LEADER JEFFRIES: “WE ARE GOING TO CONTINUE TO FOCUS ON SOLVING PROBLEMS FOR HARDWORKING AMERICAN TAXPAYERS”

NEW YORK, NY - Today, Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries appeared on ABC's Good Morning America with George Stephanopoulos where he emphasized that while extreme MAGA Republicans continue to attack our democracy and our freedoms, House Democrats and the Biden-Harris administration will continue to put people over politics and deliver for hardworking American taxpayers.

George Stephanopoulos: I'm here with the Democratic Leader of the House, Hakeem Jeffries. He will become Speaker if the Democrats do take control of the chamber. Welcome to the show this morning. It takes four seats for the Democrats to do it. Are you confident it's going to happen?

Leader Jeffries: Good morning, George. Good morning, America. We are working incredibly hard to run through the finish line to make sure that our views and our vision for the American people are clearly articulated. We will always put people over politics. We're going to fight hard, working with a President Kamala Harris to lower costs, to grow the middle class, to make sure we continue to bring back good-paying American jobs. And, of course, we will always defend a woman's freedom to make her own reproductive health care decisions. We're on the right side of those issues, but we put it into the hands of the American people.

George Stephanopoulos: Current Speaker Mike Johnson is also hitting the trail hard. He's promising that Republicans are going to bring the federal government to heel if they take control of the Congress and the White House. What is the impact if the Republicans maintain control?

Leader Jeffries: The extreme MAGA Republicans have clearly and unequivocally articulated what they will do to America moving forward. The extreme MAGA Republicans will take a blowtorch to Social Security. They will take a blowtorch to Medicare. They will take a blowtorch to the Affordable Care Act. House Democrats will take a blowtorch to Project 2025, and we will put the American people first. We will build an economy that works for everyday Americans, that helps people who are struggling to live paycheck to paycheck, not just get by, but get ahead.

George Stephanopoulos: What's your biggest concern in this final 36 hours?

Leader Jeffries: Well, these races are close, all across the board. Vice President Harris is closing strong. She's closing with a positive vision. She is going to bring people together. The other side is trying to tear us apart. But the races are close in the House, the Senate and the presidency. But based on what has happened and you think about the closing week that the other side has had from the hate-fest at Madison Square Garden to threatening to repeal and displaced millions of people from the Affordable Care Act, as well as the violent and the vile and the vicious rhetoric, doesn't seem to me that that's a strong closing argument. We are going to continue to focus on solving problems for hardworking American taxpayers.

George Stephanopoulos: Former President Trump also appears to be laying the groundwork for contesting the election again if he loses. Your predecessor, Speaker Pelosi, made it clear yesterday that she thinks you need to be the Speaker because she's concerned about what Speaker Johnson would do if he has the gavel on January 6. Do you share that concern? What could he do?

Leader Jeffries: The majority of current House Republicans voted not to certify the election in 2020. And so it's certainly a challenge. And my colleagues on the other side of the aisle don't seem to be capable of unequivocally saying that they will certify the election and the verdict that is rendered by the American people. As House Democrats, that's what we will do. We believe in free and fair elections. We believe in the peaceful transfer of power. We believe in democracy, even when we disagree with the outcome. That's been part of what has made America the greatest democracy in the history of the world.

George Stephanopoulos: A lot of the seats in play to determine the majority in the House are out there in California, so this could take some time before we know who's controlling the House.

Leader Jeffries: Well, that's correct. There are a total of nine seats that Republicans now hold in the House that President Biden and Vice President Harris won in 2020. Four in New York, but five are in California. And so with the margins being very close and a heavy concentration of races in California, we'll see what happens. But again, all we can do is work hard, run to the finish line, articulate a positive vision of change for the American people, make it clear that we want to deliver real results and then put it in the hands of the American people and trust the voters.

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George Stephanopoulos: Thank you for your time this morning.

Leader Jeffries: Thank you.

Full interview can be watched here