Today on the House floor, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries spoke out against the Republican budget resolution, emphasizing that House Democrats are committed to using taxpayer dollars to meet the needs of the American people, including increasing funding for Operation Epic Failure in the Middle East.
LEADER JEFFRIES: Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong opposition to this Republican “America Last” budget, which will provide billions of additional dollars for Operation Epic Fury in the Middle East, which has been a complete disaster for the American people. Donald Trump’s reckless and costly election war in Iran has skyrocketed gasoline prices for ordinary Americans already suffering from the failed Republican economy and drowning in its poor management.
Now, Donald Trump made several promises to the American people upon his return to the White House, all of which, in my opinion, he failed to keep.Donald Trump promised from day one to reduce the high cost of living, but costs in America have not gone down. Costs have risen, in part because of the reckless Trump tariffs, which have increased costs for the average American by thousands of dollars a year. Donald Trump promised to “love and cherish Medicaid,” but instead did a U-turn and cut Medicaid by a trillion dollars because of the Republicans’ “One Big Ugly Bill.”which cost more than 14 million Americans access to health insurance and led to the closure of hospitals, nursing homes and community health centers, particularly in rural America. Donald Trump promised the American people that ICE enforcement would focus on the worst of the worst and only target violent criminals. That didn’t happen. Donald Trump and his violent mass deportation machine spend billions of dollars on ICE to brutalize and kill American citizens or violently attack law-abiding immigrants, as we just saw in Maine and in Houston.
Donald Trump, of course, promised that he was elected not to start endless wars in the Middle East but to stop them, and then did a U-turn and embroiled us in a potentially endless war in Iran. A ruthless war of choice that has made life more expensive for the American people while making us less safe now that Iran is stronger and has a stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz. A stronger Iran than it was before Donald Trump’s ruthless and costly war. That’s why I strongly oppose America Last’s reckless Republican budget, this attempt to waste tens of billions more dollars on Operation Epic Failure in the Middle East.
Mr. Speaker, we extend our deepest condolences to the extended families of the soldiers and armed forces personnel who needlessly lost their lives in the Middle East. And we all have a responsibility to continue to stand by them in their time of grief and great need, but at the same time to care for them No more heroic, patriotic and courageous American soldiers or soldiers abroad need to die in Donald Trump’s reckless and costly war. That’s why we stand in strong opposition to this America Last budget.
One of the most important things to me as a member of Congress, who was solemnly given by the framers of the Constitution the responsibility to decide matters of war and peace, One of the most important things we can do is to stand against this ruthless war in the Middle East so that no more soldiers have to be sent home dead to the families they left behind.What we should actually be doing in this Congress is using our tax dollars to make life more affordable for the American people. And that is our obligation as Democrats in the House of Representatives.
Unfortunately, Donald Trump and our Republican colleagues do not share this commitment. This is not a hypothesis. It’s not hype. It’s not an exaggeration. Look at their own words. Of course, Donald Trump, who said that because we fight wars, we can’t prioritize things like daycare, Medicaid or Medicare. That’s exactly what’s happening right now. With their “One Big Ugly Bill,” Republicans implemented the largest cut to Medicaid in American history, depriving more than 14 million Americans of health care across the country—in rural America, in urban America, in small-town America, in heartland America, in black and brown America.
No one was spared from the Republican attack on health care.And why does this happen? So that Donald Trump can finance this reckless and costly war of his choice in the Middle East. And the reality is, in his own words, that he doesn’t care at all about the economic well-being of the American people. How do we know this? Donald Trump said in his own words, “The affordability crisis is a hoax.” Donald Trump said in his own words: “I don’t think about the personal financial situation of the American people.” Donald Trump said in his own words: “I love inflation.” And that’s why we don’t have to wonder why things aren’t going well for the average American in the United States right now. In my humble opinion, this is because President Trump and the Republicans in the House of Representatives continue to be indifferent to the economic well-being of the American people and actively do things that financially harm everyday Americans, such as this reckless and costly war of choicewhich is why we strongly oppose it.
Time and time again this Congress, on issue after issue, Republicans have taken extreme measures to make everyday Americans’ lives worse and actively harm the American people. The Trump tariffs are actively harming the American people and increasing costs, including on agricultural land, by thousands of dollars per year. The refusal to extend the Affordable Care Act’s tax credits is causing health insurance premiums to rise for ordinary Americans, more than 20 million people across the country, some by up to $1,000 in additional costs per month.
People are suffocating and drowning in this Trump economy. Donald Trump and the Republicans have passed the “One Big Ugly Bill,” the largest food aid cut in American history, a $186 billion cut, while simultaneously funding this reckless and costly war of choice. Republicans have literally ripped food out of the mouths of hungry children, seniors, and veterans in order to maintain the Trump war machine. Republican extremists apparently have money for war but can’t feed the poor. But our message to the American people is Don’t lose faith. Help is on the way.There’s a regime change coming up in the House of Representatives in November, so stay tuned.
The full floor remarks can be viewed Here.
https://jeffries.house.gov/2026/07/22/leader-jeffries-on-house-floor-ahead-of-reconciliation-vote-republican-extremists-apparently-have-money-for-wars-but-cant-feed-the-poor/
