Hakeem Jeffries says Dems haven't 'ruled anything out’ amid Trump impeachment calls: Full interview

[0:00] And joining me now is House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York. [0:04] Leader Jeffries, welcome back to Meet the Press. [0:09] Good morning. Great to be with you. [0:10] It's great to have you back. I want to start right there on Iran with President Trump saying [0:16] a memorandum of understanding could be signed as early as today, which based on all of the public [0:22] information based on what he has posted, would reopen the Strait of Hormuz, set a timeline [0:28] for dismantling Iran's nuclear program. What, based on what you know so far, Leader Jeffries, [0:35] do you support this memorandum of understanding? [0:41] Well, we'd have to take a look at what the ultimate resolution is. If there is one, [0:45] Donald Trump has now said 38 or 39 different times during the course of this war that it was about [0:52] to come to an end and an agreement was about to be reached, and that has never happened. [0:56] In fact, Donald Trump told us that Iran's nuclear program had been completely and totally decimated. [1:04] He said that last year. It was not true. Donald Trump told us that the Iranian regime [1:09] was on the brink of collapse in the aftermath of the Ayatollah being killed. That, of course, [1:15] has not happened. And so at this point in time, all we can conclude is that this reckless and costly [1:23] war of choice has been a disaster as it relates to strengthening the national security of the [1:31] American people. Things aren't better for us. They're worse. In fact, Iran is stronger right now. [1:37] What we have seen is gas prices skyrocket through the roof, and that has had an adverse impact on [1:43] hardworking American taxpayers. Leader Jeffries, though, if President Trump is able to strike a [1:50] deal with Iran that ultimately leads to Iran getting rid of its nuclear enrichment program, [1:57] will it have been worth it? And would you support that? We actually had an agreement that was [2:07] executed and led by President Barack Obama to constrain Iran's nuclear program. It was Donald [2:14] Trump who made the decision to actually rip that agreement up because apparently he suffers from [2:20] Obama derangement syndrome. That agreement that had been reached by President Obama actually [2:26] resulted in Great Britain, France, Germany, South Korea, India, Japan, and thanks to the leadership [2:35] from President Obama and his administration. China and Russia all engage with Iran to limit their [2:42] nuclear aspirations. Donald Trump then enters us into this reckless and costly war of choice. [2:49] And the question that the American people are understandably asking is how has this in any way [2:54] made things better? Gas prices are through the roof. Iran is stronger now, not weaker, and the American [3:04] people are less safe. The Iran nuclear deal that was structuring the Obama administration was not signed [3:11] into law by Congress. Should it have been, and should any new deal be signed into law by Congress? [3:18] Well, there was a process by which Congress could either accept or reject the agreement, [3:24] government. And I, of course, along with the overwhelming majority of Democrats in the House [3:29] and the Senate, supported the Iranian nuclear agreement, and it clearly was the right decision [3:34] at the time. And what we've seen is that Donald Trump promised not to start wars in the Middle East, [3:42] but to stop them. But he's turned around and done the exact opposite, as opposed to actually focusing [3:48] on the problems that the American people need to see resolved, which is driving down the high cost [3:53] of living. The economy is broken. The American people know it. And as Democrats, we're committed [3:59] to actually doing something about it. All right. Well, let's look ahead to the midterms. We are, [4:05] of course, in the middle of the primary season. You just heard my conversation with Steve Kornacki, [4:09] which shows Democrats have a five-point lead on the generic congressional ballot. Early voting has, [4:16] of course, already started in New York. Democrats failed to win the House majority back in 2024 by [4:23] running largely campaigns against President Trump. Do you believe that candidates should replicate that [4:30] same strategy in this election cycle? Well, actually, House Democrats fell just three seats [4:38] short of taking back the majority in 2024, outrunning the national political environment. [4:45] When Donald Trump won in 2016, he lost the popular vote, but he came to Congress with 241 [4:52] Republicans and only 194 Democrats. Of course, in Donald Trump's first midterm election, we flipped 40 [4:59] seats. This time around, because of our overperformance in 2024, with candidates who were focused [5:06] on the economy, we only need to flip a handful of seats, and we will, with a focus on driving down [5:14] the high cost of living, fixing our broken health care system, getting ice under control, [5:19] ending this reckless and costly war of choice in the Middle East, and cleaning up corruption. [5:24] Fundamentally, we believe that America is far too expensive. The cost of living is way too high. [5:30] There are far too many people who are working hard, they're playing by the rules, but they can't thrive [5:36] and can barely survive. That's an unacceptable situation in America, the wealthiest country in [5:42] the history of the world. And we're going to focus like a laser beam on actually making life better [5:48] for working class Americans, everyday Americans, middle class Americans, and all those who aspire to be [5:54] part of the middle class. Leader Jeffries, I do want to ask you, if Democrats do in fact take back [6:00] the House, I want to get an understanding of what your top priorities would be. Representative Alexandria [6:06] Ocasio-Cortez, your colleague, said this back in April, quote, President Trump has launched a massive [6:11] war of enormous risk and of catastrophic consequence without reason, rationale, or congressional [6:18] authorization, which is as clear a violation of the Constitution as any. All of these [6:23] incidents and plenty more have clearly driven our country past the threshold for impeachment. [6:30] Do you agree if Democrats take back the House, will you move to impeach President Trump? [6:35] We haven't ruled anything in or ruled anything out in terms of accountability. What we have said [6:41] is that our focus is going to be to make life more affordable for the American people. We have to [6:49] drive down the high cost of living. We have to restore the American dream, which a lot of people [6:54] understandably have concluded is broken right now. When you work hard and play by the rules in this [7:00] country, we believe that you should live an affordable life, a comfortable life, and a good [7:05] life. That means a good paying job, good housing, good health care, a good education for your children, [7:11] and when it's all said and done, a good retirement. That's what brings Democrats together in the House, [7:17] in the Senate, governors all across the country, and that's what we'll focus on when the American [7:23] people give us an opportunity to govern on their behalf in the majority. [7:27] All right, I want to ask you the big news this week. Out of the Senate, Graham Plattner winning [7:33] his primary in Maine. Of course, he has faced allegations of being physically threatening to [7:39] ex-girlfriends, which he denies, among other controversies which have followed him. [7:43] Here's a campaign ad being run by Senate Republicans. Take a look. [7:49] Susan Collins doesn't have a Nazi tattoo, and she doesn't have an account on a notorious [7:54] Predators Paradise app. Graham Plattner did for years, and this was his profile picture. [8:01] Oh, gosh, please, please, get that off the screen. Anyway, Susan Collins, a senator we can be proud of. [8:08] Does Graham Plattner have the character to be a U.S. senator, Leader Jeffries? [8:13] Well, first of all, I thought you were going to say the big news of the week is the Knicks winning [8:20] the NBA championship for the first time in 53 years. I appreciate that. In terms of the Maine [8:28] Senate race, listen, the voters of Maine are ultimately going to be the ones to decide [8:32] what's in the best interest of the people of Maine. At this period of time, I'm just focused on [8:38] making sure we take back control of the House of Representatives. So we actually have a Congress [8:44] that is a check and balance on an out-of-control executive branch consistent with who we were [8:49] meant to be, according to the framers of the Constitution, as opposed to what we've seen House [8:54] Republicans do, which is to serve as nothing more than a reckless rubber stamp for Donald Trump's [9:00] extreme agenda. [9:00] Let me ask you, though, Leader Jeffries, because under Maine's election laws, Democrats still [9:05] have enough time to replace Graham Plattner. Given all of the controversies that he has faced, [9:10] do you think they should replace Graham Plattner or stick with him? [9:16] Well, the voters of Maine elevated him in the primary, and ultimately, [9:19] senators are going to have to make that collective decision, I assume, in terms of what happens. [9:25] And again, I think I have a responsibility. We have a hard enough job pushing back against [9:30] Donald Trump's extremism and the sycophantic behavior of my Republican colleagues in the [9:35] House. We need to focus on that job, and we need to make sure we're doing everything possible [9:39] to win back control of the United States House of Representatives in November. [9:43] All right. Now let's talk about the Knicks. Congratulations. They won for the first time, [9:49] their first title in 53 years last night. Mayor Mamdani is planning a ticker tape parade. [9:56] Are you planning to be there, Leader Jeffries? I certainly hope to be there, trying to work [10:03] out some logistical things in terms of previously committed travel. But it's an ongoing celebration [10:10] for New York City fans. Basketball is a city game. The Knicks are the city team. It's a team [10:17] that showed a lot of heart and soul and grit, the resilience of New York City, shown through [10:24] in terms of how this team launched this incredible playoff run. And we're all thankful that it ended [10:30] in the championship. All right. Well, congrats to the Knicks [10:33] and Knicks Nation. Leader Jeffries, thanks so much for being here. We appreciate it. [10:36] We thank you for watching. And remember, stay updated on breaking news and top stories on the NBC News app [10:42] or watch live on our YouTube channel.