The following is the transcript of the interview with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-New York, that aired on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” on October 26, 2025.
MARGARET BRENNAN: And we’re back with the top House Democrat, Leader Hakeem Jeffries. He joins us from his home borough of Brooklyn, New York. Good day.
DEMOCRATIC LEADER REPRESENTATIVE HAKEEM JEFFRIES: Good morning. Great to be with you.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, Leader Jeffries, Treasury Secretary Bessent said that the shutdown is starting to affect the economy and that by November 15, the troops will not be paid. Do you expect the closure to last that long?
REP. JEFFRIES: I certainly hope not. This is day 26 of Trump’s Republican shutdown. And as Democrats, we have maintained from the beginning, and continue to maintain, that we will sit down anytime, anywhere, with anyone, whether on Capitol Hill or in the White House, to reopen the government and negotiate a bipartisan spending deal that truly meets the needs of the American people. And to decisively address the Republican health crisis, particularly as it relates to the urgent need to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits so we can prevent tens of millions of Americans from experiencing a dramatic increase in health insurance premiums that will make access to a doctor unaffordable.
MARGARET BRENNAN: I want to come back to health care in a moment, but the Treasury Secretary personally accused you of playing politics. And I know their Democratic leader, Katherine Clark, said on Fox last week that shutdowns are terrible, but as she said, it’s one of the few leverages Democrats have. Do you think the Democrats are winning in this fight?
REP. JEFFRIES: No, our focus remains on reducing the high cost of living for ordinary Americans. Donald Trump and the Republicans promised they would cut costs from day one. We know that costs have not gone down. They are going up. Inflation is moving in the wrong direction. Trump’s tariffs have made life more expensive for the American people to the tune of thousands of additional dollars per year. We know that electricity bills are through the roof. Housing costs are too high, childcare costs are too high, and food is too expensive. And now tens of millions of Americans are at risk of seeing their premiums skyrocket, in some cases by $1,000 to $2,000 a year. That’s what this fight is about for us. Republicans have floated a new conspiracy theory every week for the past six weeks. The Democratic position, Margaret, has been clear: reverse the cuts, reduce costs, save healthcare.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, that was the whip’s own quote when she said leverage. But I hear you about rising health care costs. But in the short term people don’t get paid. 750,000 federal workers are on unpaid leave. Eighty percent of the people who work on our nuclear program are included in that number. The agriculture secretary said there will be delays in food stamps, coupons for many of the 41 million people who rely on SNAP. And then at airports across the country, half of flight delays, according to the transportation secretary, are due to staffing shortages. This pain is real now. So is there a point at which it becomes too big to justify continuing the closure?
REP. JEFFRIES: Well, there is an urgent need to reopen the government, which is why we continue to demand that Republicans come to the negotiating table so that we can enact a spending deal that is bipartisan in nature. That’s what we’ve asked for from the beginning. Unfortunately–
MARGARET BRENNAN: But Republicans say…
REP. JEFFRIES: –Republicans have refused to sit down–
MARGARET BRENNAN: –they won’t do that until the funding bill is passed, the clean funding bill that’s already passed the House. Why can’t Senate Democrats accept that?
REP. JEFFRIES: Well, we have made clear, and I appreciate the leadership of Chuck Schumer and Senate Democrats, that we will not support a Republican partisan spending bill that continues to destroy the American people’s health care, in an environment where Republicans have already enacted the largest cut to Medicaid in American history. Hospitals, nursing homes and community health centers are closing across the country. There is a possibility that Medicare could face a $536 billion cut, the largest cut in history, if Congress does not act before the end of this year, because of what Republican policies have done in their one ugly bill. And now they refuse to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits, which affect working-class Americans, middle-class Americans, and everyday Americans across the country, including in rural America.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, they haven’t refused. Leader Thune said he would even put it to a vote on whether to open the government first, but next Saturday will be the start of open enrollment. I mean, people will see what that bill will look like. In practical terms, aren’t you running out of time here? Insurance companies have set these premiums. This is how they are already in the mail for people to open and see on Saturday. What will be the strategy after November 1, if this closure lasts that long?
REP. JEFFRIES: Well, listen, we want to reopen the government and we must support our federal workers who are doing everything they can to ensure taxpayer dollars are spent effectively and efficiently, even under the most adverse circumstances. Remember, in terms of federal employees, the Trump administration has laid off or laid off more than 200,000 public officials before shutting down the government on October 1. We want to reopen the government now. In terms of health care, part of the reality is that tens of millions of people are already receiving notices in October that their premiums are about to skyrocket.
MARGARET BRENNAN: –Exactly.
REP. JEFFRIES: –due to Republican refusal to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credit. And, by the way, both House and Senate Republicans have had the opportunity, repeatedly throughout the year, to expand the Affordable Care Act tax credits. And they have always voted against. That’s why we need action, not just words, a wing and a promise of prayer from people who have tried to repeal the Affordable Care Act more than 70 different times since 2010.
MARGARET BRENNAN: But the premiums are no longer set here? Or are you saying Republicans are right when they can make up for it at the end of the year with the tax credit?
REP. JEFFRIES: The premiums are not set in terms of the reality that we can act legislatively and act now. We may extend the open enrollment period. We can reject it. And we can intervene as Congress to truly protect health insurance affordability for tens of millions of people.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Very good. Leader, stay with us. I have to take a short commercial break.
[ COMMERCIAL BREAK ]
REP. JEFFRIES: Welcome back to ‘Face The Nation.’ We now return to our conversation with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries. Leader Jeffries, I also want to ask you about other matters. In New York City, a city of more than 8 million people, a new mayor is about to be elected. He waited until this Friday, a day before early voting began, to endorse Democratic Socialist candidate Zohran Mamdani. Why did you wait so long?
REP. JEFFRIES: Well, as I indicated, in recent weeks we have been immersed in the intensity around the government shutdown and the lead-up to September 30 and the expiration of the fiscal year. But I support the Democratic candidate, as I indicated, and we are aligned in terms of the issue around affordability and the need to address it decisively for New York City. And of course, affordability is an issue for people across the country. From a public safety standpoint, I supported the idea that I would hire Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch to continue leading the NYPD moving forward. This is incredibly important, from the point of view of the public safety of each community, including as a high priority the safety of the Jewish community. And in terms of the moment we find ourselves in, Donald Trump represents an existential threat to New York City and beyond, given the extreme attack that has taken place throughout this year on the economy, health care, farmers, veterans, law-abiding immigrant communities, due process, the rule of law, and of course, the American way of life itself, and all of us, as Americans, we will have to stand in line and push back so we can put an end to it. this national nightmare that Donald Trump has inflicted on the American people.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, you still waited until Friday and the election is almost here, but you leave room in your answer to understand that you disagree with the candidate on some other issues, although you agree with him on affordability. Given that Democrats are running for re-election in the midterm elections and you want to take back the chamber, would you recommend that they emulate some of Mamdani’s messages as a progressive model for the party?
REP. JEFFRIES: No, what we have said from the beginning is that we have to decisively address the affordability crisis that Donald Trump and Republican policies have worsened in the United States of America. We need to reduce the high cost of living. We need to fix our broken healthcare system.
MARGARET BRENNAN: — So not?–
REP. JEFFRIES: — And, of course, we need to clean up corruption in the United States of America. No, what we are going to emulate are our own views regarding the need to make life more affordable. Here in America, if you work hard and follow the rules, in this country you should be able to live a comfortable life, live a good life, a well-paying job, good housing, good health care, a good education for your children, and a good retirement, but too many people are struggling to live paycheck to paycheck and can barely get by. That is unacceptable in the richest country in the history of the world.
MARGARET BRENNAN: I want to ask you about something you said. You said, Democrats: there are no election deniers on our side of the aisle, you said it in January. But recently he has been using the term “rigged election” in reference to the upcoming midterm elections. Democrats were shocked when President Trump used language like that. How do you justify using that now? Doesn’t that undermine the faith of voters who must show up?
REP. JEFFRIES: No, I’ve been using that term in the context of Donald Trump’s unprecedented effort to gerrymander congressional maps on a partisan basis across the country to rig the midterm elections and deny the ability of the American people to actually decide who the majority should be when it comes to the House of Representatives.
MARGARET BRENNAN: –You know the Democrats are also going through…
REP. JEFFRIES: –the framers of the Constitution were very clear–
MARGARET BRENNAN: –through gerrymandering and redistricting.
REP. JEFFRIES: No, no. No. Well, Democrats are going to respond aggressively to make sure we have fair maps across the country, not partisan gerrymandering, which Republicans have initiated in state after state.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Leader Jeffries, thank you for your time this morning. We’ll be back right away.