The Situation Room: Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, (D-NY), Is Interviewed About Debt Limit

Interview

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Good evening, Wolf. Great to be with you. We certainly are only a few days away from this manufactured default crisis, which is very real right now. We shouldn't be in this situation because America should always pay our bills and do it in a manner consistent with what has been done on the Democratic presidents and Republican presidents without gamesmanship, partisanship or brinksmanship.

We are in this place now thankful for President Biden and his team of designees for working hard to avoid a default in the face of a group of individuals, some of whom clearly would take the position that blowing up the economy, crashing it and triggering a recession, apparently, they've concluded and no one's to their political benefit. And so, we're hopeful that cooler heads will continue to prevail over the next day or so, we can arrive at a bipartisan agreement that makes sense that's consistent with democratic values and we can get past this dangerous default crisis.

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As House Democrats, I believe, in partnership with President Biden and Senate Democrats and Mitch McConnell has made this point as well, that we're going to do everything possible to prevent a default and make sure America pays its bills.

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Well, one of the challenges that we confront is that it's unclear how many votes House Republicans can produce, because they have had a variety of different individuals, increasingly with intensity over the last few days who have said, they're not planning on supporting anything, unless it's consistent with the default on America Act, which would painfully cut investments in veterans and Medicaid, recipients and for public safety, for education, for nutrition assistance, and things of that nature. And so we have to have some visibility into how many votes House Republicans are going to produce in terms of the ultimate resolution. And then we can speak with some specificity, Wolf, about how many votes are going to be needed on the Democratic side.

What I can say is that we're committed to making sure that the United States does not default. We're committed to a bipartisan agreement. We have full faith in President Biden's ability to arrive at a resolution that is consistent with our values and prevents the economy from crashing, which is clearly what some folks on the other side of the aisle, some extreme MAGA Republicans would like to see happen.

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Like the President of the United States is actively involved in the discussions that are taking place and will be available to meet in person, over the phone to be in communication with Speaker McCarthy or whoever he needs to communicate with to prevent the country from defaulting to make sure America pays our bills and continue to build an economy that works for everyday Americans. I have full confidence in President Joe Biden.

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That's exactly the type of reckless Republican rhetoric that is driving our country toward a default for the first time in American history and leads many people to rationally conclude that what the extreme MAGA Republicans really want to do is crash the economy, trigger a recession, because they believe, as many of them have said, that it will be in their political benefit in 2024. The so-called work requirements are not a serious public policy proposal, because work requirements already exist under federal law. And that has been the case going all the way back to 1996. To the extent that there are anything in the law that Republicans would like to discuss in terms of additions to the changes that have already been put into the law related to work requirements going all the way back to 1996, then the appropriate place for that to be discussed is the Farm Bill, not as part of a hostage taking situation where the full faith and credit of the United States of America and potentially crashing the economy could result in the failure to arrive at a resolution.

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Yes, I believe that we can. And I know that that is the effort that President Biden and the Biden administration officials who are working day and night, 24 hours a day almost to bring about a resolution of this matter are working toward. We cannot default, it will hurt millions and millions of everyday Americans. And we have a responsibility in terms of our country, our Constitution, our credibility, to make sure that America pays our bills and pays our bills on time.

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Well, I share the concerns that the extreme MAGA Republicans are trying intentionally to bring about public policy changes in the law that they know they cannot accomplish through the normal legislative process. That is the reason why we are in this situation. They are threatening to default because they know that President Biden and others in Washington, D.C., Senate Democrats, House Democrats are inherently responsible individuals, and we understand the consequences of a dangerous default. But at the same time, I am confident that President Biden will continue to hold the line and not allow painful cuts to be undertaken, that are going to hurt the health, the safety or the economic wellbeing of the American people. And that will be consistent with how we feel as House Democrats. This situation should be resolved.

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Thanks so much, Wolf.

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