Jeffries: Democrats won’t ‘bend the knee to Donald Trump’s will when he’s gutting health care’
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) said Tuesday his party will not “bend the knee to Donald Trump’s will when he’s gutting health care.”
“Our position as Democrats is clear: Cancel the cuts, lower the cost, save health care,” Jeffries told MSNBC’s Nicolle Wallace on “Deadline: White House.” ”That’s our fight that we’re waging on behalf of the American people. And we’re willing to sit down with anyone at any time, any place, to try to actually get to a spending agreement that makes sense for the American people.”
“But we’re not going to simply bend the knee to Donald Trump’s will when he’s gutting health care for everyday Americans and actively hurting people. That’s immoral. And it’s not something for us to participate in.”
On Tuesday, Jeffries announced Democrats will come back to Washington early next week — when the House remains in recess — to spotlight the choice of GOP leaders to return after Tuesday’s government funding deadline.
“This is the height of irresponsibility and further evidence that Republicans are determined to shut the government down,” Jeffries said in a letter to his fellow House Democrats. “Democrats will be in town and prepared to get the job done.”
Trump and Republican lawmakers intend to make the possible government shutdown as rough as can be for Democrats, as negotiations signal little progress with less than a week to go before the deadline.
For weeks, Republicans and Democrats have refused to move from their calls for a seven-week “clean” stopgap package and for safeguarding Affordable Care Act subsidies, respectively.
The Hill has reached out to the White House for comment.