House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries delivered a forceful rebuke of the Republican tax and budget proposal during a Tuesday press conference, warning that the plan poses a serious threat to healthcare access and food assistance for millions of Americans.
“House Democrats will continue to strongly oppose the GOP tax scam, where Republicans are trying to jam this big, ugly bill down the throats of the American people,” Jeffries said. “It will take away healthcare, impose the largest cut to nutritional assistance in American history and hurt veterans, hurt children, hurt seniors, hurt people with disabilities, resulting in hospitals closing, nursing homes shutting down, and because of the fact that almost 14 million people will lose their ability to access healthcare, people will die.”
Jeffries sharply criticized Republican leaders for scheduling a key Rules Committee hearing at 1 a.m., calling the move a “deeply troubling” attempt to avoid public scrutiny.
“If this legislation is designed to make life better for the American people, can someone explain to me why they would hold a hearing to advance the bill at 1:00 am, in the morning?” he asked. “It’s because the Republicans know their efforts to take away healthcare from millions of Americans is deeply unpopular.”
The Democratic leader detailed how the GOP proposal includes deep cuts to nutrition programs, particularly the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which he said would disproportionately harm children, seniors, and veterans.
Jeffries also blasted the plan’s tax breaks for the wealthy, emphasizing that it would significantly benefit billionaire donors—including Elon Musk—while increasing the federal deficit by trillions of dollars.
In closing, he issued a stark warning to House Republicans and former President Donald Trump, a vocal supporter of the legislation.
Jeffries pledged that House Democrats will continue to fight the proposal as it makes its way through Congress.
