Hakeem’s Hysteria: Top Dem Claims ‘People Will Literally Die’ If ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ Prevails

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) warned on Sunday that people “will literally die” if President Donald Trump’s “One Big, Beautiful Bill” passes through Congress and is enacted into law.

The alarmist statement, which the White House quickly disputed, came during an “State of the Union” interview on CNN.

“This bill actually hurts everyday Americans in order to reward billionaires,” Jeffries said. “It would strip away health care from approximately 14 million Americans. Premiums, co-pays, and deductibles for tens of millions more will go up. Actually, if it ever were to be implemented into law, hospitals will close, nursing homes will shut down, and people will literally die.”

Hakeem Jeffries says “PEOPLE WILL LITERALLY DIE” if the One Big Beautiful Bill becomes law.

Of course, everything he says is a complete lie because the bill PROTECTS health care for American citizens. pic.twitter.com/SEYYemCQbK

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) June 1, 2025

The official “Rapid Response” account on X for the White House posted a clip of the comments and issued a pointed retort.

“Hakeem Jeffries says ‘PEOPLE WILL LITERALLY DIE’ if the One Big Beautiful Bill becomes law,” the account said. “Of course, everything he says is a complete lie because the bill PROTECTS health care for American citizens.”

Much of the Democrats’ criticism of the bill, which is now in the hands of the GOP-led Senate after passing through the Republican-controlled House, centers on its proposed reforms to Medicaid.

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In a separate interview with NBC’s “Meet The Press,” House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) insisted there are “no Medicaid cuts” featured in the legislation, emphasizing that it seeks to remove illegal immigrations from the program and implement work requirements for able-bodied people.

Speaker Mike Johnson: “We’re not cutting Medicaid. What we’re doing is strengthening the program. We’re reducing fraud, waste, and abuse that is rampant in Medicaid to ensure … that it’s available for the most vulnerable.” pic.twitter.com/GnGnfggzEC

— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) June 1, 2025

“We’re not cutting Medicaid. What we’re doing is strengthening the program,” Johnson said. “We’re reducing fraud, waste, and abuse that is rampant in Medicaid” and “ensure[ing] that it’s available for the most vulnerable. It’s intended for young, you know, single, pregnant women and the disabled and the elderly.”

Also in his interview, Jeffries was confronted with new CNN polling that found only 19% of Americans say the Democrats can get things done — a lower number than the 36% for Republicans — and only 16% say his party has strong leaders.

.@RepJeffries responds to a CNN poll showing just 16% of Americans think the Democratic Party has strong leaders:

JEFFRIES: “There’s real frustration amongst the American people. They should be frustrated. Housing costs are too high. Child care costs –”

BASH: “But they’re… pic.twitter.com/QjYQZMJcea

— State of the Union (@CNNSOTU) June 1, 2025

“Yeah, we don’t have the presidency right now, so that’s always going to be challenging a few months after a presidential election,” Jeffries said, adding later, “Understandably, there’s real frustration amongst the American people. They should be frustrated. Housing costs are too high. Child care costs…”

CNN anchor Dana Bush interjected, “But they’re frustrated with you as well, with Democrats as well,” to which Jeffries replied, “Of course. They’re frustrated with the system.”