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Hakeem Jeffries: “Donald Trump was going to rip away 12 to 15 seats from us…”

Featuring: Hakeem Jeffries, Democratic | U.S. House New York, 8th Congressional District

Leader Jeffries Press Conference

Published April 17, 2026 | Video Starts at 15:11

There were a lot of skeptics and cynics in this town when Donald Trump first announced this extraordinary mid decade gerrymandering effort that Democrats were cooked, finished, that Donald Trump was going to rip away 12 to 15 seats from us and there was nothing that we could do about it. Look at us now on behalf of the American people. And as we maintain from the very beginning, we were not going to let Donald Trump steal this midterm election. (15:11–15:19)

CLAIM

Asserts that Donald Trump intended to take 12 to 15 seats from Democrats.

This is an excerpt from a raw transcript. The assertions have not been audited or verified. Tap the video to view the source footage and understand the context.

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Hakeem Jeffries

“House Republicans enacted the largest cut to Medicaid in American history, ripping health care away from 14 million Americans.”
Leader Jeffries Press Conference | Uploaded April 17, 2026 | 03:30-03:51
“Republicans ripped food assistance away from hungry children, seniors and veterans with the largest cut to SNAP $186 billion in American…”
Leader Jeffries Press Conference | Uploaded April 17, 2026 | 04:11-04:26
“We are now in the midst of an ongoing war of choice in the Middle East that is reckless and costly, where billions of dollars are being…”
Leader Jeffries Press Conference | Uploaded April 17, 2026 | 04:43-04:57
“Gas prices [have increased] to more than $4 a gallon as a national average.”
Leader Jeffries Press Conference | Uploaded April 17, 2026 | 05:22-19:42
“No intelligence to suggest that Iran presented an imminent threat.”
Leader Jeffries Press Conference | Uploaded April 17, 2026 | 10:36-10:50
“Hospitals, nursing homes and community based clinics are closing all across the country, particularly in rural America, as a direct result…”
Leader Jeffries Press Conference | Uploaded April 17, 2026 | 03:53-04:08
“Donald Trump continues to maintain [the affordability crisis] is a hoax.”
Leader Jeffries Press Conference | Uploaded April 17, 2026 | 05:10-05:14
“As a direct result of the costly and reckless Republican war of choice, gas prices have skyrocketed.”
Leader Jeffries Press Conference | Uploaded April 17, 2026 | 05:16-05:26
“Donald Trump and Republicans have failed. In fact, it was Donald Trump that said he was going to lower costs on day one.”
Leader Jeffries Press Conference | Uploaded April 17, 2026 | 05:37-24:04
“No strategy put forward by the administration, no clear set of goals, no exit strategy, and now no public support to continue this conflict.”
Leader Jeffries Press Conference | Uploaded April 17, 2026 | 10:36-10:50
“Republicans in the House continue to serve as nothing more than a reckless rubber stamp for Donald Trump's extreme agenda.”
Leader Jeffries Press Conference | Uploaded April 17, 2026 | 10:50-11:02
“Mike Johnson and I had a direct conversation about FISA a few days ago.”
Leader Jeffries Press Conference | Uploaded April 17, 2026 | 11:34-11:40
“Jim Himes is in communication with his Republican counterparts.”
Leader Jeffries Press Conference | Uploaded April 17, 2026 | 11:44-11:49
“Jim Himes, who, of course, is skeptical about this administration and their willingness to abuse authority and power and the law.”
Leader Jeffries Press Conference | Uploaded April 17, 2026 | 11:54-12:08
“I am deeply skeptical of a straightforward extension for a wide variety of reasons, including the fact that you can't trust Donald Trump.”
Leader Jeffries Press Conference | Uploaded April 17, 2026 | 12:43-12:55
“There's a lot of momentum behind the effort to ensure that there's a yes vote to stop the MAGA power grab.”
Leader Jeffries Press Conference | Uploaded April 17, 2026 | 14:48-14:56
“The American people are the only ones who should decide who serves in the majority in the next Congress.”
Leader Jeffries Press Conference | Uploaded April 17, 2026 | 15:33-15:42
“Republicans gerrymandered those congressional maps and just jam them down the throats of the people they purport to represent.”
Leader Jeffries Press Conference | Uploaded April 17, 2026 | 17:28-17:39
“Democrats have taken a different approach [to redistricting].”
Leader Jeffries Press Conference | Uploaded April 17, 2026 | 17:38-17:41
“Billions of dollars are being spent to drop bombs in the Middle East and put American lives in jeopardy.”
Leader Jeffries Press Conference | Uploaded April 17, 2026 | 19:08-19:17
“Republicans have made life more expensive through their toxic policies.”
Leader Jeffries Press Conference | Uploaded April 17, 2026 | 19:24-19:30
“The Trump tariffs or the refusal to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits [have made life more expensive].”
Leader Jeffries Press Conference | Uploaded April 17, 2026 | 19:29-19:34
“The extension as it relates to the temporary protected status for the Haitian migrants...was the right thing to do and it was bipartisan in…”
Leader Jeffries Press Conference | Uploaded April 17, 2026 | 20:25-20:55
“We're going to focus on cost. We're going to focus on care. We're going to focus on combating corruption.”
Leader Jeffries Press Conference | Uploaded April 17, 2026 | 23:44-23:50
“We believe we have to drive down the high cost of living in the United States of America.”
Leader Jeffries Press Conference | Uploaded April 17, 2026 | 23:50-23:55
“Costs haven't gone down in America. Costs have gone up as a direct result of what Republicans have done.”
Leader Jeffries Press Conference | Uploaded April 17, 2026 | 24:03-24:11
“Gas prices out of control. Housing costs out of control. Health insurance premiums out of control. Childcare costs out of control. Utility…”
Leader Jeffries Press Conference | Uploaded April 17, 2026 | 24:10-24:21
“The economy is a mess right now because of Donald Trump and Republicans.”
Leader Jeffries Press Conference | Uploaded April 17, 2026 | 24:21-24:27
“We have to fix our broken health care system because we believe in this great country of ours that healthcare that is affordable and…”
Leader Jeffries Press Conference | Uploaded April 17, 2026 | 24:37-24:56
“We also will continue to talk about the need to combat corruption, starting with a stock trading ban for sitting members of Congress.”
Leader Jeffries Press Conference | Uploaded April 17, 2026 | 25:09-25:23
“We have an organized crime boss member masquerading as the president of the United States of America who's administered the largest pay to…”
Leader Jeffries Press Conference | Uploaded April 17, 2026 | 25:46-26:02