They will gather in a session on saturday morning. Votes live,bate and here on cspan. Earlier today, the Washington Post interviewed Hakeem Jeffries ahead of the opening of the Democratic National convention. He discussed a range of issues including oversight of the u. S. Postal service, Election Security and Kamala Harris as the Vice President ial nominee. Good afternoon. Welcome to Washington Post live. Kickoff of the Democratic National convention. That was supposed to be in milwaukee but instead, it has gone virtual because of covid19. Who better to give us a kickoff viewpoint but also the priority of the Democratic Party then one of its rising stars. Congressman Akeem Jeffries of new york. Mr. Chairman, welcome to Washington Post live. There is a lot to talk about. Lets jump in and go right to the post office. You, it ises thank great to be with you. The attacks that we have seen my President Trump and his henchmen have been heinous and part of a continuing criminal conspiracy in my view to undermine our free and Fair Elections. It all started in 2016 when russia interfered in our election and as bob mueller documented, that interference was welcome, knowingly by the Trump Campaign as part of russias efforts to replace him at 1600 pennsylvania avenue. The conspiracy continues when trump correctly corruptly abused his power. To target an american citizen. Joe biden, as part of his effort to cheat in the 2020 election and withheld 391 million in military aid from a country under attack in order to do so. Now it is continued in the with anf a pandemic attack on the post office. We have to see the Bigger Picture to understand the severity and intensity of the diabolical scheme that is been has been put in place. As john lewis would often say to us, we will we shall overcome. You throughout a lot in the first answer. You called and said this was a criminal conspiracy. You just call this a diabolical scheme. You are one of the impeachment managers. President trump has already been impeached. Given what you just said, do you think what is happening is treasonous or even impeachable again of the president of the United States . I dont want to use those phrases so close to an election. The senatehen republican majority fails to do its responsibility, although we predicted on the floor of the senate that more were to come if President Trump were unleashed by throw him out of office. We decided at that point that when the senate failed and was missing in action at doing its duty that this would be before the American People. That is why this convention is so incredibly important. We will articulate a forwardlooking vision for making life better for Everyday Americans who are providing real leadership in the context of the pandemic. That is what joe biden and Kamala Harris are going to do. Certainly, the attacks on our democracy are troubling because it seems like donald trump is intent on artificially insuring his reelection. You think that with the president is doing do you think the president has been successful in selling doubt about the november election given all of his attacks not only on the post office and mailin voting but just the potential results themselves . It is affection of the that bob decided described as a cold. Those are his words, not mine. The cultlike quality is you believe whatever the leader says. Without question, there will be some segment of the country that will no doubt continue to follow donald trump down a rabbit hole. But the American People are fundamentally good, fundamentally righteous, fundamentally just. I believe the overwhelming majority of the American People believe in the peaceful transition of power and the free and Fair Elections and the integrity of our democracy. That is why youre seeing so much outrage throughout the country. Democrats, republicans and independents demanding that we stop the attacks on the post office and ensure it can continue to function as they normally do. Opportunitye the for people to vote by mail in the midst of a dead the pandemic. The heroes act allocates 25 billion. Cindy republicans have been missing in action for three months. And your vacation, past the heroes act now do you think Senate Republicans will end your vacation now. As you know, we will be back in washington this weekend in an emergency session called by nancy pelosi to put legislation on the floor that we expect will secure support from all of the democrats and perhaps some republicans did with the post office back on the right track to guard against the intrusion that has taken place and to work toward making sure they can be fully funded. You raise an incredibly important point. On may 15, House Democrats past the heroes act. A 3 trillion plus intervention to try to deal with pain and suffering the American People are experiencing as a result of the covid19 pandemic. Overhas cost the lives of 165,000 americans. 5 million americans have been infected. Over 100,000 Small Businesses have permanently closed. More than 55 million americans have lost their jobs and filed for unemployment for the first time. That is extraordinary. President trumps response has been an unmitigated disaster. So has the Senate Republican response from mitch and the boys. That is why we need competent leadership. That is why we need people like joe biden who recognizes that in the midst of an extra nerve pandemic, we need an extraordinary legislative response. That is with the house did. Three months ago. We will be back in session this weekend, the senate should come out ond lets work this behalf of the post office. This is one of the few institutions actually mentioned in the United States constitution. Youre coming back into special session, youre doing that on saturday. The focus is on the post office. The American People are concerned with what is happening to the post office. Takenhere be any action on on Employment Benefits and all those other things where those benefits have run out. Loggerheads about what to do. The president has not even been at the negotiating table. The americans might say great about the post office but what about me and my needs . Lan employment has run out. That is a great question. My unemployment has run out. Rep. Jeffries that is a great question. Isnt it time for donald trump to get off of the golf course . He spends weekend after weekend after weekend at his golf club in new jersey. Promoting the lifestyle of the rich. This is not complicated. We acted in may to provide another round of direct stimulus to americans of up to 6,000 for a family of five. We extended the insurance benefit of 600 per week into next year. Approximately 75 billion for tenets that are struggling to pay their rent. We set aside a truly dollars for assistance to state and local governments whose budgets are cratering. That would jeopardize public safety, public education, public transportation, public sanitation and the provision of public services. We have to find Common Ground. We were willing to come down by a feeling if they were willing to come up by a trillion. What we have heard from them is crickets. They want to wish this whole virus away. Lets make it clear, even if there were only 15 cases in february, that is probably one of the 20,000 lies that donald trump has told over the last 3. 5 years, it certainly did not go down to zero. It goes over 5 million. We remain ready to find the Common Ground necessary. I am here in washington right now. We need someone serious about doing something for the people. In the past, the negotiating partners have been the speaker of the house, the Senate Minority leader, the treasury secretary, Steven Mnuchin and mark meadows. Should the negotiation now mcconnell and the president himself . Can the negotiations proceed without one if not both of those men . Certainly the president. Rep. Jeffries with respect to the president , his involvement would be counterproductive at this point. Less counterproductive than mark meadows . Rep. Jeffries mark meadows is a former colleague of mine but he never made an agreement that he likes. He has spent his time blowing up agreements. Mnuchin on secretary behalf of the administration has been the primary negotiator on behalf of the Trump Administration in the four previous agreements that we reached. This was a significant intervention in march. I have a reasonable degree of confidence that he is the appropriate person on behalf of the administration to be at the negotiating table. To the second part of your question, i think Mitch Mcconnell needs to get off the sidelines and commit to doing something. The problem is for the last couple of months he has been throwing hand grenades from the floor of the United States senate, saying things like states adjust to declare bankruptcy. That is a morally bankrupt idea that would send the economy into a death spiral. It is ridiculous and it was rejected out of hand. He has been talking about giving corporations multibillion Dollar Companies blanket Liability Protection while the American People are dying. That makes no sense. We rejected that as well. When Mitch Mcconnell decides to be a productive part its been, theoretically they could be a good thing. But as long as he is just interested in throwing hand grenades from the senate floor to try to blow up agreements, then his involvement is probably not something that would advance the ball. Back to theing you post office and the special session this weekend. The focus on the post office. What will you be discussing in general the postmaster and the action that has ignited fear. Will there be discussions about curbing the actions of the postmaster general . Absolutely. It is my expectation that the legislation will be reduced at 2436oint in the next hours. We will be able to review the full contours of it. It will be led by Carolyn Maloney of the oversight committee. We will all have an opportunity to make the case with particularly to the American People but we are going to constrain their ability to engage in a type of in the type of shenanigans we have seen. There that includes the removal of postal boxes. Oft includes the removal sorting machines. That includes the changing of Work Schedules to try to slow down the processing of the mail. They single part of systematic attempt to dismantle the post office in advance of the november 3 election, we will deal with it decisively and constrain it legislatively. We will also hear from the postmaster general on monday. He has agreed, avoiding the need to issue a subpoena to appear before congress and the American People on monday, august 24. He will be compelled to explain his actions to the American People. That will be another important moment. Know, we, i think you the members of the Judiciary Committee sent a letter to the fbi asking them to open a criminal inquiry into whether the postmaster general has broken federal criminal laws by deliberate interference with the delivery of the mail. Will postmaster general the at that hearing on monday . Rep. Jeffries yes, it is my expectation that he will be under oath along with or as is the practice for every other member of the Trump Administration. Ofyou mentioned the name congresswoman Karen Maloney who is leading the oversight of the post office. Of has been the focal point criticism of her most recent primary election where the president said look at new york, look at Carolyn Maloney. Her election should be done because mailin ballots the reason why it took weeks for there to be a final determination in her election does the president have a point . Rep. Jeffries he does not. New york was the epicenter of the pandemic but because of the leadership of andrew cuomo and the American People and certainly those new yorkers who banded together to flatten the curve in incredible fashion in the midst of the pandemic, the governor and state legislature had to reline our election system in short order. There was an overwhelming number of people that participated through the voting process that had been set forth. Absenteeppened voting. The race was particularly close as it relates to the congressional contest that chairwoman maloney prevailed in. Lets look at what the president is suggesting. He just requested an absentee ballot in connection with tomorrows primary in florida. Where thankfully he has no resident of that state. The Vice President voted by mail this year. Why should we deny the American People the opportunity to do the same customer we should not. In the heroes act, we include 3. 6 billion in Election Security grants that can be distributed to the state to ensure the smooth implementation of early voting, sameday voting and mailin voting that can be universally available to everyone. That is building upon the 400 million that we included in the cares act. Up his name,t attorney general william barr. With all the talk about safety and security over the election, you asked him at the end of july about what happens if President Trump loses and then refuses to leave office on january 20, 2021. Do you consider that serious possibility a serious possibility . Rep. Jeffries anything is possible with this particular president because norms do not constrain him. With a wannabe dictator authoritarian tendencies. Ethic we have seen that over and over again during his tenure. I think we have seen that over and over again during his tenure. I think we also compelled to ask every single cabinet official that comes before us what they are going to do. If donald trump loses the election on november 3 but refuses to leave office on january 20th, in particular, it will be important for for the department of defense and for the military to be prepared to do the right thing because they have taken an oath to the constitution, not to any one person. We are a nation of laws and not men. We will continue to talk about the sanctity of the peaceful transition of power. That is part of the character and essence of our democracy in the United States of america. Democrats to republican, that is who we are. We cant allow donald trump to break that out. Having said that, were you surprised that attorney general barr you asked him the question that if the results were clear, i would leave office. Youre asking the attorney general if he would leave office at the end of the term if the president lost the election. We surprised that the attorney general of the United States would not say unequivocally that he would . I was surprised that he provided a somewhat direct answer that he would leave, as the attorney general often does, he was a very slick character who provided himself some room. If the elections are clear, we have sent him a followup letter and asking him to tell us what circumstances you think would not be clear. People aree american going to decisively vote donald trump out of office and reelect joe biden but we want him to tell us what circumstances he thinks are not clear and we will make sure we get an answer from him. Talk about joe biden and his newly selected running mate, Kamala Harris of california. Your reaction to her selection. Rep. Jeffries tremendous pick. Joe biden had a Phenomenal Group of women to choose from who were , intoibly wellqualified likely powerful, grounded, hardworking and would have been great assets to the ticket. Senator harris was a phenomenal choice. She has great experience at every level of government, as District Attorney in san francisco, at the local level, as the attorney general in the larger state of the union. Most recently as United States center. I have worked closely with her on a variety of issues including criminal Justice Reform where she was instrumental in helping to pass the First Step Act as well as the George Floyd Justice in policing at where she was one of the primary architects. Those are just two examples of the type of legislative acumen that senator harris will bring to abide in administration. Think she is also a dynamic presence on the campaign trail. She will help electrify the ticket in a way that will increase the likelihood that joe biden will be the 46th president of the nine states of america. D believe that because Kamala Harris is she identifies as black but she is also ianamerican, d think that willu think that the faith increase because one of their own is on the ticket . Is a moments this where personal narrative really matters, authenticity matters in terms of one own ones own life experience. Senator harris has lived a life that many people within the africanamerican, caribbean american, south Asian Community howard university. Certainly a incredibly Prestigious University regardless of race, one of the most important black colleges and universities. I think a lot of people can relate to her and her journey. People, help but excite not just to go out and vote but to go out and volunteer and to encourage your family and neighbors and friends to participate in this and vote like we never have before. That was one of the things i was seeing on my twitter feed and reading in the comments. Africanamericans, particularly black women were saying you better pick a black woman. That will be the difference between my putting pedal to the metal and not only just voting but phone banking, taking people to the polls. If you dont do it, i will just vote. One speedbump that keeps coming up came up during the primaries. The Trump Campaign has been trying to make an issue of it. That is senator harriss background as attorney general of california. Do you think what would you whomo people out there for her record as a prosecutor is one that gives them pause . Not thatries i am familiar with the individual, particular cases that seem to have been brought up by her political opponents in this case, donald trump to try to sully her record because i believe overall, she, particularly at the moment where she was District Attorney and transitioned, she is the chief lawenforcement officer for that city or state, she has responsibility. In the beste did it interest of those involved and was a fair prosecutor in all instances. Importantly, once she transitions from being the attorney general to the no state senator, if you look at her record, she has continued to ford communities of color, the poor, sick and afflicted and the most vulnerable amongst us. As i indicated, her leadership on both criminal Justice Reform and Police Reform has been extraordinary. There have been a lot of poles that have come out in the out polls that have come showing Vice President bideds lead down to bidens lead down to four points. Theyre saying that democrats are freddie katz when it comes to polls. Fraidy cats when it comes to polls. Rep. Jeffries in brooklyn with the only two ways to run. Run scared or run unopposed. The fact that we are not opposed, we should be running scared, we saw what happened in 2016. If we do not proceed with the iof intensity necessary will say that i believe that when we took back the house of we wonntatives in 20 and governors races in places like pennsylvania and michigan, that what we have seen throughout the country and certainly in key battleground states is that the American People began to years ago to say enough. Trumps corrupt abuse of power that resulted in his impeachment. The pain,efore suffering and death that resulted from the covid19 pandemic and his response was an unmitigated disaster. That was before he failed to provide leadership at a moment of reckoning of systemic racism that has so it america for 400 years, triggered by the brutal killing of george floyd. The case he continues to make by his own failures and the case that joe biden and senator harris will make this week with a forwardlooking vision for Everyday Americans to create prosperity in every single zip code regardless of race, forgot this abrasion, religion. It will be enough to end our Long National nightmare. The American People will say two words to donald trump that we have all been waiting to hear, you are fired. Fired e you are a rising star in the Democratic Party. Next year, there is a mayors base. Mayor de blasio is terminated term limited. Are you contemplating running to be the mayor of the big apple . My mother does not get too involved in the politics i have been engaged in but she says under no circumstances am i to run for mayor. Theseocused on winning elections in front of us and the growing majority in the house and flipping the senate and winning the presidency and getting to work by governing when there is a trifecta of alignment on behalf of the American People on january 20. I will keep my eyes on you. Congressman Hakeem Jeffries, thank you very much for coming on and watching coming onto Washington Post live. Kemal and senator Bernie Sanders address the Democratic National convention tonight. Live coverage begins at 9 00 p. M. Eastern on cspan. Live streaming and ondemand on cspan. Org dnc. Or listen with free cspan radio app. Cspan, your unfiltered view of politics. Washington journal, this week getting your reaction to the Democratic National convention and news of the day. Live, tuesday morning, we will talk about the first night of the Democratic National convention with bloombergs Jennifer Epstein and what to expect from the second night. And a discussion on the role of minority women in politics. With amy allison, the founder of she the people. Cspans washington journal, join the discussion. Be sure to watch complete coverage of the Democratic National convention. Watch ondemand and find the latest Convention Schedule on cspan. Org dnc. Listen live. Sign up to receive cspan connect. The president s, available in paperback, hardcover and ebook. Inspired by conversations with. 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