Hakeem Jeffries says Democrats will prioritize lowering costs if they retake the House, but success may depend on his ability to negotiate with President Donald Trump, who remains in office. Jeffries has explored cooperation with Jared Kushner on housing and the First Step Act, prompting criticism from some Democrats. Party leaders are planning actions for the first 100 hours, 100 days and year to address housing, health care, utilities and groceries, though impeachment threats and tariff disputes could complicate deals.
Can Jeffries Cut Deals With Trump to Deliver Lower Costs for Americans?
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries sits down with USA TODAY for an exclusive on-camera interview in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 1, 2026.
WASHINGTON — House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries is promising voters that Democrats will make life more affordable if they retake the House in the midterm elections. But even with a House majority, Democrats' ability to advance a cost-cutting agenda could hinge on whether Jeffries can negotiate with President Donald Trump, who will remain in office for two more years.
The prospect of cooperation is complicated by sharp partisan tensions: Democrats have signaled investigations and the possibility of impeachment, while the president claims credit for a strong economy and has called his performance an "A+." Jeffries says he will try to pursue priorities without yielding to what Democrats view as extreme demands from Republicans.
Balancing Oversight and Bargains
Jeffries faces pressure from progressives in his caucus to back party-line measures such as Medicare for All — a policy he has not endorsed — even as he weighs practical bills that could win bipartisan support. He told USA TODAY that the party’s early priorities would include efforts to end America's confrontational posture with Iran and to roll back tariffs that he says have contributed to higher consumer prices.
“As long as the president and the people around him continue to pretend like everything is okay, then it's going to be very difficult to actually get to a point of us decisively doing something in all of these areas,” Jeffries said.
Signs of Possible Cooperation — and Pushback
To explore areas of cooperation, Jeffries met with Jared Kushner, the president's son-in-law and a presidential envoy, to discuss housing affordability and the First Step Act, a bipartisan criminal justice reform law. The private meeting drew criticism from some Democrats, who argued that talks with Kushner should be accompanied by oversight demands.
House Speaker Mike Johnson downplayed the significance of the meeting, while figures such as former Pelosi aide Ashley Etienne urged Jeffries to pursue common ground where possible — but warned that Trump is unpredictable.
What Democrats Are Planning
Democratic leaders are reportedly mapping a sequence of actions for the first 100 hours, 100 days and first year of a potential Democratic House. Policy areas under consideration include housing, health care, gas and utilities, caregiving, and groceries and consumer goods. Possible legislative steps include reversing Medicaid-related changes from prior tax legislation and restoring expired Affordable Care Act premium subsidies.
Some Democrats say specifics will be unveiled after the election. Observers note that past House majorities have organized agendas around a set of themes to communicate priorities to voters and to guide early legislative action.
Politics and Practicalities
Negotiations will depend on several factors: how unified Democrats remain, how Trump chooses to respond (by veto, by executive action, or by bargaining), and whether Democrats also make gains in the Senate. Jeffries cites past bipartisan achievements — like the First Step Act and recent housing legislation — as examples of what cross-aisle cooperation can yield.
But the political backdrop is fraught. Jeffries has accused the administration of corruption and has not ruled out a third impeachment inquiry, a move that could sharply constrain chances of meaningful cooperation.
“We have a responsibility to, in all instances — whether it relates to the president, the vice president, Cabinet secretaries, corrupt members of the administration, people on the outside — follow the facts, apply the law, be guided by the Constitution, and let the chips fall where they may,” Jeffries said.
Whether Jeffries can translate campaign promises into legislation that reduces costs for families will depend on his ability to balance oversight with pragmatic deal-making — and on how both parties respond in the months ahead.
U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) speaks to the media next to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) on the day U.S. President Donald Trump meets with top congressional leaders from both parties, just ahead of a September 30 deadline to fund the government and avoid a shutdown, at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., September 29, 2025. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffriessits down with USA TODAY for an exclusive on-camera interview in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 1, 2026. House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries says the country is in the midst of an “AI safety crisis” that Congress needs to address with bipartisan legislation when lawmakers return to Washington after the midterms. Jeffries, in an exclusive interview with USA TODAY, did not offer a detailed vision for what that legislation should look like. But he emphasized that “time is of the essence” and lawmakers would need to take additional steps in the next term.(Jack Gruber, USA TODAY)
“I think we've got to be concerned that guardrails that are rigid are put into place, so that we don't see rogue AI agents behaving in a manner inconsistent with human values,” Jeffries said.(Jack Gruber, USA TODAY)
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) speaks to reporters outside of his office on Sept. 17, 2026 at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC. Jeffries discussed holding U.S. President Donald Trump accountable, corruption, and the cost of living for Americans and other topics. Also pictured is Puck News Capitol Hill correspondent Marianna Sotomayor (L).(Andrew Harnik, Getty Images)
U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), joined by House Democrats, speaks at an event on affordability on the steps of the U.S. Capitol on Sept. 16, 2026 in Washington, DC. House Democrats held an event to outline their affordability agenda and to speak out against Republican policies and rising inflation and its effects on everyday Americans.(Kevin Dietsch, Getty Images)
(L-R) Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA), Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA), House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) and Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) hold hands while praying during an unveiling ceremony for a statue of civil rights leader Barbara Rose Johns in Emancipation Hall in the U.S. Capitol Visitors Center on Dec. 16, 2025 in Washington, DC. In 1951, 16-year-old Johns led a walkout at her segregated Virginia high school to protest poor conditions for Black students. Johns will represent the state of Virginia as a replacement for a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee which was removed in 2020.(Chip Somodevilla, Getty Images)
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) and Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) speak after an event on the House steps on Nov. 12, 2025 in Washington, DC. The House of Representatives is expected to vote on legislation tonight to fund the federal government that aims to end the longest shutdown in history.(Andrew Harnik, Getty Images)
U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) speaks to members of the media about the ongoing Congressional government shutdown negotiations outside of the U.S. Capitol Building on Oct. 9, 2025 in Washington, DC. The government remains shut down after Congress failed to reach a funding deal last week.(Kevin Dietsch, Getty Images)
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) speaks during a press conference in the U.S. Capitol on Sept. 3, 2026 in Washington, DC. Jeffries addressed the Republicans' midterm convention in Dallas and President Trump's plans to campaign for candidates across the country.(Finn Gomez, Getty Images)
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Democrat of New York speaks during a press conference on the steps of the US Capitol after the Senate passed the "Big Beautiful Bill Act" earlier in the day in Washington, DC, on July 2, 2025. The Republican-led US Senate approved President Donald Trump's mammoth domestic policy bill July 1, 2024 by the narrowest of margins, despite misgivings over delivering deep welfare cuts and another $3 trillion in national debt. Republican leaders had struggled to corral support during a record 24-hour "vote-a-rama" amendment session on the Senate floor, as Democrats offered dozens of challenges to the most divisive aspects of the package.(Jim Watson, AFP via Getty Images)
House Minority Leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), joined by fellow Democrats, speaks out against the One, Big, Beautiful Bill Act at a press conference outside of the U.S. Capitol on July 2, 2025 in Washington, DC. House Republicans continue their work to pass the Senate version of The One, Big, Beautiful Bill Act, President Trump's sweeping tax and spending bill.(Kevin Dietsch, Getty Images)
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) and other House Democrats take to the steps to speak out against the Republican budget plan on Feb. 25, 2025 in Washington.(Jack Gruber, USA TODAY)
Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, left, and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries at the U.S. Capitol on Feb. 4, 2025, in Washington, DC.(Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries hands Speaker of the House Mike Johnson the gavel during the first session of the 119th Congress at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on Jan. 3, 2025.(Jack Gruber, USA TODAY)
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries speaks during the third day of the Democratic National Convention at the United Center on August 21, 2024.(Mike De Sisti, USA TODAY)
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) speaks during a press conference with other House Democrats on June 27, 2024 in Washington, DC. House Democrats are marking two years since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in the Dobbs decision, allowing states to enact abortion access restrictions.(Samuel Corum, Getty Images)
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y.,left, hands the gavel to the newly elected Speaker of the House, Rep. Mike Johnson, R-La. Johnson was the fourth candidate nominated by the GOP for the role after Speaker Kevin McCarthy was voted out of the job on Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2023 in a move led by a group of hardline House conservatives.(Eric Kayne, USA TODAY)
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries takes questions with Rep. Pete Aguilar, (D-CA), left, and House Minority Whip Katherine Clark (D-MA),right, as he holds a press conference on May 31, 2023 after meeting with House Democrats regarding the debt ceiling and the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023.(Jack Gruber, USA TODAY)
Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) talks with Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) after the thirteenth vote for Speaker of the House on Friday, Jan. 6, 2023 as Republicans take over the U.S. House of Representatives with a slim majority.(Jack Gruber, USA TODAY)
Outgoing US Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi (L), Democrat of California, greets Representative Hakeem Jeffries, Democrat of New York, after speaking in the House Chamber at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on November 17, 2022. Pelosi, 82, the trailblazing first female speaker of the House, said that she will step down from the party leadership when Republicans take control of the chamber in January 2023. "For me, the hour has come for a new generation to lead the Democratic caucus that I so deeply respect," said Pelosi, who first became speaker in 2007.(OLIVIER DOULIERY, AFP via Getty Images)
Rep. Terri Sewell (D-AL) holds a phone to take a picture with U.S. Reps. Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE), Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) and Brenda Lawrence (D-MI) as they wait for the start of U.S. President Joe Biden's State of the Union address during a joint session of Congress in the U.S. Capitol’s House Chamber March 1, 2022 in Washington, DC. During his first State of the Union address Biden spoke on his administration’s efforts to lead a global response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, efforts to curb inflation and bringing the country out of the COVID-19 pandemic.(Pool photo by Evelyn Hockstein)
At right, House Democratic Caucus Chair Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) departs a leadership election meeting with the Democratic caucus in the Longworth House Office Building on Capitol Hill Nov. 30, 2022 in Washington, DC. Jeffries is expected to become the leading Democrat in the House after Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) steps down from leadership.(Drew Angerer, Getty Images)
Chairman of the Democratic Caucus Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) speaks at a press conference Dec. 8, 2020 in Washington, DC. Jeffries and Rep. Pete Aguilar answered a range of questions at the press conference.(Win McNamee, Getty Images)
From left, Rep. Val Demings, D-Fla., Rep. Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., Rep. Jason Crow, D-Colo.(behind Lofgren), Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, D-Calif., and House Judiciary Committee Chairman, Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., walk through the rotunda on their way to the Senate at the Capitol in Washington on Jan. 16, 2020.(Jack Gruber, USA TODAY)
Rep. Hakeem Jeffries D-NY, speaks on stage while standing with fellow Democrats during the 2016 Democratic National Convention on July 27, 2016 at Wells Fargo Center.(Robert Deutsch, USA TODAY)
President Donald Trump speaks with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-New York, as he departs at the end of his inaugural ceremonies at the U.S. Capitol.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries sits down with Francesca Chambers, USA TODAY’s White House Correspondent, for an exclusive on-camera interview in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 1, 2026.
U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) speaks during a press conference with House Democrats on affordability on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., September 16, 2026. REUTERS/Aaron Schwartz
Help us improve.
