Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) contended abortion is of top concern heading into the election this November as it could lead to a domino effect for the Democratic Party‘s platform.
The House minority leader appeared for a 60 Minutes interview airing Sunday, attempting to make a case for more Democratic candidates to win seats in the chamber this fall.
“[Abortion is] gonna be an incredibly significant issue. Because on its own, it’s about freedom, and the extreme MAGA Republicans have set in motion the erosion of reproductive freedom. We’re going to fight for it with everything that we’ve got at our disposal,” Jeffries said. “If Roe v. Wade can fall, anything can fall. Social Security can fall. Medicare can fall. Voting rights can fall. And God help us all, but democracy itself can fall.”
As the House minority leader, Jeffries could be made the speaker should the Democrats edge out a majority. Currently the Republican Party holds a slight majority with 218 Republican members against 213 Democratic members. Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) is up for reelection in 2024, as is Jeffries.
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Johnson has faced threats against his speakership from his fellow Republicans that accused him of appealing to Democratic members. Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), Paul Gosar (R-AZ), and Thomas Massie (R-KY) are behind a motion to oust Johnson. Neither of them were involved in voting out Johnson’s predecessor Rep. Kevin McCarthy last year.
Jeffries followed Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), who served two terms as the Speaker of the House for an accumulative nine years. She retired from the leadership role in 2022 but remains in the House.