SEATTLE — Hakeem Jeffries is the likely Speaker of the House if he can convince unenthused Democrats and Independents to flip the House next fall. He spent Friday trying to rally the base in Bellevue and find a message that will resonate.
He stood next to two members of the Washington Congressional delegation, and Gov. Bob Ferguson, on a small patio inside Overlake Medical Center, behind a sign that read “Stop the Republican Health Care Price Hike.”
“Republicans control the House, the Senate and the Presidency. If they are unwilling to fix our broken health care system, they are willing to shut down the government, and unfortunately, it appears that’s the path they’ve chosen at this moment,” said Jeffries in an interview immediately after the appearance.
The Brooklyn Democrat is the highest-ranking Democrat in the House, who along with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, have claimed that they will not support any spending bill that hikes premiums and limits people from coverage under the Affordable Care Act.
“Anything short of that is unacceptable,” he said bluntly in an interview.
“Premiums, co-pays and deductibles are going to dramatically increase for millions of people all across the country, including folks here in Washington, in a matter of weeks,” said Jeffries, “Hospitals, nursing homes and community based health clinics will close, and that is already happening in certain parts of the country, including as announced this week in Minnesota and in Virginia.”
It may be a preview of the Democratic strategy surrounding reclaiming the House.
Washington Congresswoman Suzan DelBene, (D) Medina, is chairing the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and it was not hard to connect the dots for the Jeffries appearance on Friday.
“We’re going to continue to fight for working families, fight for health care, which is critical for every community across the country, and that’s our priority,” said DelBene.
Rep. Kim Schrier, (D) Issaquah, a pediatrician argues that people will soon feel an impact during open enrollment and that “Democrats are focused on this because I’m out having town halls all the time in a 50/50 district, and people are worried like I am responding to my constituents.”
But she, nor Jeffries, deny that Democrats remain underwater in approval ratings and worse than President Trump.
Will Democrats seek some sort of mass redistricting to pick up seats?
“Well, let’s be clear, this started because of Donald Trump,” said DelBene. “They’re doing this because they know that they’re going to lose the majority.”
“I’ll defer to Gov. Ferguson and the members of the Congressional delegation in terms of what is or is not possible here in Washington,” said Jeffries, “But I do know that the country needs one set of rules, and Republicans are determined to rig the congressional maps so they can steal the midterm elections in 2026.”
He was asked if he was in favor of a mass redistricting effort.
“We’re going to respond aggressively, immediately and appropriately in every state where we can possibly respond in order to ensure that Republicans cannot mathematically gerrymander their way into rigging the midterm,” said Jeffries.
Jeffries also potentially signaled the framework for the party’s platform in 2026.
“Democrats recognize that this all-out assault that we’ve seen on the economy, on health care and on the American way of life. It is unacceptable and Un-American, and our message to the American people is simple, you deserve better. We’re going to work hard to lower the high cost of living. We’re going to work hard to fix our broken health care system, and we’re going to work hard to clean up corruption in Washington, DC,” he said.