House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said he does not support the Democratic Socialists of America’s policy platform and that those ideas will not be part of his caucus’ agenda if they take control of the House.
“I do not support defunding the police. I do not support open borders. I do support abolishing the Senate,” the New York Democrat said Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
“We’re focused on actually solving problems that hardworking American taxpayers want us to solve, which is the lower the high cost of living in a situation where life is far too expensive in this country,” Mr. Jeffries said. “That’s the Democratic agenda. That’s what House Democrats are fighting to achieve.”
Mr. Jeffries said he would welcome DSA-backed candidates into the caucus if they win their elections in November, saying, “It’s going to be a broad caucus.”
The Democratic leader was asked about several left-wing policy positions, such as abolishing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and moving to a “Medicare for All” universal healthcare system. He declined to embrace them.
“I haven’t co-sponsored the Medicare for All legislation that has been introduced over the last several years,” Mr. Jeffries said. “I do think we need to figure out how to fix our broken healthcare system and then build something better once we repair the damage that has been done.”
He said House Democrats’ agenda would include policy ideas such as renewing the more expansive Affordable Care Act tax credits that lapsed at the start of the year, which resulted in skyrocketing premiums for more than 20 million people.
Mr. Jeffries also declined to embrace calls to fully abolish ICE, saying instead that Democrats are “committed to dramatically reforming ICE.”
“The masks should come off. Body cameras should come on,” he said. “Judicial warrants should be required before ICE can storm into the homes of the American people, rip them out of their bed in the dead of night, and try to detain them without justification.”
Mr. Jeffries left the door open to adding more justices to the Supreme Court, saying he supports “dramatic reform” of the court and that Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee will take the lead on what that looks like.
He said it should start with an ethical code of conduct that Supreme Court justices must follow.
“We’ve seen right-wing justices like [Clarence] Thomas and [Samuel A.] Alito [Jr.] engage in behavior that is ethically questionable at best,” Mr. Jeffries said. “That has to change, because the American people should have confidence in the highest court in the land.”
Rep. Ro Khanna, California Democrat, appeared on “Meet the Press” after Mr. Jeffries and advocated for some of the left-wing policies his leader shied away from.
“Medicare for all is arguably the most important priority,” Mr. Khanna said. “It would save money, and it would save lives. Look, there was just a Yale study that came out. It would save $1 trillion in terms of cost, in terms of healthcare.”
Mr. Khanna said he respects Mr. Jeffries’ difference in opinion but believes Medicare for All should at least get a vote on the House floor because the majority of House Democrats support it.
He said he has never advocated for defunding the police or open borders but supports abolishing ICE.
