House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., rejected support for Medicare for All and the Democratic Socialists of America's (DSA) agenda Sunday, saying Democrats should prioritize affordability as they seek to recapture the House in November following a wave of progressive primary victories."Meet the Press," host Kristen Welker asked Jeffries directly whether he personally supported Medicare for All."No, i — as you indicated, I haven’t cosponsored the Medicare for All legislation that has been introduced over the last several years," Jeffries said."I do think we need to figure out how to fix our broken health care system and then build something better once we repair the damage that has been done."Jeffries also said that as the Democratic leader in the House, it was not legislation he supported, while also reiterating that he wanted to find a path to fix the health care system and "make health care affordable for every single American."House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., rejected Medicare for All and distanced himself from the Democratic Socialists of America’s agenda.
(Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)THE MEDICARE FOR ALL TRADE-OFFS SOCIALISTS AREN'T TALKING ABOUT, ACCORDING TO EXPERTSCongressional records show Jeffries formally co-sponsored the Medicare for All Act of 2019 and later co-sponsored the 2021 version.However, he was not among the 102 additional House cosponsors announced when Reps.
Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., and Debbie Dingell, D-Mich., introduced H.R.3069 in April 2025.The NYC DSA Healthcare Working Group credited its months-long organizing campaign with helping secure his 2019 support, although it described his position as qualified because he also backed Medicare X, a public-option bill."Rep.
Jeffries’ public endorsement of this legislation is the result of all these efforts and of this growing national movement," the working group said at the time.The DSA's new "Workers Deserve More!" program calls for universal health care at ...