Political Quotes

On the recordJanuary 16, 2019
Madam Speaker, this is day 26 of the reckless Trump shutdown. Coast Guard officers and their families are suffering; Border Patrol agents and their families are suffering; TSA agents and their families are suffering because the President has decided to hold 800,000 Federal employees and the American people hostage. We are prepared to have a conversation about infrastructure on the border, prepared to have a conversation about personnel, and prepared to have a conversation about technology. We are prepared to have a conversation about border security in a comprehensive way; prepared to have a conversation about our broken immigration system and how we fix it in a bipartisan fashion. But, Madam Speaker, we are not prepared to have a conversation about these issues in the midst of a reckless shutdown where the President has decided to hold the American people hostage and try to force us to pay a $5 billion-plus ransom note. Madam Speaker, it is time for the adults in the room to get their act together and reopen the government so we can continue the business of the American people. ____________________
Said by
Hakeem Jeffries
Democratic · New York

Share & report

More from Hakeem Jeffries

Jun 16, 2025

While we differ in many areas related to policy and our vision for America’s future, Member safety must be an area of common ground.

nbcnews.com
Apr 14, 2025

So many of these people are crooks, liars and frauds, and Marjorie Taylor Greene is, of course, Exhibit A.

msnbc.com
Jun 2, 2025

We are in a ‘more is more’ environment. These aren’t ordinary times, and they require an extraordinary response.

nbcnews.com
Apr 27, 2025

As we prepare to come back into session tomorrow, this is a time to choose. And we're either going to choose the side of the American people, or we're going to choose this cruel budget that Republicans are trying to jam down the throats of…

cbsnews.com

Other voices in this conversation