Hakeem Jeffries Asked How Democrats Will Respond After Trump Administration Crosses 'Red Line'

Forbes Breaking News

On Sunday, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) spoke to CNN's Dana Bash about the Trump administration's prosecution of Democratic politicians.

Transcript

00:00I want to ask you about something that happened in your home state of New York

00:05in the past couple of days. Congressman Jerry Nadler said that DHS agents

00:10entered his congressional office on Wednesday without a warrant and handcuffed a member of his

00:15staff. This, of course, comes after the Trump Justice Department charged Democratic Congresswoman

00:22LaMonica MacGyver with obstructing ICE agents after an altercation at a facility in Newark,

00:28New Jersey. Now, I know you previously warned that the administration charging members of

00:32Congress was a, quote, red line. What are you doing now that the red line you talked about has

00:38apparently been crossed? Well, let me make clear that the House is a separate and co-equal branch

00:46of government to Congress. We don't work for Donald Trump. We don't work for the administration. We

00:50don't work for Elon Musk. We work for the American people. And we have a responsibility to serve as

00:55a check and balance on an out-of-control executive branch. That's the constitutional blueprint that

01:01was given to us by the framers of the United States democracy that we have inherited over the last few

01:09centuries. And so we're going to continue to undertake our congressional responsibility,

01:14notwithstanding efforts by the Trump administration to try to intimidate Democrats.

01:18It's unfortunate that our Republican colleagues continue to be nothing more than rubber stamps

01:24for Trump's reckless and extreme agenda. And the American people, I think, will ultimately reject

01:30that next year when we will take back control of the House of Representatives. In the meantime,

01:35in terms of how we will respond to what Trump and the administration has endeavored to do,

01:41we will make that decision in a time, place and manner of our choosing. But the response

01:48will be continuous and it will meet the moment that is required.

01:54What exactly does that mean? Have you not decided how to respond?

02:00We've publicly responded in a variety of different ways. We haven't let our foot off the gas pedal

02:06in terms of additional things that may take place with respect to our congressional oversight authority

02:12and capacity. We will respond in a time, place and manner of our choosing if this continues to happen.

02:22You believe, as Jerry Nadler said, that the administration is trying to intimidate Democrats?

02:30I think the administration is clearly trying to intimidate Democrats in the same way that they're

02:34trying to intimidate the country. This whole shock and awe strategy, this flood the zone with

02:39outrageous behavior that they've tried to unleash on the American people during the first few months

02:44of the Trump administration is all designed to create the appearance of inevitability.

02:50But Donald Trump has learned an important lesson. The American people aren't interested in bending

02:54the knee to a wannabe king. It's the reason why Donald Trump actually is the most unpopular

03:00president at this point of a presidency in American history. The American people have rejected

03:07this approach. And we as congressional Democrats will continue to reject this approach.

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