House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) held a press availability with reporters on Tuesday afternoon hours before President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address, predicting that the speech would ring hollow against the backdrop of a deepening affordability crisis and a stalled standoff over funding the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
With the DHS shutdown now in its second week and negotiations between Democratic leaders and the White House at an impasse, Jeffries made clear he does not expect a course correction from the president, especially since Trump has repeatedly peddled the idea that the affordability crisis is a “hoax.” The president, Jeffries said, should use the high-profile address to personally apologize to the American people—particularly for failing to deliver on his promise to lower costs “on day one.”
Jeffries rejected Trump’s recent claims that the affordability crisis is a “hoax,” arguing that Americans struggling paycheck to paycheck know otherwise. He pointed to polling showing Trump’s support eroding among independents, Latino voters, young voters, and working-class whites, contending that any “reasonable president” facing such numbers would pivot. In his view, however, Trump is more likely to “double down and triple down on his lies.”
Jeffries Blames DHS Shutdown On Trump, Republicans
On the stalled DHS talks, Jeffries said there has been no meaningful recent communication with the White House despite Democrats sending a counteroffer. The party’s position, he reiterated, is that funding cannot move forward without what he described as “dramatic, meaningful, bold, transformational reform” of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Jeffries stated that ICE is “out of control” and needs structural reform, not simply personnel changes. He again called for Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to step down but emphasized that replacing leadership alone would not resolve broader policy concerns. Until Republicans agree to significant changes in how ICE operates, he said, Democrats will not advance the DHS funding bill.
Republicans, for their part, have warned that the prolonged shutdown is affecting agencies including the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Coast Guard, and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), and have argued that essential personnel could soon go without pay. Jeffries dismissed attempts to shift blame, noting that Republicans control the House, Senate, and presidency. According to Jeffries, voters are unlikely to fault Democrats for the impasse, just as they did not blame them during the previous 43-day government shutdown last year in the fall.
According to Jeffries, Republicans have made a deliberate choice to allow key homeland security functions to lapse rather than agree to ICE reforms that would align enforcement practices with other law enforcement agencies. He also contended that public support for the president on immigration—once considered a political strength—has deteriorated.
