House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) delivered a scathing assessment of the country’s condition under President Donald Trump on Tuesday afternoon ahead of the State of the Union address, calling it a “total and complete disaster.”
Jeffries stated that the president’s central economic promise—lowering costs on day one—has failed. Instead, he said, costs have risen while job creation has slowed, leaving Americans facing a worsening affordability crisis. Healthcare, he added, has been under sustained attack, pointing specifically to the largest Medicaid cut in American history embedded in Trump and Republicans’ “one big, ugly bill.” Jeffries also called out Republicans for slashing $186 billion from SNAP benefits, characterizing the move as taking food from “hungry children, seniors, and veterans.”
As Jeffries pointed out, those savings were redirected toward a $75 billion expansion of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) funding, which he described as a “slush fund.” He lambasted ICE for operating without sufficient oversight and stated that enforcement actions have harmed not only immigrant families but also American citizens. The broader theme of his remarks was that taxpayer dollars should be used to lower costs for working families—not to fund what he called excessive and abusive enforcement practices.
Jeffries Describes Trump’s Presidency As ‘Completely And Totally Out Of Control’
Pressed by reporters about negotiations over Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding as the partial government shutdown stretches into week two, Jeffries said Democrats have drawn a clear line: without changes to how immigration enforcement is conducted, the DHS funding bill will not advance. He reiterated that enforcement should focus on violent felons rather than law-abiding immigrant families and emphasized that Democrats believe immigration policy must be “fair, just, and humane.”
Jeffries also addressed Democrats’ plans regarding attendance at the president’s address. He said some members plan to attend in “silent defiance,” while others will stay away, leaving the choice to individual lawmakers and their constituents. At the same time, he rejected criticism from Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) about decorum, arguing that Republicans are in no position to lecture Democrats while backing what the norm-breaking and corrupt presidency that has underscored Trump’s second term.
Throughout the exchange, Jeffries sought to frame the evening’s State of the Union as detached from everyday realities. In his telling, rising costs, strained safety-net programs, and contentious immigration enforcement define the current state of the union—not the president’s anticipated baseless talking points and claims.
