00:00Good morning everyone. House Democrats continue to fight to stop the GOP tax
00:08scam in its tracks. Trump's one big ugly bill will rip away health care for more
00:18than 16 million Americans. Others across the country will pay higher premiums,
00:29co-pays, and deductibles because of this unprecedented attack on Medicaid,
00:35Medicare, and the Affordable Care Act. Hospitals will close, nursing homes will
00:41shut down, and people will die if the GOP tax scam ever becomes law. Republicans
00:52are also trying to jam the largest cut to nutritional assistance in American
00:58history down the throats of the American people by taking away more than $300
01:05billion from SNAP. These extremists are literally ripping food from the mouths of
01:13children, seniors, and veterans in the United States of America. It's shameful. All of this is
01:22being done so that Republicans can provide massive tax breaks to their billionaire donors,
01:30and then they want to stick the American people with the bill, including by exploding the deficit
01:38by more than $3 trillion, saddling our children and grandchildren with this type of fiscal baggage
01:51that will hurt their ability to have a prosperous future and sets America on a possible
01:59path toward bankruptcy. The GOP tax scam is indeed a disgusting abomination. Questions?
02:10Good morning. You've spoken about what you term as overly aggressive tactics by ICE agents here. Are you
02:20concerned, though, that possibly demasking some of these agents puts their safety or their family's
02:25safety in jeopardy? Seems to me that the officials at the Department of Homeland Security, including ICE, should be held to the same standards as
02:40every other part of law enforcement in terms of transparency. Amid this feud between Elon Musk and Donald Trump, should
02:52Musk be called before a House committee and testify? I haven't had conversations with members of the relevant committees, which
03:02presumably, you know, could include budget or ways and means or judiciary or oversight. And until I have those conversations, I don't think there's much more to add. Right now, we're focused on killing the bill. The GOP tax scam hurts everyday Americans and rewards billionaires.
03:30That's not what we should be doing at this moment in time in the United States of America. We should be building an affordable economy that lowers costs for hardworking American
03:42taxpayers. The GOP tax scam. The GOP tax scam. This one big, ugly bill does the exact opposite. It will raise costs and increase the financial burden on hardworking American taxpayers. That's what we're focused on as House Democrats and in support of the efforts of Senate Democrats to stop the one big, ugly bill from ever becoming law. Thanks.
04:11Are you concerned that cutting PEPFAR funding? That's something that the White House has proposed and the rescission package is going to set the United States back as a leader on the global effort to eradicate HIV AIDS. What's your take? What's your message during Prima to folks out there who are concerned that the United States has been a leader with PEPFAR on HIV, but that's at risk now with the Republicans putting forward this rescission package?
04:39The effort to eradicate HIV and AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa and across the country as led by the United States of America through PEPFAR has been a phenomenal success.
04:53It's inhumane to abandon the PEPFAR effort. And this is a program that was put into place in a bipartisan way led by President George W. Bush in partnership with leaders in the House of Representatives like Barbara Lee.
05:14It's shameful that because of their ideological extremism, Republicans are trying to crush the PEPFAR program, which ultimately helps the health, safety, and well-being of the American people.
05:39By crushing HIV and AIDS. All of these efforts by the Trump administration to attack our public health successes, both here and abroad, put the American people in danger.
05:58And that's one of the reasons why House Democrats will be strongly opposed to the reckless Republican rescissions package.
06:09Thanks. Go to the back. You, you got it.
06:12So some Democrats have said that they agree with Elon Musk when it comes to the bill.
06:17Do you think there's an opportunity here for Democrats to extend a hand to Musk, sort of bring it to your corner?
06:22The opportunity that exists right now is to kill the GOP tax scam.
06:30It's legislation that we have been strongly opposed to and uniformly opposed to from the very beginning.
06:39Every single Democrat since February has voted against this one big, ugly bill because it hurts everyday Americans.
06:49It rips health care away from millions of people.
06:52It snatches food out of the mouths of hungry children and it rewards billionaires and their donors in ways that are fiscally irresponsible.
07:02To the extent that there's opportunity here, first and foremost, it begins with the effort to stop the GOP tax scam from ever becoming law.
07:17So, thanks.
07:19Just to put a final point on that, should Elon Musk be welcomed back into the Democratic Party if that is something that is on the table given everything he did as the leader of DOGE?
07:31Same answer.
07:31Your former colleague here on the Hill, Governor Delgado, has gotten into the governor's race.
07:38What do you make of that?
07:40Is that a wise move?
07:41Do you welcome that?
07:42And from the perspective of next year, are you planning to stand behind Hopeful regardless of any primary challenge?
07:49I look forward to weighing in with respect to the governor's race and the immediate aftermath of the mayoral primary resolving itself.
08:01Governor Kathy Hochul has been a great partner to House Democrats and an important leader of our state during challenging times.
08:13And she just delivered a transformational budget that is going to lower costs for New York residents, keep us safer, and lays down a foundation for a more prosperous future in New York.
08:30Thanks.
08:31Leader Jeffries, do you think that Musk's departure will change anything with the White House?
08:36Do you think DOGE will scale back?
08:37Is this a positive development for you?
08:40That's all an open question that needs to be evaluated over the next, you know, few weeks and next few months.
08:48Our position on a lot of the efforts of this Trump administration and what took place during the first 100 days remains clear.
08:56The first 100 days of the Trump administration and beyond throughout his presidency have been characterized by chaos, cruelty, and corruption.
09:06And at this moment in time, we're going to do everything that we can to stop the GOP tax scam from ever becoming law because it hurts the American people.
09:21And beyond that, we'll continue to push back against the far-right extremism that has been unleashed on the American people by the Trump administration in an extraordinary way,
09:37including efforts to dismantle the federal government as we know it, and the attacks on veterans in particular, which is unacceptable, unpatriotic, and un-American.
09:52So nothing has changed in that regard.
09:57We continue to push back whenever and wherever necessary against the extremism that Donald Trump and compliant Republicans in the House have unleashed on the American people.
10:10And to the extent that there are former members of the Trump administration, as has been the case now for years,
10:20that actually have a greater degree of clarity about the downsides of Trumpism in the United States of America,
10:30we welcome continued conversations with those former members.
10:37Thanks.
10:37My question is in President Trump's foreign policy towards Middle East and Iran.
10:43What is your stand on current negotiations between President Trump and Iran on nuclear program?
10:49Well, with respect, we don't have a great deal of visibility into what President Trump is trying to accomplish in terms of the current negotiations with Iran.
11:00Iran should never be allowed to become nuclear capable.
11:05And to the extent that there's an agreement that is reached that is designed to build upon the JCPOA,
11:12it should be longer and stronger than what had previously existed and should be done in a manner that is verifiable and resilient.
11:25If the aim is to kill Trump's bill, then how can Democrats right now strategically, tactically take advantage of this very public break between Donald Trump and Elon Musk?
11:40We have to keep the pressure on House Republicans and Senate Republicans to do the right thing and vote in the best interest of the people that they represent,
11:53which means voting against Trump's one big ugly bill to the extent that Elon Musk has made the same point that everyone who has voted for this bill up until this moment should be ashamed of themselves.
12:11We agree.
12:12And to the extent that Elon Musk has made the point that the bill is a disgusting abomination, we agree.
12:21And to the extent that Elon Musk has made the observation about the GOP tax scam, that it is reckless and irresponsible to explode the deficit by more than $3 trillion and that potentially could set our country on a path toward bankruptcy, we agree.
12:46These are arguments that Democrats have been making now for months, and it's the reason why every single House Democrat strongly opposed the GOP tax scam and why every single Senate Democrat is opposed to this one big ugly bill.
13:05Therefore, at this moment, we just need a handful of Senate Republicans to do the right thing in opposing the GOP tax scam and the reckless budget that limped barely out of the House of Representatives.
13:28We only need four.
13:29And in fact, because it is likely that the junior senator from Kentucky will remain a hard no, we only need three additional Senate Republicans, and we can kill the bill.
13:49That's our focus right now.
13:51It's all hands on deck in that effort.
13:54And to the extent that the developments of this week will make it more likely that we can kill the GOP tax scam, that's a welcome development.
14:09Thank you, Mr. Leader.
14:10There's obviously a limited number of ways that the House minority can prevent legislation from coming to the floor.
14:14Or what strategies are you suggesting to your Senate colleagues on ways to delay, prevent legislation from coming to the floor, whether it's this or a decision?
14:23Well, the next step in terms of the process related to Donald Trump's one big ugly bill will be to make the most powerful arguments possible to the Senate parliamentarian to strip out the extreme provisions that did not ever belong in a budget reconciliation bill.
14:51That's the next step in the process, and as I understand it, that can happen as early as next week.
14:58And I'm very confident in the ability of Leader Schumer and Senate Democrats to make the most forceful case possible.
15:09Congressman Al Green is speaking on the House floor right now about impeaching President Trump.
15:14Have you had the chance to talk to him about his resolution?
15:16Should he still bring that forward?
15:18I have not.
15:18Thank you, Mr. Leader.
15:22There was some talk this week from Republicans on the House and the Senate about being open to potential sanctions on Russia.
15:28Is that something that Republican leadership has spoken to you and your fellow House Democrats about?
15:33House Republicans talk a good game, but then they always fall apart at the end when Donald Trump, their puppet master, cracks down on them.
15:44These House Republicans talked a very good game about defending Medicaid.
15:51And then every single one of them collapsed at the end and caved to Donald Trump.
15:58And voted for a bill that would represent the largest cut to Medicaid in American history that will close down rural hospitals in their districts.
16:12And do a whole bunch of people all across the country and do a whole bunch of damage to people all across the country.
16:18And in fact, at the end of the day, Trump's one big, ugly bill didn't get more moderate in the last 24 hours before it was brought to the floor of the House for a vote.
16:33It got more extreme.
16:35It got more extreme, including as it relates to throwing more people off their health care.
16:40And what did these so-called moderate Republicans do?
16:43They all fell in line and voted for it.
16:46Give me a break.
16:48So there's no reason for us to believe in the House of Representatives that these so-called moderate Republicans will do anything at the end of the day
17:01other than bend the knee to their puppet master, Donald Trump.
17:07Because all they've been is a reckless rubber stamp for Donald Trump's extreme agenda.
17:15Thanks.
17:17Back.
17:17Thank you, Mr. Lee.
17:18So Musk and his company's involvement with the government kind of precedes this administration, will likely continue on after this administration.
17:26But yesterday we saw how some of that personal tension seemed to put in jeopardy at least some of that partnership with Musk floating giddy of suspending the Dragon, for instance, the rocket and contracts there.
17:38It seems to be waffling on that.
17:40What would be your expectation for how the government interacts with a capital industry like Musk, not just this administration, but going forward?
17:47I have no specific observation as it relates to Elon Musk's situation right now relative to the threats that are being made by his former ally, Donald Trump,
18:01who he helped put into the White House and who might not be the president of the United States, as Elon Musk pointed out, without the hundreds of millions of dollars spent to elect Donald Trump in battleground states across America.
18:23However, that will all have to play itself out, though it's fair to say Donald Trump would likely not be the president of the United States of America right now without Elon Musk.
18:33With respect to how we deal with anyone's business dealings, with any administration, including this one, we've got to make sure that the federal government is effective, is efficient, and is equitable.
18:59And that's not what we're seeing from the Trump administration right now.
19:03Last two questions?
19:05Regular approach.
19:06Tom Cole saying he's marking up to the president's budget.
19:09That's a very large cut to non-defense discretionary.
19:11Where's his all-leading?
19:13We're very confident in Rosa DeLauro's leadership.
19:16It's my expectation that if House Republican appropriators mark to an extreme budget,
19:23that Democrats will be strongly opposed to it here in the House,
19:27and that we're going to work closely with Senate Democrats
19:30to bring about a situation where we can arrive at an enlightened appropriations product
19:38that actually meets the needs of the American people in terms of their health,
19:42their safety, their national security, and their economic well-being.
19:46Last question.
19:47Once again, on the Trump-Musk spat, do you see any possibility of—
19:52That's a kind way to describe it, a spat.
19:56Divorce, if you like.
19:58Do you see any possibility of this having any bearing in the midterms in races that are particularly close,
20:05and might you even introduce it into races?
20:08I can tell you for certain that the extreme and reckless Republican budget, the GOP tax scam,
20:20Trump's one big ugly bill, will be a central part of the contrast that exists between House Democrats
20:28and House Republicans in the context of the midterm election.
20:31Republicans have done nothing.
20:32Nothing, not a single thing, nada, to lower the high cost of living in the United States of America.
20:40They have betrayed the American people.
20:43Trump and House Republicans have repeatedly broken their promise to lower costs
20:48and to make life better for the American people.
20:50In fact, what they said they were going to do is that costs were going to go down on day one.
20:57We're now five or six months into the administration.
21:02Costs aren't going down in the United States of America.
21:05They're going up.
21:07Things are becoming more expensive.
21:08The Trump tariffs are going to raise costs on everyday Americans by thousands of dollars a year
21:16and may very well crash the economy and drive us toward a recession.
21:20These are going to be core and critical issues in the midterm election.
