Jeffries on if He Aligns with Garcia on 'LAWYER UP': 'Yeah,' 'Working Closely' with That Committee

On Friday’s broadcast of NPR’s “Morning Edition,” House Democratic Leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) responded to a question on whether he aligns with Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA) on accountability after Garcia’s “LAWYER UP” tweet by saying, “Yeah, well, we’ve repeatedly made clear over the last two years that we’ve got to relentlessly make life more affordable for the American people, while at the same period of time, visit[ing] accountability” and “we’re working closely, of course, with Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee and Democrats on the Oversight Committee, who will lead our accountability efforts, along with all of the relevant committees” in Congress.

Co-host Leila Fadel asked, [relevant exchange begins around 4:20] “You said yesterday that Americans don’t want Democrats to get even, they want you to get things done on their behalf, specifically around affordability. Now, Rep. Robert Garcia, the incoming Oversight Committee Chair, struck a very different tone. He posted online, ‘LAWYER UP’, and laid out a plan that included investigating the Trump family for possible crimes in the next Congress. Are you on the same page when it comes to accountability?”

Jeffries responded, “Yeah, well, we’ve repeatedly made clear over the last two years that we’ve got to relentlessly make life more affordable for the American people, while at the same period of time, visit[ing] accountability on those who have been engaged in lawbreaking, norm-breaking, and unleashing unprecedented corruption on the American people. And so, it’s my expectation — and we’re working closely, of course, with Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee and Democrats on the Oversight Committee, who will lead our accountability efforts, along with all of the relevant committees across the Congress, because the levels of corruption have been unprecedented — and we’ve made clear to the American people, that, if you have folks out there who have been stealing from the American people, shortchanging the American people, or screwing over the American people, we’re going to hold the crooks accountable. We’re going to function like a separate and co-equal branch of government, as opposed to, unfortunately, what my Republican colleagues have done, [which] is to bury their heads in the sand and be nothing more than a reckless rubber stamp for Donald Trump’s extreme agenda. So, we’ve got to follow the facts, we’ve got to apply the law, we’ve got to be guided by the Constitution, and we have to deliver a government of the people, by the people, and for the people.”

Jeffries said there will be talks in the caucus about impeaching Secretary Pete Hegseth.

Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett