Leader Jeffries on FOX 5 NEW YORK: “WE NEED to Focus on Actually Trying to MAKE LIFE Better for the People of NEW YORK CITY”

June 15th, 2026 | Press Release LEADER JEFFRIES ON FOX 5 NEW YORK: “WE NEED TO FOCUS ON ACTUALLY TRYING TO MAKE LIFE BETTER FOR THE PEOPLE OF NEW YORK CITY” Today, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries appeared on Fox 5’s Good Day New York where he emphasized that Donald Trump’s reckless and costly war of choice needs to end in order to lower costs and make life better for the American people. ROSANNA SCOTTO: And this morning, we’re joined by the House Minority Leader, Brooklyn Congressman, Hakeem Jeffries, Knicks Fan. I see this. All right, we’re embracing that, but we got to start with breaking news. Can we talk about that? Let’s talk about a possible peace deal with Iran. What do you know about this peace deal? LEADER JEFFRIES: Well, we haven’t been briefed yet. And so we are awaiting that from the administration. My concern has been from the beginning that this is a war that we never should have entered into. It was a reckless war of choice that obviously has cost the American people significantly, particularly as it relates to skyrocketing gas prices in an environment where the cost of living was already too high. Now, the President has indicated that even with this tentative agreement, there’s still unresolved issues related to Iran’s nuclear aspirations. That’s ironic to us because the President said last year that Iran’s nuclear program had been completely and totally obliterated. So there’s a lot of ambiguity that needs to be sorted out over the next few days. ROSANNA SCOTTO: I know. He’s saying that his deal, you know, or the reason why he got involved and tried to get this is that the Obama deal did not sufficiently address ballistic missiles, and Iran continued some uranium enrichment, so there were things that were still on the table that Iran was not agreeing to, even though it had an agreement years ago. LEADER JEFFRIES: Well, the one problem with the Trump approach is that the agreement that Iran entered into back in 2015 limited their nuclear ambitions and nobody disagreed with that, including the Trump administration during the first Donald Trump presidency until President Trump, for whatever the reason, decided to pull the plug. And the strength of that agreement that President Obama entered into is that it also involved our partners throughout the world, including Great Britain, France and Germany, along with India and South Korea and Japan, and, party to the agreement, also included China and Russia. And so the decision to actually break from that agreement, which Donald Trump made, has led us to a situation where he then gets us involved in a war of choice in the Middle East, which he said he wasn’t going to get us into. He wasn’t there to start wars, he was there to stop them, and then turns around, more than $100 billion in taxpayer money has been spent, 13 lives have been lost, hundreds of people have been seriously injured and now it’s not clear was it all worth it in terms of the outcome. That remains to be seen. DAN BOWERS: One of the criticisms of the Obama deal was that, when it comes to some of the nuclear issues, it sort of pushed it down the line. It didn’t necessarily get rid of it or solve the problem, which is what the Trump administration says is the intention and what will happen with this deal. Do you feel confident at all that that is going to be what the end result is here? LEADER JEFFRIES: We don’t have any confidence that the end result is that you’re going to get an agreement that’s actually longer or stronger. Aspirationally, that would make sense. But in terms of Iran’s strategic negotiating position, they are in a stronger position now than they were in prior to the war being started because prior to the war, Iran didn’t have control of the Strait of Hormuz. Now they have control, and as a result of that, have been able to inflict economic pain on the American people as a result of gas prices being higher, food prices being higher and the same thing across the world. So why in the world would Iran actually come to the table with a strengthened negotiating position and arrive at an agreement that puts them strategically in their view worse off? DAN BOWERS: And yet here we are. I mean the Obama deal’s not coming back. This is the deal that now is apparently the one that is gonna move forward. Where do you see any positives? What would you need to see in the next couple of months here where you might say, oh, okay, maybe this is something that can move forward? LEADER JEFFRIES: Well, the war needs to end, and that’s been our position. We passed a resolution in the Congress that was bipartisan joined by a handful of Republicans to make clear that we believe that this reckless and costly war of choice needs to end. The American people support that in a bipartisan way. And our view is that we need to focus on actually trying to make life better for the people of New York City and for the people of this country. The cost of living is way too high. America’s far too expensive. And perhaps we should actually focus on solving our own problems here in the United States of America as opposed to getting involved in this war overseas that involved more than a dozen Middle Eastern countries and we’re not even sure that, at the end of the day, we’re better off than we were prior to the war. ROSANNA SCOTTO: Well, can we be positive? Maybe something good’s gonna come out of this. I mean, you got the Knicks hat on. Everybody’s coming together. We’re coming together as a city. Maybe something good’ll come out of the Iran peace deal. LEADER JEFFRIES: Well listen, I think the positive thing, hopefully, for the American people is that the Congress working with the administration can actually focus on the problems that the American people want us to solve, which is to make their life better. ROSANNA SCOTTO: All right, listen, the gas prices were this high under Obama, too. LEADER JEFFRIES: Well, listen— ROSANNA SCOTTO: And Biden, right? LEADER JEFFRIES: Well, I’m not— ROSANNA SCOTTO: Right? President Biden, didn’t we have gas prices at over $5? LEADER JEFFRIES: No, well, they were gas prices in the immediate aftermath of the pandemic situation. ROSANNA SCOTTO: And I remember eggs were like $12 a dozen. But listen, that’s in the past. We’re moving forward, we got a big Knicks celebration happening on Thursday. LEADER JEFFRIES: Absolutely. ROSANNA SCOTTO: What are we going to do? Are you going to be part of it? LEADER JEFFRIES : I hope to be there but I’m trying to work some travel logistics out because of pre-existing commitments but being able to actually watch the Knicks during this playoff run with friends and family members and colleagues and neighbors has been an amazing thing. And you know, as we were talking about, Rosanna, when the Knicks are magical it brings everyone together, the whole city and that’s just a beautiful thing to see.We’ll always treasure this, you know, run together. And I just salute a team that showed the grit, the heart and soul of what makes New York City, New York City. DAN BOWERS: Where were you when they won, and was there any doubt that Jalen Brunson, the guy who’s put it on his back for the whole playoffs, was gonna bring them back? LEADER JEFFRIES: Yeah, what was incredible—a few of us were gathered together in Manhattan, a few Members of Congress, some were from out of town, some Members of the New York City delegation, to watch it. Because we had been tracking this playoff run together, mostly in Washington when the games were taking place, including a few us who were gathered during that 29-point comeback, which was incredible. And so it was just—it was a great experience. And, you know, I’m a long-suffering Knicks fan. DAN BOWERS: As we all are. LEADER JEFFRIES: As we all are. Appreciate the tie. DAN BOWERS: Yeah, exactly. You’ve got to represent at least one day and then we’ll rock it again on Thursday. LEADER JEFFRIES: Yeah, that’s great. ROSANNA SCOTTO: Before you go, there’s a contentious race in New York City. I know you’ve put your hat into—your Knicks hat into the ring there. Congressman Espaillat running against Darializa. The Mayor has supported this other contender. Why should New Yorkers consider continuing to vote Congressman Espaillat in? LEADER JEFFRIES: Well, Congressman Espaillat is a bold leader, he’s a strong leader, he’s a committed leader. He’s helping to push back aggressively on the things that we believe matter for the people of New York. He’s fighting hard to lower the high cost of living. He’s been a champion of affordable housing for a long period of time. He’s worked on the Second Avenue Subway, which is going to be incredibly important to the people of his district and in New York City. And he’s fighting to push back against the ICE overreach that we’ve seen because he believes, like we believe, that immigration enforcement in this country, a nation of immigrants, should be fair, just and humane. DAN BOWERS: Can I just do one quick follow-up on that question if I can because Mayor Mamdani obviously has a lot of support and surged in popularity all across the country, but endorsing this particular candidate that is further to the left, that’s something that within your Caucus is—you’re going to have to see, if when it comes to the midterms, is that the future of the Democratic Party, a tilt toward the left? LEADER JEFFRIES: Well, we believe that, you know, commonsense, get-stuff-done Democrats will remain the heart and soul of the Democratic Party. Congressman Espaillat, who’s a progressive leader, falls into that category, and with respect to this endorsement, the Mayor and I have agreed to strongly disagree. And I’m going to do everything I can to help Congressman Espaillat win re-election so he can continue to serve the people of Harlem, Washington Heights and the Bronx. ROSANNA SCOTTO: Okay, Congressman Jeffries, thank you so much. We’ll see you back here for the parade, I’m assuming. LEADER JEFFRIES: Look forward to it. ROSANNA SCOTTO: Thank you for stopping by Good Day. Full interview can be watched here . ### Back to News Share: Facebook Twitter