Geoff Bennett:
Late this afternoon, the U.S. House passed a $70 billion spending bill that will fund immigration and border enforcement agencies. The package passed in the Senate last week and now heads to the president’s desk.
Attention in Congress now turns to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, better known as FISA, and a key provision that is set to expire on Friday. Democrats are united in their opposition of its reauthorization, citing, among other reasons, President Trump’s selection of Bill Pulte to temporarily lead U.S. intelligence efforts.
I spoke earlier with House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries about that upcoming vote and the Democratic agenda moving forward.
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, welcome back to the “News Hour.”
Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY):
Great to be with you.
Geoff Bennett:
You have said that you will not support renewing the country’s warrantless spy powers, Section 702, so long as Bill Pulte remains as acting director of national intelligence. Why make his appointment a red line?
Rep. Hakeem Jeffries:
Bill Pulte is deeply unqualified to serve as acting director of national intelligence and is deeply dangerous.
He’s got no national security experience, no military experience, and no law enforcement experience. In fact, the statute explicitly requires that any person occupying this position of great sensitivity have national security experience in their professional background.
Bill Pulte has zero of that. He’s also someone who has clearly demonstrated a willingness to weaponize the federal government against Donald Trump’s perceived adversaries. And so under no circumstances should we trust the privacy, interests, or national security interests of the American people with Bill Pulte on top of Donald Trump and Kash Patel.
Geoff Bennett:
Is this fundamentally a fight about a single personnel decision or is this a broader statement about Democrats not trusting this administration to responsibly use surveillance authority?
Rep. Hakeem Jeffries:
Democrats definitively do not trust this administration to responsibly use surveillance authority, which is the reason why, from a policy perspective, we need increased protections related to both privacy and the civil liberties of the American people.
There were already sensitive negotiations that were ongoing. And then Donald Trump chose to elevate this partisan political hack, Bill Pulte, into this position of great sensitivity, effectively tossing a hand grenade in the midst of these negotiations as we approach the deadline to potentially renew surveillance authority.
Donald Trump needs to withdraw his decision to elevate Bill Pulte That’s a starting point, not an ending point. And then we can see if we can responsibly get to a place where there are enough reforms built into the law to provide guardrails and protect the American people.
Geoff Bennett:
If the administration replaced Mr. Pulte tomorrow, what reforms would Democrats want to see in the surveillance authority?
Rep. Hakeem Jeffries:
Well, there have been ongoing discussions about the need for either a warrant requirement or a warrant-like requirement related to judicial oversight and approval, so that it’s not simply individuals within the Trump administration making decisions that could result in the targeting of American citizens.
It’s definitively the case that responsible national security professionals, including nonpartisan individuals at the FBI, have been able to utilize FISA authority in order to responsibly look after the national security interests of the American people.
But we have repeatedly seen from the Trump administration the abuse of its authority and power, and that’s why we’re concerned. And, by the way, there are many Republicans within the House of Representatives who are also concerned about government overreach as it relates to surveillance authority.
And so this, in our view, is a bipartisan issue that needs a decisive resolution.
Geoff Bennett:
A bipartisan issue, I hear you say. The Senate majority leader, John Thune, called Democratic opposition terribly irresponsible.
What’s your response to those Republicans who say that Democrats are using this critical intelligence program as leverage in a political fight?
Rep. Hakeem Jeffries:
The elevation of Bill Pulte is terribly irresponsible.
Geoff Bennett:
Democrats have spent much of the past several months defining themselves by what they’re against, President Trump, his priorities, his appointments.
If voters hand you the majority come November and you become speaker, what are Democrats actually for? What’s the governing agenda as you see it?
Rep. Hakeem Jeffries:
We’re focused on driving down the high cost of living in the United States of America, because we believe this country is far too expensive.
There are millions of people who are working hard, they’re playing by the rules, but they are struggling to live paycheck to paycheck. They can’t thrive and they can barely survive. That should not be the case in the wealthiest country in the history of the world.
So we need to drive down housing costs, drive down the cost of groceries, drive down the cost of utilities, drive down the cost of health insurance, and drive down the cost of childcare to begin with, so that we can actually create meaningful opportunity for working-class individuals, middle-class individuals, and all those folks who aspire to be part of the middle class.
Geoff Bennett:
Are these issues on which you think you could work with the White House?
Rep. Hakeem Jeffries:
These are issues where we’re open to work with anyone who in good faith actually wants to improve the quality of life of the American people.
The problem that we face is that Donald Trump lied to the American people. He said that costs were going to go down on day one. But here in this country, costs haven’t gone down.
Costs have gone up as a direct result of policies that Donald Trump and Republicans have put into place, including, but not limited to the Trump tariffs, which have increased costs on everyday Americans by thousands of dollars per year, and now this reckless and costly war of choice in the Middle East, which has resulted in gas prices skyrocketing through the roof, further burdening the ability of everyday Americans to live an affordable life.
Geoff Bennett:
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, thanks again for your time this evening.
Rep. Hakeem Jeffries:
Thank you.
Geoff Bennett:
Tomorrow on the “News Hour,” we will speak with Republican Congressman Michael McCaul of Texas.
