Hakeem Jeffries attacks Trump on living costs, Iran war
Washington: US House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries launched a broad attack on President Donald Trump, accusing his administration of driving up living costs, mishandling healthcare and dragging the United States into what he described as a “reckless and costly war of choice in Iran”.
At a Capitol Hill news conference, Jeffries said affordability would remain the central focus of House Democrats as they prepare to oppose the Republican budget reconciliation package.
“From the very beginning of this Congress, House Democrats have made clear that the cost of living in the United States of America is far too high, and that Donald Trump promised to lower costs on day one,” Jeffries said. “But costs haven’t gone down in the United States of America. Costs have gone up.”
He cited rising grocery, housing, healthcare and utility costs, arguing that “America is far too expensive” for many working families. Jeffries also blamed Trump’s tariff policies for increasing household expenses and criticised Republican healthcare policies, saying they had caused health insurance costs to rise.
“The Trump tariffs have increased costs on everyday Americans by thousands of dollars per year,” he said.
Jeffries linked higher fuel prices to the administration’s military actions in Iran.
“Donald Trump’s reckless and costly war of choice in Iran has resulted in gas prices through the roof,” he said.
The Democratic leader said House Democrats would be “a hard no” on the Republican reconciliation bill, arguing taxpayer money should be used to lower costs rather than provide what he called “another $70 billion blank check” to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Jeffries also escalated criticism of Trump’s decision to elevate Bill Pulte as Acting Director of National Intelligence. He called Pulte “a political hack, a malignant clown, and he’s woefully unqualified to serve in any position in the federal government”.
Asked whether Democrats could support extending key foreign surveillance authorities if Pulte remained in the post, Jeffries replied with a one-word answer: “No.”
Throughout the news conference, Jeffries repeatedly portrayed Republicans as failing to address voters’ concerns. He accused House Republicans of being “nothing but reckless rubber stamps for Donald Trump’s extreme agenda” and predicted they were “on the brink of losing their majority in November”.
Looking ahead, Jeffries said a future Democratic governing agenda would be centred on affordability and healthcare.
“It will be hyper focused on driving down the high cost of living, and of course fixing our broken health care system as a part of that,” he said.
Jeffries also dismissed Trump’s planned appearance at a New York Knicks game, joking that it was “not clear to me that Donald Trump is a big Knicks fan” and suggesting the president was seeking attention by “injecting himself into the NBA finals”.