WASHINGTON – Bringing the benignant of punch galore voters are demanding, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said Wednesday that President Donald Trump's 100 days successful bureau person been an battle of Americans' precise mode of beingness and promised Democrats successful Congress are warring arsenic hard arsenic they tin to halt much " atrocious things” from happening.
In a large code connected the milestone of Trump’s clip astatine the White House, Jeffries, who could go House speaker if Democrats regain power, besides enactment Republicans successful Congress connected announcement that their days arsenic a "rubber stamp” to Trump's agenda of “chaos, cruelty and corruption” won’t last.
“The Trump medication has been a disaster,” Jeffries of New York told the packed assemblage astatine a historical theatre successful Washington.
“Donald Trump and the Republicans thought they could ‘shock and awe’ america into submission,” helium said, adding they were wrong. “We're conscionable getting started.”
The leader’s code stood arsenic an appraisal not lone Trump’s instrumentality to the White House, but besides of the spot of the Democratic resistance. Americans are registering a weariness with the president, with just fractional saying he's focused connected the close priorities. The Democratic enactment successful Congress is being tested implicit however champion to face the speed, scope and standard of the Trump administration’s unprecedented, and astatine times unlawful, actions.
House Speaker Mike Johnson has mocked the effort by Democratic leaders to find their governmental footing arsenic Trump blazes done the commencement of his 2nd word astatine the White House, which the GOP person celebrated with 4 words: “Promises made, promises kept.”
Johnson cited the Trump's achievements successful deporting immigrants, reversing the government's diverseness programs and others, arguing the president has arsenic accomplished much during this play than galore bash “in their full careers.”
Jeffries has astatine times been seen a cautious leader, known for his quality to enactment chill nether tremendous pressure. But lasting aboriginal connected the steps of the U.S. Capitol with Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, Jeffries and different lawmakers sought to guarantee Americans, and their ain voters, they were up for the job, and acceptable to combat back.
Schumer chalked up Trump’s archetypal 100 days arsenic defined by “one large F connection – failure.”
The leaders warned of much to come. Republicans successful Congress, who clasp bulk power of some the House and Senates, are rushing up to present connected Trump’s priorities, including his “big, beauteous bill” of taxation breaks and spending cuts.
Republicans are “complicit,” Schumer said, successful failing to clasp the president responsible, adjacent erstwhile helium is breaking the laws.
One Democrat, Georgia Sen. Raphael Warnock, encouraged GOP lawmakers to peel distant from Trump, imploring them with a connection of the Civil Rights era: “It's ne'er excessively precocious to beryllium connected the close broadside of history.”
Warnock, who besides was pastor of the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s historical Ebenezer Baptist Church successful Atlanta, said Trump and the GOP are trying to “weaponize despair” of the American people.
“They’re trying to truthful bushed america down that we volition beryllium excessively truthful weary to fight," Warnock said, “and it’s our occupation to beryllium them wrong.”
It whitethorn beryllium conscionable 100 days into the caller statesmanlike administration, but the legislature leaders are already mapping the governmental races up successful the 2026 midterm elections. In the House, wherever Johnson holds lone the slimmest GOP majority, Jeffries is moving vigorously to triumph backmost the fewer seats needed to flip power to Democrats.
Jeffries appears progressively successful bid of his role, arsenic the person of the Democratic number successful the House, but besides arsenic the rising enactment person connected the nationalist stage.
He told dada stories, shuttling his household connected trips for his son's to question shot game, and of his ain knowing of the nation's taxation codification seeing his wages connected his archetypal paycheck arsenic a teen successful a minimum wage occupation drawn retired for Social Security and the information nett programs helium came to admit arsenic Americans' earned benefits.
“You enactment hard for those benefits, wage into those benefits,” helium said, scoffing astatine Republican efforts to disregard them arsenic entitlement programs.
Jeffries name-checked billionaire Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency for the “cruel” mode they are slashing national spending that halts aesculapian probe and cuts employees' jobs. He said Trump and Musk person failed to marque beingness safer oregon much affordable.
“Trump’s unconstitutional battle connected the American mode of beingness is unprecedented. But the alleged dictator connected time 1 is learning an important lesson: Americans don’t crook the genu to bullies,” Jeffries said.
“We volition not remainder until we extremity this nationalist nightmare,” helium said.
Jeffries stumbled somewhat successful his opening remarks astir Trump’s archetypal 100 “years” — earlier rapidly correcting himself to “days” — saying the quiescent portion retired large for galore Democrats and allies exhausted by it all.
“Republicans successful Congress could enactment a halt to this insanity astatine immoderate time,” Jeffries said. “Since they won't, adjacent November, we will.”
Over the adjacent 100 days, Jeffries says House Democrats volition beryllium laying retired their ain blueprint for what they would bash if they were successful complaint — and it won’t beryllium astir Trump but “all astir you.”
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Associated Press writer Matt Brown contributed to this report.
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