MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
Among the Democrats hoping to flip control of Congress back to their party in the midterms is Hakeem Jeffries, the House Democratic leader, who represents a district in New York, and he's on the line with us now. Good morning, Leader Jeffries. Thanks for joining us.
HAKEEM JEFFRIES: Good morning. Great to be with you.
MARTIN: As you just heard, you backed two Democratic incumbents against democratic socialists who had the backing of New York's mayor, Zohran Mamdani. If Democrats win back the House with the help of people who opposed your picks, how do you plan to work with them?
JEFFRIES: Well, we have to win back the House by actually flipping seats that are currently held by Republicans, and we're going to continue to do everything we can to do just that. And we've got great candidates running all across the country, challenging Republicans who've been nothing but a reckless rubber stamp to Donald Trump's extreme agenda, while at the same period of time, focusing on issues like driving down the high cost of living, fixing our broken healthcare system and cleaning up the corruption that Donald Trump has unleashed on America in real time.
MARTIN: To my - my question was how do you plan to work with these folks if they do achieve - if they win their seats, which they are expected to do - they're in deep blue districts. But they've opposed the people that you supported, so how do you plan to work with them?
JEFFRIES: Well, I plan to continue to support every single House Democratic incumbent, and that certainly was the case with Congressman Adriano Espaillat, Diana DeGette, who had an incredible career over the last 30-plus years championing reproductive freedom. And, of course, Dan Goldman, who's been a fighter, challenging the Trump administration. At the same period of time, primaries are a way of life in the House of Representatives, specifically because the Framers wanted our institution to be the closest to the American people, which was the primary reason that we have to stand for election every other year.
And within the House Democratic Caucus family, there will be a wide variety of different perspectives - progressives, New Dems, Blue Dogs. I've worked with sort of the ideologically diverse group of members up until this point and will continue to do so. But what unifies House Democrats - and we'll see what happens in terms of as we transition into a new caucus - but obviously, the overwhelming majority of folks who will be part of that caucus are going to be focused on stopping MAGA extremism on the one hand, while, most importantly, doing everything we can to make life better for the everyday Americans we're privileged to represent on the other.
MARTIN: You know, President Trump is already workshopping attack lines against some of these nominees. He's calling them communists. He's saying he's not going to allow them to destroy the country. Do Democrats have an answer for that?
JEFFRIES: Donald Trump is destroying the country in real time right now. He promised to lower the high cost of living on Day 1. Costs haven't gone down - they've gone up. Donald Trump promised to love and cherish Medicaid and turned around and signed the One Big Ugly Bill, which ripped away Medicaid for more than 10 million Americans, including many in rural parts of the country. And Donald Trump is the one who promised not to start wars in the Middle East, but to stop them, and then turned around and launched a reckless and costly war of choice in the Middle East, which is raising gas prices on the American people. And that's why House Democrats have strongly opposed this war, and we will continue to do so until it finally comes to an end.
MARTIN: You know, he hasn't signed that housing affordability bill that passed with a large bipartisan majority in both houses, pressuring Congress to pass a bill that would require proof of citizenship to vote because he says that that is his priority. And he says, using his words, that these other bills are a yawn. To your knowledge, has that bill actually been presented to the president?
JEFFRIES: It's my understanding that the bill has been sent over by Speaker Johnson earlier this week, and the president has up to 10 days to take action on it. If he fails to take any action, of course, Michel, as you know, it will become law. This is an extraordinary thing that Donald Trump is playing games with - a bipartisan housing bill that is designed to make sure that we are building housing that the American people can actually afford. It's part of the work of legislating and House Democrats committed to getting things done. In this instance...
MARTIN: Do you think the bill is going to become law? Do you think it is going to become law?
JEFFRIES: Well, listen, I do think it will become law, and there's been great leadership by Congresswoman Maxine Waters and Senator Elizabeth Warren helping to lead the charge around this bill as part of our continuing effort as Democrats to address the cost-of-living crisis that Donald Trump and Republicans have made worse during their time in office over the last 18 months.
MARTIN: Obviously, President Trump is obviously very concerned about the midterms. This is one of the reasons he's so concerned about this election bill, what he calls the SAVE America Act. I want to ask you - an FBI memo obtained by the Associated Press indicates a surge of more than 200 personnel to Fulton County, Georgia, as part of an investigation - an ongoing investigation into the 2020 election. The FBI declined our request for comment. What do you make of that? I mean, do you think this could be a fair deployment of government resources if it puts to rest, once and for all, the president's unproven claims of election fraud, or do you think there could be some other outcome?
JEFFRIES: Well, the notion that Donald Trump is wasting FBI resources, along with Kash Patel, on a conspiracy theory connected to the 2020 presidential election that has long been invalidated, is extraordinary. But again, Donald Trump is not focused on the issues that matter. He's made clear he thinks the affordability crisis is a hoax. He loves inflation. He's said to the American people he does not give a damn about the personal financial situation that they're in. Everyday Americans are drowning right now as it relates to the Trump Republican economy, and Donald Trump is focused on trying to rig the midterm elections.
We have embarked on the largest voter protection effort in the history of modern-day America because we're determined to make sure as Democrats that there is a free and fair election in November, so that it's the American people who are actually the ones who get to decide who serves in the majority in the Congress after these midterms, not Donald Trump and MAGA extremists.
MARTIN: Let me quickly turn to a fun fact about your background. I think you're the only member of Congress with roots from Cape Verde. Your grandfather - your great-grandfather was from Cape Verde, the tiny nation soccer team facing off against world champions, Argentina, today. Are you watching?
JEFFRIES: I'll definitely be watching. It's an incredible story. It's an underdog story, and it demonstrates the resilience of the nation of Cape Verde, and Cape Verdeans, of course, have a long history here in the United States of America, particularly in the New England states. It was my great-grandfather, Manuel Gomes, who immigrated into this country to New Bedford, Massachusetts, in 1915.
MARTIN: OK. Before we let you go, how are you celebrating America's 250th birthday this weekend?
JEFFRIES: Well, I'll be spending time at home in the district at a variety of different celebrations, including potentially one that's held every year in Coney Island that this year will be spectacular because it is our 250th birthday. I had an opportunity yesterday to be in Philadelphia, the birthplace of our democracy, at a bipartisan session commemorating the signing of the Declaration of Independence 250 years ago and will continue to celebrate throughout the year.
MARTIN: That is the House Democratic leader, Hakeem Jeffries. Leader Jeffries, thank you so much for joining us, and happy birthday to the United States.
JEFFRIES: Happy Fourth of July, everyone. Thank you.
(SOUNDBITE OF TOTORRO'S "SAVEUR CHEVEUX")
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