December 5, 2025 • 9 mins
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, a Democrat from New York, says Republicans lied to the voters about trying to drive down "the high cost of living." Jeffries also says millions of Americans will see their healthcare costs go up because the GOP is not going to extend the Obamacare tax credits. He speaks to Bloomberg's Joe Mathieu.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:02):
Bloomberg Audio Studios, Podcasts, radio news.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
All right, let's head now over to Capitol Hill in Washington, DC,
where Bloomberg's Balance of Power co host Joe Matthew has
an exclusive interview with the House Minority Leader, Hakim Jeffries,
and they'll be talking about healthcare.
Speaker 1 (00:21):
Indeed, thanks for joining us live from Capitol Hill on
Bloomberg TV and Radio. On Joe Matthew with an exclusive
conversation with the Democratic leader in the House of Representatives,
Hakim Jeffries of New York. Leader Jeffries, thanks for being
back with us on Bloomberg.
Speaker 3 (00:35):
It's good to see you.
Speaker 1 (00:35):
One thing, Joe, good, pretty important ruling in the Supreme
Court when it comes to redistricting in the state of
Texas that I'd like to start with here. Its open
season apparently on redistricting. Does that mean every Democratic led
state in the country needs to redraw their maps?
Speaker 3 (00:50):
Well, first of all, it's unfortunate that Supreme Court has
rubber stamp a racially jerry mandered extreme map that Donald
Trump ordered Texas republickeends to engineer as part of his
effort to try to rig the midterm elections in twenty
twenty six, but notwithstanding this adverse ruling, we're going to
(01:10):
continue to move forward and ensure that there is a
fair map across the country. California voters enacted Prop fifty,
and as a result, we'll have a fair map in
California with some additional opportunities to be competitive, and I
expect that you'll see other states across the country continue
to respond.
Speaker 1 (01:29):
Will yours be one of them? Are you on the
phone with Governor Hokel today saying it's time to redraw
the New York map?
Speaker 3 (01:34):
Well, the New York map has some particularities relative to
the Constitution that won't necessarily allow it to be revisited
in this particular cycle. But some voters have filed a
lawsuit in New York and we're monitoring that litigation closely
to see what the outcome may be.
Speaker 1 (01:53):
Okay, there's a question about whether you really need it,
Leader Jeffries. After the special election in Tennessee on Tuesday,
we saw a plus twenty two Trump districts go down
to a plus nine Trump district And you've got a
lot of armchair mathematicians out there suggesting that could meet
as many as thirty or thirty five seats for Democrats
in the midterms.
Speaker 3 (02:13):
How do you see it, Well, Republicans know that if
the elections were held today, they would lose. That's the
reason why Donald Trump has decided to engage in this
extreme effort to jerrymander congressional maps all across the country,
and it's very unfortunate. Our view is that we're not
going to unilaterally disarm, and we have to ensure that
there's a fair map nationally across the board, so that
(02:34):
it's the voters who get to decide who is in
the majority after the November twenty, twenty sixth election. Part
of the challenge with Republicans is that they've broken all
of their promises. They indicated that they were going to
lower cost in fact lower costs on day one, costs
having gone down in America, costs have gone up housing
costs or through the roof, grocery prices through the roof,
electricity bills through the roof. And now, because my Republican
(02:56):
colleagues refuse to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits,
we know tens of millions of people are about to
experience dramatically increase health care costs. Democrats are actually the
party focused on driving down the high cost of living.
Speaker 1 (03:09):
So let's talk about a couple of those points of
leverage that you just pointed out, affordability and healthcare. Many
would argue that it's kind of the same story here.
President Trump has been saying that affordability is a Democrat hoax,
a Democrat con job. Does that mean you do not
have Republicans on board with you in reforming healthcare or
extending Obamacare subsidies?
Speaker 3 (03:30):
It appears that way. It's unfortunate that the President's position,
which is the Republican parties position, is that the affordability
crisis in the United States of America is a con
job and it's a hoax. No, what was a con
job and hoax was the fact that Republicans spent all
of last year claiming that they were going to lower
the high cost of living in the United States of America,
(03:52):
that they were a party committed to addressing the inflationary
pressure that the American people were under. That's all they
talked tobut out last year. But they lied to the voters.
That's the con job. They're lied. They absolutely lied to
the voters. Because there's no evidence throughout this year that
they've had any intention to actually address the affordability crisis
(04:14):
that exists. In fact, they now say it's all a hoax.
But everyday Americans when they go to the grocery store,
the supermarket, when they see their healthcare premiums dramatically increasing,
when they see the electricity bills that they have, which
are through the roof, in part because Republicans in their
one big Ugly Bill attacked the clean energy economy At
(04:35):
a time in America where we have growing power needs.
In terms of what we see with the expansion of
artificial intelligence, it's all extraordinary. So Republican leadership has made
it clear they have no intention to extend the Affordable
Care AC tax credits, and that's very unfortunate.
Speaker 1 (04:52):
You know, if the White House would say hold on,
leader Jeffries. This president's been working over time to cut
deals to lower the cost of prescription drugs, deserve credit
for that effort.
Speaker 3 (05:01):
We haven't seen any evidence that prescription drug prices have
gone down in any meaningful way. What we have seen
that the Trump terrorist are out of control. They've increased
costs by thousands of dollars per year on everyday Americans,
and they've created an uncertain environment for businesses and corporations
throughout the country. And we know that uncertainty is one
of the biggest problems that American corporations and companies may face.
(05:25):
It's difficult to actually make investments when you have this
chaotic environment that has been visited upon the economy.
Speaker 1 (05:33):
So let's talk about what you can get done before
the expiration of these subsidies at the end of the month.
A bill was introduced yesterday, a framework that was bipartisan.
A Democrat and a Republican Gotttheimer and Kiggins. It would
extend these subsidies for a year and put new callers
on eligibility. Is this a path to renewal in your eyes?
Speaker 3 (05:53):
Well, we'll have to take a look at the particulars
in the four corners of that bill. Two hundred and
fourteen Democrats have signed the discharged position that will extend
the Affordable Care Act tax credits for three years and
give the American people the certainty that they need in
order to move forward during these otherwise uncertain times. All
we need are four Republicans. They're two hundred and nineteen
(06:15):
of them. All we need are four House Republicans to
join us and we can extend the Affordable Care Act
tax credits. We also want to take a look at
what happens in the Senate. I'm thankful for lead to
Schumer and Senate Democrats who will put a bill forward
next week and force an up and down vote on
an extension of the Affordable Care Act tax credits. We're
in this fight until we win this fight on behalf
(06:36):
of the American people, because in the wealthiest country in
the history of the world, it cannot be the case
that working class Americans and middle class Americans are unable
to afford to go see a doctor when they need one.
Speaker 1 (06:51):
Are you in touch with the Speaker of the House
on This is Mike Johnson talking to you about a
potential vote after john fun promised a vote on healthcare
in the Senate for next Thursday.
Speaker 3 (07:01):
You know, the big challenge with House Republicans has been
that they've adopted a my way of the highway approach.
They have zero interests in actually sitting down and finding
a bipartisan path forward. We've said from the very beginning
of this year and throughout the Trump Republicans shutdown, that
we will sit down with anyone, anytime, any place, here
in the Capitol, or go back to the White House
(07:22):
sit with the President to try to figure out how
we can fix our broken healthcare system and address the
Republican created healthcare crisis that's devastating people all across America.
They've refused repeatedly to sit down and even try to
find common ground, apparently because they really are uninterested in
dealing with an extension Intoffordable Care Act tax credits. Joe.
(07:45):
As you know, this is the same group of people
who have actually tried to repeal the Affordable Care Act
more than seventy times over the last fifteen years.
Speaker 1 (07:54):
So could we be in a world in which there's
a healthcare bill that passes the Senate and dies in
the House.
Speaker 3 (07:58):
Well, if there's a bill that as the Senate, there
will be tremendous pressure on Mike Johnson, Stieve Scalice and
House Republicans to bring that bill to the floor for
an up and down vote, and the votes will exist
in the House of Representatives. I call upon some of
my Republican colleagues, more traditional conservative colleagues, or the so
called swing seat Republicans, to actually press their leadership to
(08:21):
give the people of this country an up or down
vote on something meaningful that will extend the Affordable Care
Act tax credits.
Speaker 1 (08:30):
Just lastly, President Trump today will be receiving we understand
the inaugural FIFA Peace Prize. Does Donald Trump deserve credit,
as he says, for ending eight wars?
Speaker 3 (08:41):
Yeah, it's unclear what eight wars he's talking about. What
the American people clearly want to see from this president
is action related to the challenges that we face in
this country. Lowering the high cost of living, fixing our
broken healthcare system, making life better for everyday Americans. That's
the democratic commitment that we actually should deliver on the
(09:03):
promises that Republicans made to lower the high cost to
live in but refuse to address in a country that's
the wealthiest in the history of the world, but there
are far too many people who are struggling to live
paycheck to paycheck, can't thrive, can barely survive, and that
should not be the case in this great country. We
(09:23):
should allow for a situation where every single person who
works hard and plays by the rules can afford to
live a comfortable life, live the good life, good paying job,
good house and good health care, good education for your children,
and ultimately, at the end of the day, a good retirement.
That's the American dream. We need to bring it to
life for every single.
Speaker 1 (09:44):
American Democratic leader in the House. Hockeim Jeffrey's leader. Thank
you for being with us today. Once again on Bloomberg.
Speaker 3 (09:49):
Thank you.
Bloomberg Audio Studios, Podcasts, radio news.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
All right, let's head now over to Capitol Hill in Washington, DC,
where Bloomberg's Balance of Power co host Joe Matthew has
an exclusive interview with the House Minority Leader, Hakim Jeffries,
and they'll be talking about healthcare.
Speaker 1 (00:21):
Indeed, thanks for joining us live from Capitol Hill on
Bloomberg TV and Radio. On Joe Matthew with an exclusive
conversation with the Democratic leader in the House of Representatives,
Hakim Jeffries of New York. Leader Jeffries, thanks for being
back with us on Bloomberg.
Speaker 3 (00:35):
It's good to see you.
Speaker 1 (00:35):
One thing, Joe, good, pretty important ruling in the Supreme
Court when it comes to redistricting in the state of
Texas that I'd like to start with here. Its open
season apparently on redistricting. Does that mean every Democratic led
state in the country needs to redraw their maps?
Speaker 3 (00:50):
Well, first of all, it's unfortunate that Supreme Court has
rubber stamp a racially jerry mandered extreme map that Donald
Trump ordered Texas republickeends to engineer as part of his
effort to try to rig the midterm elections in twenty
twenty six, but notwithstanding this adverse ruling, we're going to
(01:10):
continue to move forward and ensure that there is a
fair map across the country. California voters enacted Prop fifty,
and as a result, we'll have a fair map in
California with some additional opportunities to be competitive, and I
expect that you'll see other states across the country continue
to respond.
Speaker 1 (01:29):
Will yours be one of them? Are you on the
phone with Governor Hokel today saying it's time to redraw
the New York map?
Speaker 3 (01:34):
Well, the New York map has some particularities relative to
the Constitution that won't necessarily allow it to be revisited
in this particular cycle. But some voters have filed a
lawsuit in New York and we're monitoring that litigation closely
to see what the outcome may be.
Speaker 1 (01:53):
Okay, there's a question about whether you really need it,
Leader Jeffries. After the special election in Tennessee on Tuesday,
we saw a plus twenty two Trump districts go down
to a plus nine Trump district And you've got a
lot of armchair mathematicians out there suggesting that could meet
as many as thirty or thirty five seats for Democrats
in the midterms.
Speaker 3 (02:13):
How do you see it, Well, Republicans know that if
the elections were held today, they would lose. That's the
reason why Donald Trump has decided to engage in this
extreme effort to jerrymander congressional maps all across the country,
and it's very unfortunate. Our view is that we're not
going to unilaterally disarm, and we have to ensure that
there's a fair map nationally across the board, so that
(02:34):
it's the voters who get to decide who is in
the majority after the November twenty, twenty sixth election. Part
of the challenge with Republicans is that they've broken all
of their promises. They indicated that they were going to
lower cost in fact lower costs on day one, costs
having gone down in America, costs have gone up housing
costs or through the roof, grocery prices through the roof,
electricity bills through the roof. And now, because my Republican
(02:56):
colleagues refuse to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits,
we know tens of millions of people are about to
experience dramatically increase health care costs. Democrats are actually the
party focused on driving down the high cost of living.
Speaker 1 (03:09):
So let's talk about a couple of those points of
leverage that you just pointed out, affordability and healthcare. Many
would argue that it's kind of the same story here.
President Trump has been saying that affordability is a Democrat hoax,
a Democrat con job. Does that mean you do not
have Republicans on board with you in reforming healthcare or
extending Obamacare subsidies?
Speaker 3 (03:30):
It appears that way. It's unfortunate that the President's position,
which is the Republican parties position, is that the affordability
crisis in the United States of America is a con
job and it's a hoax. No, what was a con
job and hoax was the fact that Republicans spent all
of last year claiming that they were going to lower
the high cost of living in the United States of America,
(03:52):
that they were a party committed to addressing the inflationary
pressure that the American people were under. That's all they
talked tobut out last year. But they lied to the voters.
That's the con job. They're lied. They absolutely lied to
the voters. Because there's no evidence throughout this year that
they've had any intention to actually address the affordability crisis
(04:14):
that exists. In fact, they now say it's all a hoax.
But everyday Americans when they go to the grocery store,
the supermarket, when they see their healthcare premiums dramatically increasing,
when they see the electricity bills that they have, which
are through the roof, in part because Republicans in their
one big Ugly Bill attacked the clean energy economy At
(04:35):
a time in America where we have growing power needs.
In terms of what we see with the expansion of
artificial intelligence, it's all extraordinary. So Republican leadership has made
it clear they have no intention to extend the Affordable
Care AC tax credits, and that's very unfortunate.
Speaker 1 (04:52):
You know, if the White House would say hold on,
leader Jeffries. This president's been working over time to cut
deals to lower the cost of prescription drugs, deserve credit
for that effort.
Speaker 3 (05:01):
We haven't seen any evidence that prescription drug prices have
gone down in any meaningful way. What we have seen
that the Trump terrorist are out of control. They've increased
costs by thousands of dollars per year on everyday Americans,
and they've created an uncertain environment for businesses and corporations
throughout the country. And we know that uncertainty is one
of the biggest problems that American corporations and companies may face.
(05:25):
It's difficult to actually make investments when you have this
chaotic environment that has been visited upon the economy.
Speaker 1 (05:33):
So let's talk about what you can get done before
the expiration of these subsidies at the end of the month.
A bill was introduced yesterday, a framework that was bipartisan.
A Democrat and a Republican Gotttheimer and Kiggins. It would
extend these subsidies for a year and put new callers
on eligibility. Is this a path to renewal in your eyes?
Speaker 3 (05:53):
Well, we'll have to take a look at the particulars
in the four corners of that bill. Two hundred and
fourteen Democrats have signed the discharged position that will extend
the Affordable Care Act tax credits for three years and
give the American people the certainty that they need in
order to move forward during these otherwise uncertain times. All
we need are four Republicans. They're two hundred and nineteen
(06:15):
of them. All we need are four House Republicans to
join us and we can extend the Affordable Care Act
tax credits. We also want to take a look at
what happens in the Senate. I'm thankful for lead to
Schumer and Senate Democrats who will put a bill forward
next week and force an up and down vote on
an extension of the Affordable Care Act tax credits. We're
in this fight until we win this fight on behalf
(06:36):
of the American people, because in the wealthiest country in
the history of the world, it cannot be the case
that working class Americans and middle class Americans are unable
to afford to go see a doctor when they need one.
Speaker 1 (06:51):
Are you in touch with the Speaker of the House
on This is Mike Johnson talking to you about a
potential vote after john fun promised a vote on healthcare
in the Senate for next Thursday.
Speaker 3 (07:01):
You know, the big challenge with House Republicans has been
that they've adopted a my way of the highway approach.
They have zero interests in actually sitting down and finding
a bipartisan path forward. We've said from the very beginning
of this year and throughout the Trump Republicans shutdown, that
we will sit down with anyone, anytime, any place, here
in the Capitol, or go back to the White House
(07:22):
sit with the President to try to figure out how
we can fix our broken healthcare system and address the
Republican created healthcare crisis that's devastating people all across America.
They've refused repeatedly to sit down and even try to
find common ground, apparently because they really are uninterested in
dealing with an extension Intoffordable Care Act tax credits. Joe.
(07:45):
As you know, this is the same group of people
who have actually tried to repeal the Affordable Care Act
more than seventy times over the last fifteen years.
Speaker 1 (07:54):
So could we be in a world in which there's
a healthcare bill that passes the Senate and dies in
the House.
Speaker 3 (07:58):
Well, if there's a bill that as the Senate, there
will be tremendous pressure on Mike Johnson, Stieve Scalice and
House Republicans to bring that bill to the floor for
an up and down vote, and the votes will exist
in the House of Representatives. I call upon some of
my Republican colleagues, more traditional conservative colleagues, or the so
called swing seat Republicans, to actually press their leadership to
(08:21):
give the people of this country an up or down
vote on something meaningful that will extend the Affordable Care
Act tax credits.
Speaker 1 (08:30):
Just lastly, President Trump today will be receiving we understand
the inaugural FIFA Peace Prize. Does Donald Trump deserve credit,
as he says, for ending eight wars?
Speaker 3 (08:41):
Yeah, it's unclear what eight wars he's talking about. What
the American people clearly want to see from this president
is action related to the challenges that we face in
this country. Lowering the high cost of living, fixing our
broken healthcare system, making life better for everyday Americans. That's
the democratic commitment that we actually should deliver on the
(09:03):
promises that Republicans made to lower the high cost to
live in but refuse to address in a country that's
the wealthiest in the history of the world, but there
are far too many people who are struggling to live
paycheck to paycheck, can't thrive, can barely survive, and that
should not be the case in this great country. We
(09:23):
should allow for a situation where every single person who
works hard and plays by the rules can afford to
live a comfortable life, live the good life, good paying job,
good house and good health care, good education for your children,
and ultimately, at the end of the day, a good retirement.
That's the American dream. We need to bring it to
life for every single.
Speaker 1 (09:44):
American Democratic leader in the House. Hockeim Jeffrey's leader. Thank
you for being with us today. Once again on Bloomberg.
Speaker 3 (09:49):
Thank you.
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