House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who is poised to become House speaker in the new Congress, said Monday that Democrats will focus relentlessly on affordability in their majorities while also setting their sights on combating corruption.
"We're committed to accountability and to holding the crooks accountable if you've been stealing from the American people, screwing over the American people or shortchanging the American people," Jeffries said on "CBS Mornings."
The high cost of living was a key driver in the midterm elections, but corruption also invigorated voters at the ballot box. Roughly nine in 10 voters nationally said government corruption was a major factor in their vote, according to national polling. Democrats put the issue front and center in their final pitch to voters, who turned out overwhelmingly for the party, flipping control of both the House and the Senate.
Now, as Democrats prepare to take control of Congress, they are working to align their priorities, amid concerns that investigations and possible impeachment efforts against the administration could detract from their ability to address affordability for voters.
Asked whether Democrats can take on both cost-of-living and corruption concerns, Jeffries answered, "Yes, and we have to." He said the party will "focus aggressively and relentlessly on dealing with the affordability crisis" while pursuing accountability, adding, "We're going to follow the facts, apply the law, be guided by the Constitution, and then let the chips fall where they may."
The New York Democrat linked the affordability issue to corruption, much as a number of Democratic candidates did on the campaign trail, arguing that as Americans have struggled with high prices, "we've seen unprecedented corruption unleashed on the American people." "We've got to get to the bottom of it so we can actually deliver a government that is committed to solving problems for hardworking American taxpayers, as opposed to enriching folks, their family members, their friends, or their donors," he added.
Jeffries said "far too many people" across the country are "working hard, they're playing by the rules, but they're struggling." "They can't thrive, and they can barely survive," he said. "We've got to turn that situation around, lower the high costs of gas and groceries and housing, and make healthcare affordable for every single American."
In a separate interview, President Trump said he would be open to working with Democrats on immigration. But after that interview was taped on Friday, the president elevated hard-line immigration enforcement advocate Stephen Miller.
Asked about the president's move to elevate Miller, Jeffries said Democrats can work with the Trump administration on affordability and other major issues "without having to work with someone who is so clearly unqualified," describing Miller as the architect of what he called a violent mass deportation machine. "It is fair to say that Stephen Miller has blood on his hands," Jeffries added.
