Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hey guys, just a minute.
(00:00)
Heads up.
Hakeem Jeffries (00:00):
It is what it is.
Chuck Schumer (01:07):
When I'm here alone, you're not here altogether. I got to bring Hakeem more often.
(01:07)
Okay, good afternoon. First, I'd like to announce that all 47 Democrats will vote against Russell Vought. We united in our agreement that Russell Vought is a dangerous and destructive choice to lead the Office of Management and Budget. And we saw a precursor to his leadership last week during the dangerous federal funding freeze that crippled, or nearly crippled, critical duties of the federal government and its operation.
(01:37)
As the chief architect, chief cook and bottle washer of Project 2025, it's Russell Vought who is laser-focused on undermining our government. He's proven it.
(01:49)
Senate Democrats will unanimously oppose him and do everything we can to prevent him from leading OMB. And should Republicans not see the light and shoulder shrug this dangerous person into this seat, they'll have to answer to the American people.
(02:08)
Russell Vought wants to cast chaos across America. He's depending solely on Republicans to do it. And as I said, he's a danger to the budget. He's a danger to what people in America need.
(02:20)
Now, on the reason we are here.
(02:26)
So over the past few days, and Hakeem and I work together really closely and well, and I welcome him to the Senate as he welcomes me to the House, I think. Yeah, okay.
(02:39)
Over the past few days, Democrats have warned the American people that DOGE is operating like a shadow government. Yesterday, I said that DOGE is not a real government agency. It has no authority to make spending decisions, to shut down programs or ignore federal law. This is not debatable. This is an indisputable fact. No authority for spending decisions to shut down programs, or ignore federal law. Yet, Elon Musk took issue with that warning. He said in answer to a tweet that I said that did this, he said, DOGE "is the one shot the American people have to defeat bureaucracy and restore democracy."
(03:28)
Now giving a break, nothing screams democracy like having a secret squad of company men pull off a hostile takeover of America's Social Security and tax information in the dead of night. That is not democracy, Mr. Musk.
(03:51)
And yet it's precisely what DOGE is doing. It's letting a small group of unelected people, secret, run rampant through the executive branch, accessing the private data millions of Americans need, and God knows what they're going to do with it. God knows.
(04:14)
So there are two dangers. One, people's privacy is at stake. Second, that there's a risk that this small group could cut program after program using one excuse or another.
(04:28)
So today, Leader Jeffries and I are joining together to push legislation to prevent unlawful meddling in the Treasury Department's payment systems and protect Americans across the country. Our bill aims to do a few simple things. One, deny access to special government employees, employees that don't have to disclose their conflicts of interest or any other ethic agreements. Two, to deny access to anyone with conflicts of interest or lack of appropriate clearance. And three, include personal tax information into existing privacy protections. We call our legislation Stop the Steal.
(05:18)
Whatever DOGE is doing, it's not democracy. We know what democracy is like. It's out in the open. It's not secret. You do two sides debate and then the elected officials make decisions. Democracy doesn't work in the shadows. Democracy doesn't skirt the rule of law, and it doesn't give special privilege to the ideas and needs of a group of ultra wealthy people at the expense of American families.
(05:51)
Of course, we should talk about reform. Reform's a worthy cause. Everyone agrees we should find ways to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of government. But you know what history shows? When it's done in the dark of night, it always leads to bad results.
(06:09)
When these DOGE people decide to cut a program, have they even talked to the people who run the program? Have they even done a little research? Have they heard the other side? Or are they just in such rush to cut anything they can so that they can keep tax breaks and give deeper tax breaks to the wealthiest of Americans? Undoubtedly not. They are not checking. They are not debating. They are not doing things in sunlight.
(06:41)
So we want reform. We'd like to cut waste. But do it in front of the American people, hear the arguments, have the back and forth that has been the hallmark of this republic for over 200 years. You don't have a small group of select people who have little experience across the breadth of government have access to these records and an ability to cut funding.
(07:08)
The American people have a right to be part of the debate as to what programs should be cut. And just 'cause a small group of people think they know better than the American people doesn't make it true. So we are going to do everything we can to sound the alarm and fight with everything we've got to stop this horrible, horrible act by this DOGE group with the of course, the permission acquiescence encouragement of Donald Trump.
(07:42)
Leader Jeffreys.
Hakeem Jeffries (07:44):
Thank you, Leader Schumer. And before Leader Schumer was a man of the Senate, he was a man of the House, and so we always welcome you back over to the People's Chamber. Democrats …
Chuck Schumer (07:56):
You sound like Nancy.
Hakeem Jeffries (07:59):
Democrats are always, always ready, willing and able to work with anyone to find the common ground necessary to solve problems on behalf of hardworking American taxpayers, particularly as it relates to driving down the high cost of living. We understand that America is too expensive. There are far too many hardworking American taxpayers struggling to live paycheck to paycheck. Housing costs are too high. Grocery costs are too high. Childcare costs are too high. Insurance costs are too high. Utility costs are too high. America is too expensive. Democrats are committed to driving down the high cost of living for working-class Americans, middle-class Americans and everyday Americans all across the land.
(08:56)
Our Republican colleagues are not serious about lowering the high cost of living. They've done nothing, introduced not a single bill, not put forth a single policy proposal. They've done nothing as it relates to lowering the high cost of living.
(09:18)
At the same time, they are raiding the government, attempting to steal taxpayer money. That's what the situation at the Treasury Department is all about. We will introduce the Stop the Steal Act in short order to prevent unlawful access with respect to the Department of Treasury's payment system connected to people who are trying to steal personal, sensitive and confidential information related to Social Security recipients, Medicare recipients, taxpayers, businesses, not-for-profits, veterans and everyday Americans. It's unacceptable, unconscionable and un-American. Stop the Steal Act will prevent this unlawful access from taking place.
(10:28)
It's unfortunate that many of our Republican colleagues are determined to stand up a shadow government of the billionaires, by the billionaires and for the billionaires that will stick it to the American people. That's what's driving much of the behavior on the other side of the aisle. Because at the end of the day, my House Republican colleagues are determined to pass massive tax cuts for their billionaire donors and wealthy corporations and then stick working-class Americans with the bill by doing things like ending Medicaid as we know it. We won't stand for it. We will push back against it. And because we're confident that the American people are on our side, we will stop it.
Chuck Schumer (11:23):
Questions on this subject? Yes.
Speaker 4 (11:25):
Senator, Republicans have argued that this is not an effort to cut government quite yet. That this is just a review process, that they're looking at how the money is spent and that they're trying to come up with a plan to make sure that it's spent correctly. Is your issue with the process here, or is your issue that Elon Musk is the one that's in charge of it?
Chuck Schumer (11:45):
Our issue is of course with the whole process, secret, behind closed doors, and you say they don't want to cut. Look what we saw, what they tried to freeze payments to just about everything, what they want to do. So our belief is there's a real danger, a terrible, terrible danger and a looming danger that they will not only have access to American's privacy information, but that they will use that to cut programs left and right.
Speaker 4 (12:12):
But how specifically are you concerned about Musk himself? Is he …
Chuck Schumer (12:15):
We're concerned that Musk is in charge of DOGE, but we're concerned about how the whole process works. And ultimately the buck falls with Donald Trump, the President. But we are concerned that a small number of people, we're concerned with the whole process, including Musk and including the others who were in it.
(12:33)
Go ahead.
Hakeem Jeffries (12:38):
As Leader Schumer indicated, the problem lies with some individuals who have been put in charge of this raid on the government, including Elon Musk. But it also relates to the so-called special government employees who aren't required to adhere to the ethical laws and the disclosure requirements that were put in place by Congress in a bipartisan way for a reason, to make sure that people have the best interests of the American people at heart, and that clearly is not the case as it relates to this unlawful access to the Treasury payment system.
Chuck Schumer (13:21):
When it's something so important as to who the government helps, it should be done in a way that adheres to our democratic principles, openness, debate, discussion, and reflecting a broad group of people who have inputs into it, not just a very limited few meeting in secret.
(13:39)
Yes.
Speaker 5 (13:40):
What other recourse do Democrats have? Obviously you guys are in the minority on both sides of the Capitol. What can you guys be doing when this is money that you have appropriated to be spent both in the federal freeze and in the international freeze?
Chuck Schumer (13:54):
We have four different ways of recourse. The first is just bringing this to light, making sure that the American people know what it is. We've had some success there already. When we brought the freeze, the freeze of funds to the public, there was an outcry and Trump had to back off. When we brought up the tariffs to the American people, there was an outcry and Trump had to back off. I believe there'll be even a greater outcry or as much an outcry as this.
(14:24)
The second thing we have is litigation. There are various groups that are already going to court to sue because they believe that this is against the law, and we are working with them in terms of giving them information, telling them what we know, helping make their court case as strong as possible.
(14:41)
The third is oversight. In the Senate, we're going to have some shadow hearings which discuss what this is, and we're asking whistleblowers across Treasury and other places, we're talking to some of them already to come forward.
(14:55)
And the final is legislation. On the appointments, they don't need Democrats, but on legislation, particularly the funding resolution, they do need us and we will insist that there be certain changes that undo these bad things.
(15:10)
Go ahead. You take the next one.
Speaker 6 (15:15):
What they're targeting now is things that Conservatives and Republicans have long targeted, I guess with the exception of the FBI in a sense. Do you think Republicans will ever bring a line in the sand? And if so, what might it be?
Hakeem Jeffries (15:33):
That's an open question. And in the House, whether Republicans have the smallest majority of any party since the Great Depression, when they're at full strength. At this moment, they're not at full strength and will shortly be 217 Republicans to 215 Democrats. That'll be the smallest majority since the 1800s. But even when they're at full strength, all we need is three. Three principled Republicans in the House and a lot of the madness and extremism that has been unleashed on the American people can be halted, particularly as it relates to the upcoming spending agreement that we need to resolve in a bipartisan way on March 14th. All we need is three Republicans willing to draw a line in the sand.
(16:32)
Now, the extreme MAGA Republicans have made clear they want to end Social Security as we know it, end Medicare as we know it, and end Medicaid as we know it. Last week with the unlawful Office of Management and Budget Order, they made their first move on Medicaid. The public rose up in response and they backed down in less than 40 hours. But we will never back down in pointing out the types of things that the MAGA extremists and the far right are trying to do to hurt everyday Americans, the people that they claimed they were working hard to help.
Chuck Schumer (17:19):
They've laid out a plan, $2.5 trillion in cuts. This is something that was in Project 2025 where Russell Vought was one of the chief architects. It's something that DOGE had talked about. And the cuts will be deep. They can't do $2.5 trillion without cutting so many of the things, the vast majority of Americans, Democrat and Republican really care about. Yes?
Speaker 7 (17:42):
Is there something you think that they might-
Speaker 8 (17:44):
And thank you, Senator Schumer. Have you reached out or do you plan to reach out directly to the White House to request a meeting with the President and try to talk to him about your concerns about Elon Musk bypassing the Congress directly and what your message to the President would be?
Chuck Schumer (17:59):
Well, our message to the President is it's exactly the opposite of what he's campaigned on. It's going to hurt voters across the board, people who voted for him, people who voted against him, people who didn't vote. And look, whenever he's ready to talk to us, we're ready to talk to him.
Speaker 9 (18:16):
When it comes to procedurally, all of this one, one I wonder, I mean the speed with which Elon Musk seems to be moving through the bureaucratic infrastructure, introducing a bill, the various other avenues you're pursuing, are they fast enough to keep up with what he's seemingly trying to do? And when it comes to this language that you're introducing, is this going to be part of the negotiations when it comes to avoiding a government shutdown that you're going to try to force Republicans to include this or what's the avenue there?
Hakeem Jeffries (18:42):
Congress has the power of the purse, and when Congress allocates funding in the best interest of the American people, the Constitution requires that that funding be spent by the President and the administration. The Constitution requires the President has a responsibility to take care that the laws are faithfully executed. Spending agreements passed through the appropriations process are law. And when those laws are violated, the Constitution is being violated, which is why there has been a flurry of righteous litigation that has been unleashed and that will continue. It's an all-hands-on-deck effort. Leader Schumer made that clear, all-hands-on-deck effort.
Chuck Schumer (19:31):
This is so … Go ahead. Sorry.
Hakeem Jeffries (19:32):
There's a legislative component to it. We saw that in the House in late December when the incoming president demanded that we hand his administration a 4 or $5 trillion blank check by suspending the debt ceiling for four years. Really? That was rejected legislatively out of hand. The next day the bill was defeated. There's a legislative component to it.
(20:02)
There is a court component to it. The administration through the president issues an executive order to try to wipe out the Citizenship Clause of the 14th Amendment. A few days later in response to litigation that was immediately brought, a federal district court judge appointed by Ronald Reagan declared it unconstitutional. There's a judicial component to it.
(20:30)
And there's also a component to it that relates to bringing along the public as it relates to pushing back. And we saw that last week with respect to the illegal funding freeze that was reversed in less than 40 hours. And we saw it as it relates to the wide-ranging outer control tariff scheme applied to our North American allies that would've driven up costs for everyday Americans. And so we are working on this and pushing back on all fronts.
Chuck Schumer (21:07):
And just finally, the roots of democracy are still deep. And when the public is really outraged by things, there is a response as Hakeem mentioned, I mentioned before as well on tariffs on funding freeze. We believe the public is so energized by what they have seen on this Treasury action that there will be a similar strong pushback and the president will feel that pushback and hopefully respond to it. Thank you everybody.
Speaker 1 (21:36):
Thank you everyone. Senator, thank you [inaudible 00:21:37]
Speaker 10 (21:37):
Thank you.