Discover video-sourced quotes by politicians

Hakeem Jeffries: “This is the most unqualified Secretary of defense in…”

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

Leader Jeffries on CNN's The Situation Room

Published December 3, 2025 | Video Starts at 00:47

That's what the American people deserve. Why do you call him so called Defense Secretary? This is the most unqualified Secretary of defense in American history. I called for him to be terminated several months ago in the aftermath of the Signal Gate scandal. And there's still some additional information and I think will be revealed to the American people as to why that was so problematic. (00:47–00:54)

CLAIM

Asserts that the current Secretary of Defense is the most unqualified in U.S. history.

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.

Discover more from

Hakeem Jeffries

“They [Republicans] enacted the largest cut to Medicaid in American history.”
Leader Jeffries on CNN's The Situation Room | Uploaded December 3, 2025 | 02:20-08:29
“They're [Republicans] attacking the Centers for Disease Control, the National Institute of Health, making vaccines unavailable.”
Leader Jeffries on CNN's The Situation Room | Uploaded December 3, 2025 | 04:22-08:46
“In some cases, actually deporting citizen children of the United States of America.”
Leader Jeffries on CNN's The Situation Room | Uploaded December 3, 2025 | 05:56-06:03
“More than 14 million people are about to lose their health insurance as a result of what Republicans did in their one big ugly bill.”
Leader Jeffries on CNN's The Situation Room | Uploaded December 3, 2025 | 08:29-08:37
“It's not clear to me that the so called Secretary of Defense is being truthful in this instance.”
Leader Jeffries on CNN's The Situation Room | Uploaded December 3, 2025 | 00:26-00:32
“I called for him to be terminated several months ago in the aftermath of the Signal Gate scandal.”
Leader Jeffries on CNN's The Situation Room | Uploaded December 3, 2025 | 00:53-01:00
“There's reason to believe that war crimes may have been committed.”
Leader Jeffries on CNN's The Situation Room | Uploaded December 3, 2025 | 01:18-01:22
“A potential extrajudicial killing off the coast of Venezuela.”
Leader Jeffries on CNN's The Situation Room | Uploaded December 3, 2025 | 01:41-01:47
“The reality is this indictment was very thin to begin with.”
Leader Jeffries on CNN's The Situation Room | Uploaded December 3, 2025 | 02:14-02:20
“The charges were eventually going to be dismissed, if not at the trial court level by the Supreme Court.”
Leader Jeffries on CNN's The Situation Room | Uploaded December 3, 2025 | 02:20-02:25
“Costs aren't going down, they're going up. Housing costs out of control. Grocery costs out of control. Electricity prices out of control.”
Leader Jeffries on CNN's The Situation Room | Uploaded December 3, 2025 | 04:21-04:29
“Republicans refuse to extend the Affordable Care act tax credits.”
Leader Jeffries on CNN's The Situation Room | Uploaded December 3, 2025 | 04:28-04:33
“Tens of millions of people are about to experience dramatically increased health care costs.”
Leader Jeffries on CNN's The Situation Room | Uploaded December 3, 2025 | 04:32-04:39
“The American people strongly disagree with the approach that Donald Trump has taken in terms of interior enforcement and immigration.”
Leader Jeffries on CNN's The Situation Room | Uploaded December 3, 2025 | 05:38-05:47
“They're not going after violent felons. They're breaking up families.”
Leader Jeffries on CNN's The Situation Room | Uploaded December 3, 2025 | 05:50-05:55
“Donald Trump's approval rating on immigration was underwater by 25 points.”
Leader Jeffries on CNN's The Situation Room | Uploaded December 3, 2025 | 06:07-06:14
“Hospitals, nursing homes, community based health centers are closing throughout the country.”
Leader Jeffries on CNN's The Situation Room | Uploaded December 3, 2025 | 08:36-08:41
“We have a discharge petition that has the support of all 214 members of the House Democratic Caucus.”
Leader Jeffries on CNN's The Situation Room | Uploaded December 3, 2025 | 08:55-09:02
“The states that will be most impacted if the Affordable Care act tax credits expire are Republican run states.”
Leader Jeffries on CNN's The Situation Room | Uploaded December 3, 2025 | 10:12-10:20
“We're talking about West Virginia, Wyoming, Alaska, Mississippi, Tennessee, South Carolina, Alabama, Texas, North Dakota and South Dakota.”
Leader Jeffries on CNN's The Situation Room | Uploaded December 3, 2025 | 10:19-10:28