MSNBC "The Rachel Maddow Show" - Transcript: Interview with Rep. Hakeem Jeffries

Interview

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MADDOW: That was the get up off your seat, get up on your feet crescendo  ending to Congressman Hakeem Jeffries formally nominating Nancy Pelosi to  be speaker of the House today. Congressman Jeffries is himself number five  in House Democratic leadership now for this new Congress. He`s been  elected chairman of the House Democratic Caucus.

And Congressman Jeffries joins us live from Capitol Hill tonight.Sir, thank you so much for your time. I know this a very busy night.

JEFFRIES: Good evening. Great to be on with you.

MADDOW: First of all, I have to get to the urgent business. I know you  have to go vote in a second. Can you tell us what`s going on right now  with the votes to try to reopen the government?

JEFFRIES: Well, we successfully passed a continuing resolution to fund the  Department of Homeland Security through February 8th. That vote passed  with four or five Republicans actually joining Democrats in a bipartisan  way to do that, which was a very positive step forward.

And currently, we have successfully reached the 218 number in terms of  passing the other six bipartisan appropriations bills that would reopen the  government with respect to all the other departments aside from the  Department of Homeland Security. And so, we expect that in short order,  that vote will close, and we`ll send that bill over to the Senate where  hopefully they will act.

MADDOW: In terms of that hopefulness, Senator McConnell has not signaled  he is likely to act on these bills, saying that the president won`t sign  these bills because they don`t have funding for the president`s southern  border wall. And if the president isn`t going to sign these bills, then  Senator McConnell won`t pick them up. What`s your take on that?

JEFFRIES: Well, here`s the thing, the House and the Senate are separate  but coequal branches of the government. The Senate is not a wholly owned  subsidiary of the Trump administration and it shouldn`t function as such.  And the bills that we`re sending over to the Senate are bills that they  themselves have already signed off on in terms of adequate funding for the  departments that are currently closed.

We need to reopen the government, and then we can work out the issues that  exist as it relates to border security and our broken immigration system.  But we should not hold 800,000 federal workers hostage because Donald Trump  wants to build a medieval border wall that will be ineffective. It`s a 5th  century solution to a 21st century problem.

MADDOW: Congressman Hakeem Jeffries, I know that you are squeezed right  now and you have to go vote. I`m going to let you go, but not without a  promise that you`ll come back soon to talk about your plans for a new  Congress, sir.

JEFFRIES: It would be an honor to do so. And thank you for all that you  do, Rachel.

MADDOW: I appreciate it. Thank you very much, sir.

Congressman Hakeem Jeffries, as I mentioned, has a new leadership role.  He`ll be number five in House Democratic leadership. He`ll be chairman of  the House Democratic Caucus. He brought the House to its feet today  putting Nancy Pelosi`s name in nomination to be speaker.

We`ve got one more really good story to get to tonight on this big news of  the news. Stay with us.

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