Transcript: House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries “faces the nation with Margaret Brennan,” Oct. 26 26, 2025

The following is a transcript of an interview with House Minority Leader Harfries, Democrat of New York, accused of “the nation by Margaret Brennan” on Oct. 26 26, 2025.

Margaret Brennan: And we’re back with democracy at the top of the house, Leader Heffries. He joins us in the Brooklyn, New York District. Hello.

A democratic leader. Hakeem Jeffries: Hello. It’s good to be with you.

Margaret Brennan: Well, the leader Jeffries, Defrary Presic Secretary of Deception said that the shutdown is starting to affect the economy, and on November 15, the troops will not be paid. Do you expect the closure to last long?

Rep. Jeffries: I sure hope so. This is Trump’s 26th day, shibula republican. Futhi njengama-Democrats, sigcinile kusukela ekuqaleni, futhi siqhubeke nokugcina, sizohlala phansi nganoma yisiphi isikhathi, noma iyiphi indawo, noma ngubani, noma ngubani, noma ngubani, noma ngubani, noma ngubani, noma ngubani, noma ngubani, noma ngubani, noma ngubani, noma ngubani, kunoma ngubani, noma ngubani, noma ngubani, noma ngubani, noma ngubani, noma ngubani, noma ngubani, noma ngubani, noma ngubani, kunoma ngubani, abuyele e-White House, abuyele e-White House, abuyele in the White House he meets the needs of the American people who actually meets the needs of the American people. And directly addressing the issue of Republican Healthcare in Disasters, especially as it relates to the urgent need to expand the tax credits available to get health insurance premiums that will make access to the outpatient doctor.

Margaret Brennan: I want to go back to health care in a second, but the finance secretary is accusing you of playing politics, personally. And I know it’s your democratic whip, Katherine Clark said on FOX last week that shutting down the channels is surprising, but as she put it, it’s one of the few things a Democrat does. Do you think the Democrats are up for this fight?

Rep. Jeffries: No, our focus continues to be where you’re driving the high cost of daily living in America. Donald Trump and the Republicans promised to cut costs on the first day. We know that costs have never gone down. They went up. Inflation is going in the wrong direction. Trump’s taxes have made life more expensive for Americans to earn thousands of dollars more per year. We know that electric bills are going through the roof. Housing costs are too high, childcare costs are too high, groceries are too expensive. And now tens of millions of Americans are at risk of having their premiums skyrocket, in some cases by 1000 to 2000 dollars a year. That’s what this fight for the US is all about. Republicans have come up with a new idea for recepliracy every week for the last six weeks. The Democratic position, Margaret, was clear, cancel the cuts, cut costs, save health care.

Margaret Brennan: Well, that was a quote from the list itself when he said the foundation. But I can hear it from rising health care costs. But it’s a quick time, people don’t get paid. 750,000 public servants are on unpaid leave. Eight percent of the people working on our nuclear program are included in that figure. The agriculture secretary said there will be delays in food stamps, stamps for many of the 41 million people who rely on Snap. Then at the airport all over the country, part of the flight delay, according to the secretary of transportation, is due to the lack of staff. This pain is real now. So is there a point where it becomes too much for me to be annoyed to continue being shut down?

Rep. Jeffries: Yes, there is an urgent need to open the government, which is why we continue to demand that Republicans sit at the negotiating table and therefore, be able to destroy the deal that is BiPartisan in nature. That’s what we’ve been calling for since the beginning. unfortunately–

Margaret Brennan: But the Republicans are–

Rep. Jeffries: –Republicans refused to sit down–

Margaret Brennan: – They won’t do that until you pass the financing payment, the clean financing payment that has already passed the house. Why did Senate Democrats get involved in that one?

Rep. Jeffries: Well, we’ve been clear, and thanks to the leadership of Chuck Schumer and the Senate Democrats, that we will not support the partisan work that continues to be demanded by the American people in American history. Hospitals, nursing homes and community-based health centers are being closed across the country. It is possible that Medicare could face a cut of 536 billion, the largest cut in Medicare in history, if the congress does not act later this year, because of what the Republican policies have done in their big, bad bill. And now they are refusing to extend affordable care tax credits, which affects working class Americans, middle Americans and everyday Americans across the country, including Americans in America.

Margaret Brennan: Yes, they rejected them. Leader Thune said he will include that vote when he opens the government first, but next Saturday is the start of open registration. I mean people are going to see what those bits are going to look like. Actually speaking, have you never been out of time here? Insurance companies set this premium in place. This is the method that has already appeared in the mail for people to open and see on Saturday. What becomes the plan after November 1, if this closure lasts long?

Rep. Jeffries: Well, listen, we want to reopen the government, and we need to stand by our hard-working Federal employees who are doing everything they can to make sure that tax dollars are spent effectively and appropriately, even under the worst of circumstances. Remember, according to Federal regulations, the Trump administration fired or fired more than 200,000 government employees before they shut down the government on October 1. We want to reopen the government now. In terms of health care, the real part is that tens of millions of people are already getting notices in October that their premiums are about to skyrocket–

Margaret Brennan: – – Seriously.

Rep. Jeffries: –Becation of the Republican refusal to extend the available tax credit. And by the way, both Republicans and Senate Republicans have had the opportunity, repeatedly throughout the year, to extend the affordable care tax credits. And they voted against it. That’s why we need action, not just words, a wing and a promise from the people who have tried to repeal the Affordable Care Act more than 70 different times since 2010.

Margaret Brennan: But the premiums are just locked in here? Or are you saying that the Republicans are right about what you can do for us at the end of the year with the tax bill?

Rep. Jeffries: Premiums aren’t really locked in if we can work through the law and act now. We may extend the open enrollment period. We can suppress it. And we can intervene as a congress to actually protect health insurance affordability for tens of millions of people.

Margaret Brennan: Right. Leader, stay with us. I have to take a quick commercial break.

Rep. Jeffries: Welcome back to ‘face the nation.’ We return now to our interview with young leader of the house Hakeem Jeffries. Leader Jeffries, I want to ask you about some other things. In New York City, a city of over 8 million people, there is a new mayor to choose from. He waited until the fifth, the day before the initial voting began, to allow the Democratic Socialist election of Zohran Mamdani. Why did you wait so long?

Rep. Jeffries: Well, as I’ve indicated, I’ve had a couple of weeks, we’ve been baptized by the energy surrounding the government shutdown and this early September 30th and the expiration of the funds. But I support the Democratic nominee, as I indicated, and we align on the issue of affordability and the need to address it in New York City’s decision. And of course, unaffordable money is a problem for people all over the country. From a public safety perspective, I support the idea that she will keep police commissioner Jessica Tisch to continue leading the NOPD forward. It is very important, from the emergence of public safety to the whole society, including as a priority, the safety and security of the Jewish community. And that the time we find ourselves in, Donald Trump represents the threat that exists in the city of New York and beyond, because of the attacks on people, and everything that is in the countries, therefore, all Americans will support the return so that we can move this National Night that Donald Trump attends to the American people.

Margaret Brennan: Well, you’re still waiting until Friday, and the election is upon us, but you leave room in your answer where you disagree with the payee. As Democrats run for re-election in the midterm races, looking to take back the house, would you recommend they emulate some of Mamdani’s messages as a progressive model for the party?

Rep. Jeffries: No, what we said from the beginning is that we have to face the problem of finding cheap policies that the policies of Donald Trump and the Republicans have made worse in the United States of America. We need to reduce the high cost of living. We need to fix our broken health care system–

Margaret Brennan: – So? –

Rep. Jeffries: – And we need to clean up corruption in the United States of America. No, THAT’S WHAT WE ACHIEVED BY CONFIDENCE THROUGH YOUR ACTIVITIES as it relates to the need to make life more accessible. Here in America, when you work hard and play by the rules, in this country, you should be able to live a good life, live a good life, a very good job, very nice houses but so many people struggle so much to even make ends meet and they can’t. That is unacceptable in the richest country in the history of the world.

Margaret Brennan: I want to ask you about something you said. He said, Democrats- there are no election opponents on our side of the aisle, he said that back in January. But recently, he has been using the term “tight election” in reference to the upcoming midterms. Democrats were shocked when President Trump used such language. How do you like to use it now? Doesn’t that lose faith in the voters you need to show?

Rep. Jeffries: No, I’ve been using that word in Donald Trump’s monolithic gerrymander maps, maps in perrymander fashion around the world to determine who in America should be the majority of representatives–

Margaret Brennan: – You know the Democrats are also dealing with —

Rep. Jeffries: – The Framers of the constitution were very clear–

Margaret Brennan: –Rising Gerrymandering and Redipript.

Rep. Jeffries: No, No. No. Yes, the Democrats are going to go back and forth to make sure we have the right maps across the country, not prerymandering, which the Republicans have started with state after state after state after state.

Margaret Brennan: Leader Jeffries, thank you for your time this morning. We will go back.