Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, the Democrat Party’s leader in the House of Representatives, protested on Sunday that he wants to avoid being “disagreeable” with the GOP, but on the same show accused the GOP of an “extreme MAGA Republican agenda.”
Jeffries, the House minority leader, appeared on NBC News’ “Meet The Press” with host Chuck Todd. Todd opined that former Democrat House Speaker Nancy Pelosi “did not have a great relationship with Kevin McCarthy,” adding, “What’s yours?”
“Kevin McCarthy and I have had some positive, forward-looking conversations over the last few weeks,” Jeffries began, before adding, “Clearly, we are going to have strong disagreements at times. But we can agree to disagree without being disagreeable. That is what I believe the American people would like to see in terms of a functional House, a functional Senate, a functional government.”
But the call for comity only came after Jeffries referred to Republicans’ “extreme MAGA agenda,” a characterization that suggested he does not plan to find common ground with the GOP.
“Our general concern is that the dysfunction that was historic that we saw this week is not at an end, it’s just the beginning,” Jeffries told Todd. “And while the Congress was held captive this particular time, what is going to be a problem is if the American people will be held captive over the next two years to the extreme MAGA Republican agenda that apparently has been negotiated into the House rules and the functioning of the Congress.”
“That’s going to undermine the health, the safety, and the well-being of the American people, he declared. “It may undermine national security and a robust defense, and undermine our ability to actually advance an agenda that is anchored in kitchen table, pocketbook issues and not extremism.”
Jeffries’ leftist rhetoric over the years has included saying of Kyle Rittenhouse, “Lock up Kyle Rittenhouse and throw away the key,” prompting Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-TX) to reply, “If this isn’t proof that the Democrat Party has largely departed from American principles of neutrally applied justice and the right of self-defense, then I don’t know what is.”
In July 2021, Jeffries, who was named one of seven impeachment managers by Pelosi in the Senate impeachment trial of former President Trump, ripped Republicans for their efforts to restore election integrity across the nation while branding them as racists, tweeting, “The Civil War ended in 1865 and the racists lost. Get over it.”
Crenshaw fired back on Twitter with a blunt reminder of exactly which party had the history of racism, snapping, “You’re right, the Democrats lost.”
In February 2022, Jeffries attacked the legitimacy of the conservative members of the Supreme Court.
“Supreme Court majority has zero legitimacy,” he tweeted. “Ghosts of the confederacy are alive and well.”
Related: Dems Elect Hard-Left Rep. Hakeem Jeffries To Succeed Pelosi As House Leader