JEFFRIES: Donald Trump and Republicans promised that costs were going to go down on day one, but costs aren’t going down. Inflation is moving in the wrong direction. The Trump tariffs are causing thousands of dollars of additional expense for everyday Americans. Grocery costs have gone up, housing costs are going up, electricity bills are through the roof, and now tens of millions of people are faced with dramatically increased health care premiums. In some instances, that’s an extra thousand or two thousand dollars more per month. These are working-class people. This is simply unaffordable.
KERNEN: What changed since then to where we are now, where you can use a government shutdown to extract concessions from Republicans?
Jeffries: We are not using a government shutdown to extract any concessions. We want to reopen the government immediately. Donald Trump has refused to meet with Democrats over the last 24 days. He has spent more time on the golf course than actually talking to Democrats on Capitol Hill.
He’s found time to demand that the Department of Justice give him $230 million in taxpayer money. He’s found time to bail out a right-wing wannabe dictator in Argentina with $40 billion. He’s found time to demolish the East Wing of the White House in the most horrific way possible because he wants to erect a ballroom so he can be celebrated like a king.
He’s found time for all these different things, but somehow can’t be bothered to reopen the government to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits.
https://crooksandliars.com/2025/10/hakeem-jeffries-blasts-trump-cnbc
