THE WOMAN WAS TAKEN TO THE HOSPITAL AND IS EXPECTED TO RECOVER. WE HAVE MORE REACTION TONIGHT AFTER CONGRESSMAN KEVIN KILEY ANNOUNCED HE IS LEAVING THE REPUBLICAN PARTY AND RUNNING FOR CONGRESS WITH NO PARTY PREFERENCE. IT STEMS FROM PROP 50. IT CHANGED THE MAKEUP OF CALIFORNIA’S CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICTS TO GIVE DEMOCRATS AN UPPER HAND IN THE MIDTERMS. BUT KILEY TELLS US HE IS FRUSTRATED WITH BOTH PARTIES AND THEIR INABILITY TO WORK TOGETHER. HE POINTED TO THE RECENT GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN, THE LONGEST IN U.S. HISTORY. HE’S ALSO AGAINST GERRYMANDERING OF CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICTS AND THE FAILURE OF CONGRESS TO EXTEND HEALTH CARE SUBSIDIES. DEMOCRATIC HOUSE MINORITY LEADER HAKEEM JEFFRIES SAYS THE CHANGE IN PARTY AFFILIATION DOES NOT CHANGE KILEY’S VOTING RECORD. WELL, I THINK THE CONGRESSMAN IS GOING TO HAVE TO EXPLAIN TO THE PEOPLE HE HOPES TO REPRESENT IN THE NEXT CONGRESS WHY HE VOTED FOR THE REPUBLICAN ONE BIG, UGLY BILL. THINK ABOUT THIS. REPUBLICANS ENACTED THE LARGEST CUT TO MEDICAID IN AMERICAN HISTORY. THEY LITERALLY RIPPED HEALTH CARE AWAY FROM ABOUT 14 MILLION AMERICANS. IN THAT SAME BILL, THEY ENACTED THE LARGEST CUT TO NUTRITIONAL ASSISTANCE EVER. $186 BILLION TAKEN AWAY, LITERALLY RIPPING FOOD FROM THE MOUTHS OF HUNGRY CHILDREN, SENIORS AND VETERANS IN ORDER TO PROVIDE MASSIVE TAX BREAKS TO THEIR BILLIONAIRE DONORS. AND IN THE SAME BILL GAVE ICE A $75 BILLION SLUSH FUND SO THAT THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION CAN UNLEASH THESE VIOLENT INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE MASKED AND UNTRAINED TO BRUTALIZE THE AMERICAN PEOPLE AND IN SOME CASES, KILL THEM. AND SO I THINK THE FIRST QUESTION FOR US IS GOING TO BE, WELL, DOES HE REGRET THAT VOTE? AND DOES HE PLAN TO PARTNER WITH DEMOCRATS TO REVERSE THE DAMAGE THAT HAS BEEN DONE BY THE TRUMP POLICIES TO DATE? THE IDEA THAT, YOU KNOW, IF YOU VOTED FOR ONE PIECE OF LEGISLATION THAT THE THAT THAT LEADER JEFFRIES HAPPENS TO DISAGREE WITH, THAT SOMEHOW, YOU KNOW, DEFINES YOUR POLITICAL IDENTITY. I THINK THAT’S EXACTLY WHAT’S WRONG WITH POLITICS IN THIS COUNTRY, IS PEOPLE ARE TRYING TO PUT YOU IN A BOX AND SAY, IF YOU DON’T AGREE WITH ME ON THIS, THEN I DON’T WANT TO WORK WITH YOU ON THAT. AND BY THE WAY, WHEN YOU’RE TALKING ABOUT THAT PARTICULAR PIECE OF LEGISLATION, IT ACTUALLY IS TRUE THAT THERE WERE SOME FAIRLY SIGNIFICANT CUTS TO MEDICAID THAT WERE INITIALLY PROPOSED. I OPPOSED THOSE, AS DID SOME OTHERS IN IN THE HOUSE. AND AS A RESULT, THOSE DID NOT MAKE IT INTO THE FINAL VERSION OF THE BILL. THE FINAL VERSION OF THE BILL ACTUALLY INCREASES MEDICAID SPENDING OVER THE COURSE OF THE NEXT TEN YEARS. AND KYLIE HAS FILED WITH NO PARTY PREFERENCE A
Democratic House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries: Rep. Kevin Kiley’s party change doesn’t alter his voting record
Updated: 5:59 PM PDT Mar 10, 2026
Hakeem Jeffries, the Democratic House minority leader, is responding to the decision by Rep. Kevin Kiley to leave the Republican Party and become an independent.Kiley said he plans to run for Congress with no party preference, citing frustration with both parties’ inability to work together. The decision stems from Proposition 50, which changed the makeup of California’s congressional districts to give Democrats an upper hand in the midterms. The move was prompted by Texas’ efforts to help Republicans. Kiley opposes the gerrymandering of congressional districts. He also expressed his frustration with the recent government shutdown, the longest in U.S. history, and Congress’s failure to extend health care subsidies.Jeffries said that Kiley’s change in party affiliation does not alter his voting record. “Well, I think the congressman is going to have to explain to the people he hopes to represent in the next Congress why he voted for the Republican one big ugly bill,” Jeffries said. “Think about this, Republicans enacted the largest cut to Medicaid in American history. They literally ripped health care away from about 14 million Americans. In that same bill, they enacted the largest cut to nutritional assistance ever, $186 billion taken away, literally ripping food from the mouths of hungry children, seniors and veterans in order to provide massive tax breaks to their billionaire donors. And in the same bill, gave ICE a $75 billion slush fund so that the Trump administration can unleash these violent individuals who are masked and untrained to brutalize the American people and in some cases, kill them. And so I think the first question for us is going to be, well, does he regret that vote and does he plan to partner with Democrats to reverse the damage that has been done by the Trump policies to date?” Jeffries said. Kiley responded that, “The idea that, if you voted for one piece of legislation that Leader Jeffries happens to disagree with, that that somehow defines your political identity, I think that’s exactly what’s wrong with politics in this country. People are trying to put you in a box and say, if you don’t agree with me on this then I don’t want to work with you on that. And by the way when you’re talking about that particular piece of legislation, it actually is true that there were some fairly significant cuts to Medicaid that were initially proposed. I opposed those, as did some others in the House. And as a result, those did not make it into the final version of the bill. The final version of the bill actually increases Medicaid spending over the course of the next 10 years.“Kiley is running for District 6, which is considered a new Sacramento-area congressional district.See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel
Hakeem Jeffries, the Democratic House minority leader, is responding to the decision by Rep. Kevin Kiley to leave the Republican Party and become an independent.
Kiley said he plans to run for Congress with no party preference, citing frustration with both parties’ inability to work together.
The decision stems from Proposition 50, which changed the makeup of California’s congressional districts to give Democrats an upper hand in the midterms. The move was prompted by Texas’ efforts to help Republicans.
Kiley opposes the gerrymandering of congressional districts. He also expressed his frustration with the recent government shutdown, the longest in U.S. history, and Congress’s failure to extend health care subsidies.
Jeffries said that Kiley’s change in party affiliation does not alter his voting record.
“Well, I think the congressman is going to have to explain to the people he hopes to represent in the next Congress why he voted for the Republican one big ugly bill,” Jeffries said. “Think about this, Republicans enacted the largest cut to Medicaid in American history. They literally ripped health care away from about 14 million Americans. In that same bill, they enacted the largest cut to nutritional assistance ever, $186 billion taken away, literally ripping food from the mouths of hungry children, seniors and veterans in order to provide massive tax breaks to their billionaire donors. And in the same bill, gave ICE a $75 billion slush fund so that the Trump administration can unleash these violent individuals who are masked and untrained to brutalize the American people and in some cases, kill them. And so I think the first question for us is going to be, well, does he regret that vote and does he plan to partner with Democrats to reverse the damage that has been done by the Trump policies to date?” Jeffries said.
Kiley responded that, “The idea that, if you voted for one piece of legislation that Leader Jeffries happens to disagree with, that that somehow defines your political identity, I think that’s exactly what’s wrong with politics in this country. People are trying to put you in a box and say, if you don’t agree with me on this then I don’t want to work with you on that. And by the way when you’re talking about that particular piece of legislation, it actually is true that there were some fairly significant cuts to Medicaid that were initially proposed. I opposed those, as did some others in the House. And as a result, those did not make it into the final version of the bill. The final version of the bill actually increases Medicaid spending over the course of the next 10 years.“
Kiley is running for District 6, which is considered a new Sacramento-area congressional district.
See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel