went to cafe milano and had din we are the clients of hunter bide whon believe he is got those clines because he was selling the brand? do you believe hunter biden when you saw the voof him driving a porsche that he got $143,000 to buy that porsche the next day? do you believe the $3 million from the russian oligarch that was transferred to the shell company that the bidens controlled after the dinner from cafe milano took place? do you think the president lies when he said -- >> is lying impeachable? mr. mccarthy: i'm not saying impeachment. i would like to know the answer to these questions. that's what impeachment inquiry provides. reporter: how long should that go? >> house minority leader hakeem jeffries also talked with reporters about a potential

government shutdown. and an impeachment inquiry into president biden. mr. jeffries: earlier today house democrats met with secretary becerra. it was an illustration of the two different approaches that house democrats and house republicans are taking as it relates to solving problems of the american people. house democrats met with secretary becerra to talk about implementation of our efforts to negotiate lower drug prices for everyday americans. to strengthen access to

affordable health care. and to discuss our efforts around things like capping the cost of insulin for everyday americans at $35 a month. that's how house democrats spent this morning. house republicans spent this morning talking about their illegitimate impeachment inquiry, which is nothing more than a partisan political stunt. there's no evidence of wrongdoing. with respect to president biden. and they spent the morning talking about shutting down the government. which will crash the economy and hurt everyday americans. house democrats are going to continue to put people over politics. that's our focus.

that's our agenda. that's our belief in what members of congress should be doing here in washington. people over politics. fighting for lower kos. better paying jobs. safer communities. and growing the middle class. what's the house republican agenda? the extreme maga republican agenda? shut down the government, crash the economy, illegitimately impeach president joe biden. and jam their right-wing ideology down the throats of the american people including marching america toward a nationwide abortion ban. questions? reporter: talk more concretely

about deems strategy on this impeachment strategy, is it trying to block their records requests? and do you think hunter biden's conduct is defensible? mr. jeffries: the hunter biden matter is pending before a court. it's ongoing litigation. there's nothing further for me to add to that case. with respect to president biden there is no evidence, not a shred of evidence that president biden engaged in wrongdoing. there's not a shred of evidence that president biden committed an impeachable offense. there's not a shred of evidence that president biden broke the law. illegitimate impeachment inquiry is a partisan political stunt. period, full stop. why are we dealing with it? because donald trump ordered the supreme, the extreme maga republicans to launch the impeachment inquiry. that's it.

that's the reason. and so our approach is going to be to present the facts and the truth to the american people. reporter: are you confident that vice president harris will running with president biden in 2024 and do you support that? mr. jeffries: she absolutely is the right running mate for president biden. she's done a phenomenal job as vice president. particularly when it comes to leaning in to our values. as democrats. with respect to a woman's freedom to make her own reproductive health care decisions. vice president harris has made clear that we're going to continue to build an economy that works for everyday americans and we're going to do that together. vice president harris has made

clear that we believe in truth and reconciliation. as opposed to some of the extremists on the other side of the aisle who want to erase african-american history. reporter: on the u.a.w. strike are you planning to attend a picket line and what do outmakers need to do to avoid a strike? mr. jeffries: it's my hope that there can be a resolution reached that provides workers with the dignity and respect on the job that they deserve. here in america, everyone wh works hard, like the u.a.w. workers do, each and every day, deserves to be able to earn a comfortable living for themselves and for their families. to educate their children. first at home and -- purchase a home and one day be able to

retire with grace and dignity tsms my strong hope that any contract resolution that's reached affirms that basic principle which is connected to the american middle class dream. reporter: will you be attending a picket line this weekend? mr. jeffries: let's see what happens in terms of whether they move forward or not. to the extent that that occurs i'll have more to say as it relates to my solidarity with u.a.w. workers. reporter: given how little progress has been made this week in the house in connection with spending bills are you concerned that there's not going to be an ability to reach a short-term spending agreement? mr. jeffries: house republicans have made clear that they are determined to shut down the government and try to jam their extreme right-wing ideology down the throats of the american people. we believe as house democrats that we should continue to find common ground. and it also appears that senate

republicans share our views as well. and so you have house democrats, senate republicans, senate democrats, and president biden and the administration all in lock step that we reached an agreement as it relates to spending levels that provide for the health, the safety and the economic well being of the american people. it was past -- it was passed into law. it was bipartisan in nature. house democrats overwhelmingly supported that agreement. it's an agreement that protected social security. protected medicare. protected medicaid. protected veterans. protected public education. and we believe that we should stick with that agreement. extreme maga republicans are the only ones in washington, d.c. who are trying to breach that agreement as part of their effort to undermine the health,

safety and economic well being of the american people because they want to yam their extreme right-wing ideology down the throats of everyday americans. by doing things like restricting the ability of women in the military to be able to make their own reproductive health care decisions. if they are in restrictive states. that's none of the business of these right-wing politicians. but that's one of the reasons why they're marching us toward a government shutdown. it's and it's wrong. reporter: the speaker said he wants to put a c.r. on the floor now. kind of going against the hardliners you just spoke about. have you talked to the speerk about the c.r. and what democrats would need to support that? mr. jeffries: i have not talked to speaker mccarthy yet about a continuing resolution this week. i have spoken to leader schumer

and we're both in agreement that the only way forward is a bipartisan path that funds the government at the current fiscal year levels and deals with some of the requests that president biden has made with respect to disaster, relief -- disaster relief fund, funding the effort in ukraine, and also dealing with the border security dynamics in terms of making sure that the requests made by the biden administration are addressed. reporter: leader jeffries, what are the sticking points for democrats when it comes to the defense appropriations bill? was the ndaa, while the amendment that would have prohibited funding for the office was passed, the

amendments that would have prohibited funding for d.e.i. failed, so there's still a loophole where it could be taught in the military. what's the holdup for democrats on the defense appropriations bill? mr. jeffries: the defense appropriations bill was a nonstarter for a variety of reasons, focused primarily on the fact that the legislation is not desired to -- designed to ensure that our military is in a state of readiness. the republicans are using the defense appropriations bill to jam their extreme right-wing ideology down the throats of military women, men, and families. that is wrong. and by the way, the last time i checked, they can't even bring the defense appropriations bill to the floor. because they totally lost control of the floor to the extremists. who are running the house

republican conference. that's why they're shutting down the government. that's why they're trying to impeach the president illegitimately as part of a partisan political stunt. house republicans are being driven by the likes of marjorie taylor greene, george santos, and donald trump. that's who is running the circus right now. and it is a three-ring circus. in ring one, shut down the government. ring two, impeach president biden. ring three, yam your extreme right-wing ideology down the throats of me the american people. so the american people right now are seeing a clear contrast. house democrats are fighting to make life better for everyday americans. more money. more time. more freedom. more money in your pocket. more time with your children.

and your family. more freedom including the freedom to make your own reproductive health care decisions. house republicans are fighting each other. and you know what it means? for everyday americans? more chaos, more dysfunction, and more extremism. it's sad, it's dangerous, and it's pathetic. reporter: what are examples of the issues that democrats have. reporter: leader jeffries, the -- there's a $1.25 trillion deficit for the first quarter of the year, that doesn't include what came from the student loan program that was struck down. is that a sign that current spending levels are not sustainable. mr. jeffries: president biden submitted a budget that was designed to do several things. one, to protect and strengthen social security and medicare.

two, to reduce the deficit and address our nation's debt. and three, build an economy that works for everyday americans, that grows the middle class, that's built from the middle out and bottom up. if we continue to be able to grow our economy as president biden has done up until this date, that will allow us to address many of the fiscal challenges that are before us. but we also need to look at making sure that every american, every corporation, pay theirs fair share. and i think that's also part of the discussion that should occur. as we move forward. the republicans blew a dramatic hole in our deficit and skyrocketed our nation's debt. in 2017, when they passed the

g.o.p. tax scam. 83% of the benefits went to the wealthiest 1% in the united states of america. subsidizing the lifestyles of this wealthy, the well-off and the well-connected. and exploded the debt by $2 trillion and forced everyday americans to pay for it. now many of the provisions from the 2017g.o.p. tax scam expire in about two years. and we'll have an oortunity to take a real close look at that dynamic and to help right our fiscal ship. reporter: a federal judge recently called the daca program illegal. u.s. conference of catholic bishop, religious organizations, are calling for immigration reform. do you see any sort of momentum that democrats can do to bring immigration reform? mr. jeffries: we clearly have a

broken immigration system and we need to fix it and do so in a bipartisan way. doing it in a kay that's consistent with two principles. one, america is a nation of immigrants. it's what gives us a lot of our economic strength and competitiveness and dynamism. we also are a nation anchored in the principle of the rule of law. and we have to make sure that we can strengthen our security at the border. and we want to do both. as democrats. certainly do it in a humane and compassionate way. that of course respects the principles of our country as a nation anchored in the rule of law. and it's unfortunate because the extreme maga republicans at this moment have no interest in addressing any issues that the the border. they have no interest in

addressing our immigration system. because they just want to play partisan political games. in the area of immigration and in many other areas as well. reporter: house democrats filed another discharge petition this week on gun violence in. light of the daca rules, are democrats going to file a discharge petition on immigration? mr. jeffries: we are focused right now, with ef no discussions -- we've had no discussions on therece daca rulings but we will. right now our focus is on addressing the gun violence epidemic we confront in the united states of america. and again there are clear contrasts here. as house democrats we want to continue to find common ground with the other side of the aisle. whenever and wherever possible. to address the challenges that affect the day-to-day lives of

the american people. that relates to the economy. that relates to lowering costs. that relates to reproductive freedom. that relates to safer communities. it relates to the climate crisis. it relates to providing disaster relief. to people in hawaii. or vermont. or florida. doesn't matter whether you live in a so-called red state or blue state. we're all americans. all impacted by extreme weather events and the climate crisis. it certainly is focused on addressing the gun violence epidemic. we want to find a commonplace on all the issues but the magga people are focused on the wrong things, focused on shutting down the government, illegitimately pursuing a impeachment inquiry with respect to president biden. and in terms of the defense bill

and all the other appropriation bills as opposed to proceeding n a bipartisanship way which is exactly what the senate republicans and the senate democrats are doing at this moment responsibly. extreme magga republicans are focused on loading up these appropriations bills with right wing ideological wish lists, and that is why the house is unable to function at this moment under extreme magga republican leadership -- maga republican leadership and why they're barey the people to a shutdown that my crash the economy and certainly will hurt everyday americans. reporter: a few weeks ago

representative dean phillips was very vocal about somebody coming out to challenge president biden about his age, etc. huh a conversation with him and he has not been vocal since. what was your advice to him. >> i said the same things i said privately as i said publicly in that i strongly support presidet biden. he has an incredible track recod of success and accomplishments n behalf of the american people including the infrastructure, investment in jobs act, clean water in every community, the chips and science act, bringing domestic manufacturing jobs back home to the united states of america and the inflation reduction act where we lowered the cost of insulin to $35 an hour and that i am going to continue to keep the focus on te track record of accomplishments that is extraordinary that president biden has achieved, hs

vision for the future, to really bring the american dream to life in every single zip code and the danger the extreme maga republicans and donald trump present to this nation. reporter: do you worry dividing the party, president biden's re-election, running against? >> no. reporter: so i wanted to get yor thoughts on the deadline coming up. we heard the congressman mention a deal may be necessary. do you agree or any priorities - [inaudible] they've not found evidence. >> i haven't seen that particulr report but look forward to evaluating it. in terms of the farm bill, this

has been a legislative area whee in the past, democrats and republicans have worked togethe. and it's our continued hope that we'll be able to do that to support our nation's farmers and to support the need to meet the nutritional needs of the americn people. all across america, in urban america, rural america, suburb's an america, in small town america, in the heartland of america and in appalachia. farm bills should not be a divisive area. it is territory i'll ground for cooperation. it is territory i'll ground -- it is fertile ground for cooperation. the only problem we confront now is that the extreme maga republicans want to hijack the farm bill. and to take it in a certain

direction inconsistent with meeting the needs of farmers and the american people and we will oppose that every step of the way. reporter: you'll have an extension if necessary? >> we'll evaluate that closer to the deadline. thanks. third row? reporter: when asked today to speaker mccarthy, he said he's not quite sure what his caucus wants and how they want to proceed funding the government. i'm wondering your thoughts on that and what that says to you? >> he's not wrong in terms of schizophrenic nature of some of the demands that have been made by house republicans. the one point of commonality is that it's all extreme. it's just different legals of extremism. but it's all extreme. and it's not focused on finding common ground. with us. which is what the american peope would like to see happen.

we reached a bipartisan agreement. more than 300 members of the house supported the resolution f the default crisis and set top line spending numbers designed o meet the needs of the american people. president biden is committed to adhering to that agreement. house democrats are committed to adhering to that agreement. senate republicans are committed to adhering to that agreement, senate democrats are committed o adhering to that agreement. what's the problem? it's obvious. the extreme maga republicans. and so hopefully they will work it out so that we avoid a catastrophic government shutdow. but again, while we're focused n

fighting for everyday americans, the extreme maga republicans are focused on fighting each other. reporter: caucus numbers say they're willing to vote. [inaudible] vote for a republican leadership rule -- [inaudible] for a appropriations bill. mr. jeffries: the have maga republicans hold the gavel and the extreme maga republicans are responsible for passing the rul. kevin? reporter: is there anything you think the white house can be doing when they're not this coms to migrants in new york and when it comes to some of the reports we've seen with the mayor? when it comes to democratic messages in new york, do you pol the districts around new york

city, does it undermine or complicate the efforts? mr. jeffries: i had a very positive conversation with mayor adams over the weekend about finding a path forward. we all agree we need to substantively do everything possible to address the migrant situation in new york, the congressional delegation on the democratic side have been very clear we believe one of the pats forward is to make sure that the migrants temporarily are also advised to be able to work in nw york city or beyond while waitig a final determination on their asylum applications. it's logical and makes sense. the american people support. the fact while people are going through the immigration process waiting for a final determinatin on asylum, they should be able o work. so they can take care of themselves and their families.

it's a logical way forward. there are some obstacles that exist under the law in that regard but we're committed to working with the biden administration to try to see wht legal avenues are available to temporarily provide work authorizations as the asylum applicants await a determinatio. with respect to whether new york city is going to be able to manage the situation, new york city is always able to manage whatever moment, whatever disturbance, whatever crisis impacts us. never count out new york city. people counted out new york city in the 1970's fiscal crisis, we overcame it. people counted out new york city

during the midst of the crack cocaine epidemic, 2,000-plus homicides every year, murder capital of the world some said, we overcame it. people counted out new york city when the towers were struck, impacting lower manhattan and te financial district, thousands of lives tragically lost, the fire department devastated, we overcame it. people counted out new york when the great recession struck and hit us particularly hard because the financial services industry was affected, the real estate industry was affected, the insurance agency was affected, three important industries to te heart and soul of new york, we overcame it. people counted out new york city when superstorm sandy struck. we overcame it. people counted out new york city

when the pandemic hit and we wee ground zero, we overcame it. people counted us out when the brooklyn dodgers left, and we overcame it. new york city will a little overcome it. reporter: are you sure about that? mr. jeffries: i'm a yankees fan but i stick by it. thank you, everybody. >> joining us now this morning s julie grace, a congressional reporter with axios to give us n update on a looming government funding deadline. julie grace brefski. we're 10 days out before the september 30 deadline to fund te government. guest: i talked to lawmakers on the other side who averted the odds of a