House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) on Sunday said President Donald Trump has failed to fulfill one of the main campaign promises he ran on.
In an interview with ABC’s “This Week,” Jeffries said Trump and the Republican Party have failed to bring down the cost of living — an issue that ranked as one of the main concerns on voters’ minds as they headed to the ballot box in November.
“They’ve done the exact opposite,” Jeffries said of Republicans. “They’ve shown no interest in lowering costs in the United States of America, which are too high. Housing costs are too high. Grocery costs are too high. Childcare costs are too high. Utility costs are too high.”
Despite Trump’s promise to “make America affordable again” during the campaign, a report released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics last week showed the cost of groceries, gas, and used cars has been rising — with the price of eggs showing a dramatic increase of 15% from one year ago.
Meanwhile, Jeffries accused Republicans of now trying “to jam the GOP tax scam down the throats of people all across this country, all in service of massive tax cuts for their billionaire donors and wealthy corporations,” vowing that Democrats will fight back.
“It’s a toxic bait and switch that is underway,” he added.
During the interview, ABC’s Jonathan Karl pointed the Democratic leader to a statement by Rep. Don Beyer, in which the Virginia Democrat said the party is still looking for “that national spokesperson,” adding that Jeffries would be in a strong position to assume the role, even though he hasn’t done so thus far.
“Are you effectively the leader of the Democratic Party nationally right now?” Karl asked.
Jeffries didn’t offer a direct answer, but said the party is determined to come together to challenge the policies of the Trump administration.
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“It’s my honor to be House Democratic leader, and we’re going to continue to work together in an all-hands-on-deck effort to push back against the far-right extremism that is being unleashed on this country with record velocity,” Jeffries said. “We’ve got to fight in the courts, push back in the Congress, and continue to push back in the community.”