of American adults said Republicans, compared to 16% Democrats and 43% neither, according to a CNN/SSRS survey taken last month. Asked about which party can 'get things done,' 19% felt that descriptor applies to Democrats compared to 36% who said Republicans and 44% who felt neither. All of this comes as a record share of Americans — 58% — want to see the federal government step up and do more to tackle problems vexing the country, a 30-year high for that figure, per CNN. Generally speaking, over recent decades, a majority of respondents had faulted the government for 'trying to do too many things' when asked that question by CNN. 4 The poll found Republicans topping Democrats on key questions such as pushing for change and having strong leadership. CNN 4 House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries chalked up the dismal results to the fact that Dems are out of power in Washington, DC. Democrats have long sought to cast themselves as the party of government, while Republicans have portrayed themselves as the political machine set on reducing the government's footprint in people's lives. The abysmal figure for Democrats comes against the backdrop of multiple polls over recent months showing the party underwater and lagging behind Republicans when it comes to their overall approval rating. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) chalked up the bleak survey data to the fact that Democrats are currently out of political power in Washington, DC. 'We don't have the presidency right now, so that's always going to be challenging a few months after a presidential election,' Jeffries told CNN's 'State of the Union' Sunday. 'But we have to continue to make the case, one, that Democrats, of course, are the party that is determined to make life more affordable for everyday Americans,' he went on. 'Understandably, there's real frustration amongst the American people.' The top House Democrat also pointed to some recent polls that have shown his party edging out Republicans when it comes to the generic congressional race heading into the 2026 cycle. Democrats have a 2.4 percentage point lead over Republicans when it comes to the generic congressional race, according to the latest RealClearPolitics aggregate of polling. 4 Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has faced pressure from his left flank to step up pressure on Republicans. AP Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) later praised Jeffries for his leadership in response to footage of the top House Democrat addressing the bleak polling figures. 'House Democrats have never been more unified or organized than under Hakeem Jeffries' leadership,' Khanna posted on X Sunday. Democrats' advantage over Republicans on the potent issue of abortion has also waned, slipping from a 16-point edge in the fall of 2023 to roughly 10 points, according to the CNN poll. That's despite the survey finding that a staggering 36% of the public want abortion to be legal under any circumstances, one of the highest margins CNN's survey has found on that front in years. 4 President Trump has effectively been leading the Republican Party for the past decade. REUTERS Broadly speaking, respondents also felt that the two parties have significant differences, with 81% saying that there are important distinctions between Republicans and Democrats. That's the highest that figure has been in over two decades. The CNN survey sampled 2,539 adults between May 5-26 and had a margin of error of plus or minus 2.7 percentage points.
Yahoo
11 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Frustrated Democrats try new response to Trump barrage: Flood the zone right back
Frustrated Democrats are fighting to counter President Trump's flood-the-zone approach by adopting a mirror strategy with a simple goal: To flood the zone right back. Democrats have struggled to keep pace with the machine-gun tempo of Trump's second term, which has featured a blitz of boundary-busting executive orders, mass deportations, federal firings, and broader efforts to gut the federal government. The Democrats' response to the frenzy of executive actions has infuriated the party's liberal base, which loudly accused Democratic leaders of failing to push back against an aggressive White House in ways that meet the urgency of the moment. The party brass appears to have noticed. Recent weeks have seen the Democrats coalescing behind an assertive new strategy designed to fight fire with fire — what House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) characterizes as a 'more is more' playbook. The strategy is very much a work in progress as Democrats scramble through trial and error to locate communications techniques that can break through the noise of Trump's frenzied second term. And the actions of some lawmakers, like Sen. Cory Booker's (D-N.J.) marathon floor speech, have been better received than the tactics of others, like Rep. Al Green's (D-Texas) heckling of Trump on the House floor, which angered some Democratic moderates and led to Green's censure. Still, Democrats are increasingly rallying behind a mantra that's perhaps best encapsulated by words attributed to the hockey great Wayne Gretzky: 'You miss 100 percent of the shots you don't take.' 'I'm trying stuff — some stuff works, some stuff doesn't,' said Rep. Becca Balint (D-Vt.), who spoke up at a recent Democratic caucus meeting to warn colleagues that they're losing the messaging war. 'But, like, every once in a while I get something that really captures the imagination and then my team goes back, we figure out: What was it about that?' she continued. 'We have to do our own data-crunching in real time about what is resonating.' 'Flood the zone,' echoed Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.), a leader of the Democrats' messaging arm. 'Communicate often, all the time, about what's going on with a very simple message that the Republicans right now are — the reason they want to cut Medicaid, the reason they want to cut food stamps, is because they want to give billionaires a tax cut.' 'That's what we're talking about. And it's resonating with people.' They have their work cut out. Not only do Democrats lack an obvious national leader, but from the minority wilderness in Congress the party lacks the authority to bring legislation to the floor, conduct hearings on topics of their choosing, or investigate the many scandals of Trump's second term with the subpoena power available to the majority Republicans, who have shown little inclination to check the White House. Democrats are being advised to stay focused on how the Republicans' legislative designs will affect Americans' futures, but they're also stuck relitigating the past amid new revelations about former President Biden's health. And in the ongoing contest for voter attention, Democrats simply don't have the same media infrastructure erected by the right, where conservative voices like Joe Rogan and Dave Portnoy enjoy wide appeal with millions of younger voters who have flocked to Trump. In an effort to close the messaging gap, Democrats are turning to unusual tactics, like diving into GOP-held districts to conduct town halls. That strategy has allowed Democrats to communicate directly with voters in battleground regions, while also highlighting the fact that most Republican lawmakers are avoiding such public events amid an outcry over the steep cuts in federal programs featured in Trump's 'big, beautiful bill.' 'What we're trying to tell people is that as much as [Trump] said he's for you, he's not. And the proof is in the pudding,' said Stacey Plaskett (D), the House delegate from the U.S. Virgin Islands. 'We recognize that Americans are getting their information and news not in the traditional ways that they used to. And it's important for us to go to where they are.' Frost, for one, has joined forces with Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) to stage town halls in red regions. And he pointed, as another successful model, to the Democrats' response to Trump's joint address to Congress in February, when Democrats hosted a 'spin room' in the Capitol basement where progressive podcasters and influencers mingled with Democratic lawmakers — and broadcast their anti-Trump messages to niche audiences far and wide. 'Usually, the caucus will have maybe 30, 40 members go down there. This year, because the leader himself was involved and pushing people to go, we had 150,' Frost said. 'But one time doesn't win it,' he quickly added. 'We need it to be a part of everyone's day-to-day. So we're getting there.' Jeffries has taken the lead of the Democrats' enhanced outreach campaign, abandoning his traditional routine of one weekly press conference in the Capitol to stage at least two meetings with reporters each week — and sometimes more — to push back against the blizzard of White House actions. In another gambit in late April, he and Booker staged a daylong sit-in on the Capitol steps to draw attention to the Republicans' policy plans. The approach is not quite blind: Jeffries emphasized that the pushback effort is opportunistic — designed around the 'timing and the rhythm of the legislative process and how we engage in making sure that we are aggressively pushing back when the moment presents itself.' 'We continue to be in a more-is-more environment,' he said. Rep. Dina Titus (D-Nev.), a front-line Democrat, said she's encountering voters of all stripes who are feeling anxious amid the unpredictable actions from the White House, and they want to see Democrats fighting back with every tool available. In that environment, she said, the key is persistence. 'We've been attacking it on all fronts, and we have to keep doing that. Whether it's amicus briefs or town halls or legislation or letters to the administration — we've just got to keep the drumbeat going,' she said. 'They like it when you fight.' 'I don't care what I'm invited to,' echoed Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.). 'I did the LA City Business Council — I took that as an opportunity to do my town hall. So I do it everywhere.' Democrats are resigned to the likelihood that the immediate impact of the fight will be that nothing changes. Indeed, for all their fierce messaging against Trump's 'big, beautiful bill,' they were powerless to block it from moving through the House last month. But the ultimate goal is longer-term: flipping control of the House in next year's midterms so they can provide a check on Trump in the final two years of his presidency. 'We need every single tool right now, because we're focused on winning back the majority. Like, that is the focus right now, because how else can we stop … all of these horrible policies?' Balint said. 'It's a numbers game. We have to get those people in those seats.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
13 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Jeffries says Americans ‘aren't interested in bending the knee to a wannabe king'
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) said Sunday that Americans 'aren't interested in bending the knee to a wannabe king,' referring to President Trump. 'Donald Trump has learned an important lesson, the American people aren't interested in bending the knee to a wannabe king,' Jeffries said on CNN's 'State of the Union' to the outlet's Dana Bash. 'It's the reason why Donald Trump actually is the most unpopular president at this point of a presidency in American history,' he added. The president's approval rating currently sits at 45.9 percent in the Decision Desk/The Hill polling average, with 51.7 percent in the average not backing the president. The president recently went through consistent drops in his approval ratings, but his approval rating in the Decision Desk/The Hill average now sits above 2 points higher than it was at the start of May. Trump and his administration have taken swift action on issues such as how the federal government functions, immigration, trade policy, and LGBTQ rights in his first few months since returning to Washington. The action has drawn pushback from those on the American left and Democrats, but Democrats have also been criticized for a perceived lack of response to Trump administration moves. 'Democrats, of course, are the party that is determined to make life more affordable for everyday Americans, for hardworking American taxpayers,' Jeffries said Sunday. Republican strategist Karl Rove said in a recent opinion piece for The Wall Street Journal that President Trump's tariff rhetoric could cost the GOP its majorities in Congress. 'Republicans should hope the president really believes in reciprocity—the policy that if countries lower their tariffs, we'll lower ours. He should have confidence that America can compete if the playing field is level,' he added. The Hill has reached out to the White House for comment. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
