This past Tuesday, the Senate passed a war powers resolution that would compel Trump to end the war of choice in Iran. Today, the legislation moves to the House, where Democrats are optimistic it could pass.
Now, Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, House Minority Leader, joins Jen to discuss his confidence that the War Powers Resolution will pass the House. Additionally, the two touch on the devastating aftermath of Callais and what it means for 2026, the condemnation of Texas Democrat Maureen Galindo, and Trump’s absurd slush fund.
Hakeem Jeffries represents the Eighth Congressional District of New York and is serving his seventh term in the United States Congress. Rep. Jeffries is the Democratic Leader, having been unanimously elected to that position by his colleagues in November 2022. He is also the former Chair of the Democratic Caucus, Whip of the Congressional Black Caucus and previously co-chaired the Democratic Policy and Communications Committee where he helped develop the For The People agenda.
The following transcript has been edited for formatting purposes
Jen Rubin
Hi, this is Jen Rubin, Editor-in-Chief of the Contrarian. We are delighted to have with us the Minority House Leader, Hakeem Jeffries. Welcome, Congressman.
Leader Hakeem Jeffries
Jen, great to be back with you.
Jen Rubin
The Callais aftermath has been a mad scramble to eliminate as many members of the Black Caucus Do you have a guesstimate at this point as to how many seats the Republicans are gonna scroll back. And are there other seats that are available to Democrats in 2026, as opposed to 2028?
Leader Hakeem Jeffries
Yes, it’s a great question. The Callais decision, was an abomination, you know, this assault on the Voting Rights Act, which had been, of course, the most important piece of civil rights legislation in American history.
Where you had people literally shed their blood, sweat, and tears, give their lives, in some instances, in order to ensure that every community had the right to vote, and that the assault on the African American community in the Jim Crow South ended. And unfortunately, the Callais decision has, as you’ve indicated, reopened that very painful wound in American history, and Republicans have just rushed right into it.
Now, when we look at the actual map, right now, they have taken away a seat in Tennessee. And taken away a seat, it appears. in Louisiana, though that process remains ongoing. and potentially are looking to take away a seat in Alabama. and one in South Carolina. So, we think that the Republicans are positioning themselves in terms of this assault on Black political representation and the ability of African American communities to elect a candidate of their choice.
In 2 to 4 places, congressional districts, Across the country. The bigger damage that they’ll try to do, of course, will come in the aftermath of 2026, in advance of the 2028 election. But as you’ve indicated, in terms of their moves at this point. they’ll be able to add, potentially, a handful of additional seats. Now… We should all keep in mind that we began this Congress only 3 seats short. So Republicans had the narrowest majority of any Congress since 1930, the Great Depression. And when we flipped the House in 2018, Trump’s first midterm election, we were 24 seats down, and we won 40. And 31 of the seats that we won, out of 40, more than 75%, were in districts that Donald Trump had just won. In 2016. So, we only need to flip, at this moment, after all of their scheming. Racial gerrymandering and partisan gerrymandering will only need to flip a fraction Of what we did. In 2018, somewhere between 6 or 8 at most.
Jen Rubin
Now, just because they’ve gerrymandered doesn’t mean those seats are in the bag. And in fact, it looks like two of the House seats in Texas are very winnable for Democrats. Do you think this may be what we call a, W-gender meander? That they have, cut their own throats in some instances?
Leader Hakeem Jeffries
Absolutely, it’s a dummy mandar, and you know what’s interesting, and you locked in exactly on, probably, Exhibit A for the Trump Republican dummy mandar, which is in Texas. We responded decisively in California. Right? But Donald Trump said he deserved 5 seats in Texas. So they changed the map. Now, the problem for them is that the map in Texas was already gerrymandered. With the gerrymander on top of one that previously existed, so they didn’t have a lot of room. Now, they claim that they were gonna take 5 seats from us, but in 2 of those seats in the Rio Grande Valley, where we have incumbents, Vincente Gonzalez and Henry Cuellar, both of whom won re-election in 2024 in a tough cycle.
Those districts were only changed by the Republicans, respectively, by a point and a point and a half. So even if we were facing a 2024 election. we believed that Vincente, and Henry were going to prevail. But of course. As you’ve consistently pointed out, the electorate is very different. The Hispanic community, and those are two of the most Hispanic districts in the nation, the Rio Grande Valley seats. have walked away from Trump in big numbers, both because he’s failed on the economy and failed on immigration, unleashing the brutality using taxpayer dollars to violently target law-abiding immigrant families.
So we believe, Jen, to your point, that at most. Republicans will get 3 from Texas, and there are 2 other seats that are very competitive that we could very well win. We’re gonna get 5 out of California, so they’ll start down. and have to catch up. And some of what they’re doing in the South may help them catch up But it’ll only bring them back into… The vulnerable position that they started in.
Jen Rubin
Yes, when your president has a approval rating of 32%, you can’t gerrymander your way out of that. Let me ask you about the Texas 35th. There’s a Democratic candidate, Maureen Galindo, who has made some horrible comments, anti-Semitic comments. Unlike the Republicans, Democrats have condemned this across the board. pulled any kind of, endorsement. Do you think it’s possible that the other Democrat, Mr. Garcia, can prevail? And how pleased are you with the reaction, frankly, of Democrats who do not circle the wagons the way the Republicans do?
Leader Hakeem Jeffries
Yes, I think, her candidacy and her comments and the way in which she’s conducted herself, it’s anti-Semitic, it’s vile, it’s disgusting, it’s unpatriotic, and it’s un-American. And she’s been roundly condemned by Democrats across the ideological spectrum.
Which is exactly the right thing to do, particularly in a moment where we know that Jewish Americans across the country are facing such a rough climate in terms of the anti-Semitism, both the attacks and the hatred that has been unleashed in that people… within the Jewish community have been experiencing with increasing intensity over the last few years. And so, across the board, Democrats have done the right thing. Now, we were supporting Johnny Garcia before this, because we knew his opponent was vile. and anti-Semitic, and unworthy of anyone backing her. But there are others Who have concluded, who may have been previously supporting her, based on these comments, have said, we’re pulling our endorsement as well.
What’s ironic is that this candidate is being propped up by a Republican, shadowy super PAC — close to a million dollars to elevate her in the primary, because they know she’ll be an incredibly weak general election candidate, but… You know, this is beyond the pale, and Republicans need to do the right thing. Mike Johnson and others should call upon that Republican super PAC to stand down. Stand down.
Jen Rubin
Absolutely. Let me talk to you about, the worst act of corruption, I think, in American history. Donald Trump makes a phony baloney claim, he gets $1.77 billion, he’s gonna turn around, give that to the January 6ers. and he’s gonna get relief for everything he and his family have done in terms of tax liability. This stinks to high heaven. What can be done now, and if Republicans refuse to act, what can Democrats do after 2026?
Leader Hakeem Jeffries
Yeah, it’s a great question. This is, I mean, such an incredible act of brazen corruption. unfolding before the very eyes of the American people and such… a clear way. that, you know, Donald Trump sues himself… Then he settles with himself. And now has created a fund to pay himself. And his friends, his family members, And his allies, which include… violent insurrectionists who brutally beat police officers on January 6th. The whole thing should shock the conscience of every single American.
In terms of what needs to happen, our view is twofold. That right now, they need to pull down that fund. And Congress needs to act legislatively to prohibit it. Not a dime of taxpayer dollars should be used in connection with their so-called anti-weaponization fund. That’s what should happen, and we need just a handful of them to join us. And put that prohibition into an appropriations bill that we are now working on. At the same period of time, we’re going to continue to make it clear that every single person involved in this corrupt scheme needs to be held accountable.
Jen Rubin
Absolutely.
Leader Hakeem Jeffries
Jamie Raskin has made clear that House Judiciary Democrats will stay on this case, and Robert Garcia and House Oversight Committee Democrats are going to stay on the case as well. We tried to subpoena everyone who was involved in the creation of this slush fund, and of course, the Republicans opposed it in the Judiciary Committee. But we’re not gonna give up, we’re gonna continue to press forward, and I know Leader Schumer and Senate Democrats are doing the same thing, and the appropriations vehicle, as of this moment, is going to be available to us to wage this battle, and then when the American people give us the majorities. in November, we certainly will, at that point, have subpoena power. And legislative power to block this from happening.
Jen Rubin
Absolutely. That may be the best thing about winning the House, is having people like Jamie Raskin and Robert Garcia with the gavel and the subpoena power. Last question for you, Mr. Leader. War Powers Resolution and the reconciliation bill finally passed our hurdle in the Senate, because Bill Cassidy has rediscovered his soul after losing in the primary. What do you see happening in terms of war powers and this ridiculous reconciliation bill, which does nothing for the American people, and throws more money at ICE, throws more money at the military?
Leader Hakeem Jeffries
We’re going to advance another War Powers Resolution this week. In the House of Representatives, we’re thankful, that it passed in the Senate. We fell one vote short last week. So all we need is a single Republican to join us and do the right thing. And I’m confident, you know, that we’re on the verge of being able to do that. And… this is a reckless and costly war of choice. that Donald Trump has gotten us in. He promised not to start wars, but to stop them in the Middle East, then turned around and did the exact opposite, and as a result, gas prices are through the roof. In an environment where Donald Trump, through his tariffs and other things, had already dramatically increased costs for everyday Americans.
And so we’re gonna work hard to pass this War Powers Resolution, and I think we have a real shot at doing it this week. At the same period of time. We’re pushing back aggressively against their reckless budget, this reconciliation bill. When you look at the bill. Jen, there’s nothing in it that talks about or is designed to actually lower costs for the American people. Nothing about gas prices, nothing about housing, nothing about healthcare, nothing about utility bills, nothing about grocery. prices, it’s extraordinary, but they can find $70 billion to continue to fund Donald Trump’s violent mass deportation machine and use taxpayer dollars to brutalize and kill American citizens or violently target law-abiding immigrant families. It’s extraordinary that many of these so-called traditional Republicans are even thinking about voting for it when they know they’re gonna have to face the voters in November.
Jen Rubin
Exactly, exactly. Well, I look forward to some of the debate and some of the amendments that Democrats will be offering. Thank you, Mr. Leader, for your leadership, for everything you’re doing to combat Callais and to preserve what remains of our pluralistic democracy. And as always, thank you for making time for us. We so enjoy talking to you.
Leader Hakeem Jeffries
Always great to be on. Thank you for all that you’re doing to lift up these issues.
Jen Rubin
Take care. Bye-bye.
Leader Hakeem Jeffries
All the best.
