Jeffries lays out war plan for Democrats to take on Trump
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House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries speaks at a press conference in Altadena, Calif., on Jan. 30. Photo: Mario Tama/Getty Images
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) on Monday unveiled a 10-part plan for House Democrats' efforts to counter many of President Trump's moves to upend the federal bureaucracy.
Why it matters: There has been rising tension between Democratic lawmakers and the party's grassroots over how the minority party, which has very little real power, can combat the new administration's most inflammatory moves.
Driving the news: In a "dear colleague" letter to House Democrats, Jeffries vowed to use a March 14 federal funding deadline as leverage to prevent Trump from freezing or diverting congressionally appropriated funds.
- "I have made clear to House Republican leadership," he wrote, that "any effort to steal taxpayer money from the American people ... must be choked off in the upcoming government funding bill, if not sooner."
- That is in direct response to a now-rescinded Office of Management and Budget memo that ordered federal grants and loans frozen, leading to widespread confusion and locking states out of the Medicaid portal.
- Jeffries also said Democrats will introduce a bill to prevent "unlawful access" to the Treasury Department's payment system after Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency reportedly obtained forced access to it over the objections of top officials.
Between the lines: With Republicans commanding a razor-thin majority in the House, Democrats believe Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) will be forced to go to them to fund the government and raise the debt ceiling.
- That would give them the opportunity to try to temper what they see as the excesses of the GOP trifecta now governing Washington, D.C.
- Some Republicans had hoped to include the debt ceiling in the massive party-line fiscal bill they are planning, but Johnson has signaled it will likely have to be passed on a bipartisan basis.
Zoom in: On top of those moves, Jeffries previewed a continuation of the public messaging campaign that Democrats credit for the rescission of the OMB memo.
- He urged members, for example, to reach out to canvass their districts for constituents affected by Trump's actions, saying he plans to hold a tele-town hall Monday night.
- He also wrote that Democrats on the House Oversight and Judiciary committees will lay out for their colleagues ongoing lawsuits to prevent some Trump acts like firing inspectors general and purging the civil service.
