WASHINGTON — Vying to become House speaker in a few months, Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries outlined four items on the agenda that he said would enjoy “uniform Democratic support” and advance the party’s goal of “making life more affordable.”The first two were about healthcare, and all four set a direct contrast with President Donald Trump.“We have to reverse the Medicaid cuts.We should extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits,” Jeffries, D-N.Y., said Monday in response to a question from NBC News.
“We should restore congressional authority as it relates to tariffs, because the Trump tariffs are making life more expensive for the American people.And we should end, decisively, if it’s still going on, Donald Trump’s reckless and costly war of choice in the Middle East.”Rep.
Don Beyer, D-Va., said there is consensus that Democrats’ first bill out of the gate, legislation that carries high symbolic weight known as H.R.1, would need to focus on affordability.But there’s not yet consensus on what the bill would look like, as voters cite the cost of living as a top concern heading into November’s elections.Beyer argued that the best way to tackle the topic would be to restore hundreds of billions of dollars in Medicaid and the ACA subsidies that were cut in Trump’s “one big, beautiful bill.”“In the affordability debate, nothing’s more central to it than healthcare,” Beyer said in an interview.
“My expectation is that it’ll very much be about affordability one way or the other.”Jeffries said there are “a whole host of things” still to work on, saying, “We’ve established five working groups on affordability” — on housing, healthcare, childcare, groceries and food, and gas and utilities.He added that Democrats would also conduct aggressive oversight of the Trump administration and “certainly will fight to hold the crooks accountable.”Jeffries’ agenda for a possible majority reflects an emerging consensus a...