House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries told Kristen Welker during a Sunday âMeet the Pressâ interview that he doesnât support the Democratic Socialists of Americaâs agenda.
Democratic New York Rep. Jeffries told the NBC News host he doesnât support the Democratic Socialists of Americaâs (DSA) current agenda, despite leaving the door open for more DSA-aligned candidates to join his caucus in January 2027.
Neither the House minority leaderâs office nor the DSA not immediately responded to the Daily Caller News Foundationâs request for comment.
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âDo democratic socialists belong in the Democratic Party?â Welker asked the House minority leader in light of the convention the DSA held in Chicago from July 31 to Aug. 2, 2026.
âWell, what I can say is that I do not support defunding the police. I do not support open borders. I do support abolishing the Senate,â Jeffries replied. âWeâre focused on actually solving problems that hardworking American taxpayers want us to solve, which is to lower the high cost of living in a situation where life is far too expensive in this country. Thatâs the Democratic agenda. Thatâs what House Democrats are fighting to achieve.â
Welker then asked Jeffries if he thinks there is âroomâ in the Democratic Party for democratic socialists.
âWell, listen, I donât support the DSA agenda as has been articulated by the DSA itself. Now, youâre going to have individual members who have been elected in Democratic primaries and, if they are elected in the general in November, will be part of the House Democratic Caucus,â Jeffries said. âItâs going to be a broad caucus. There will be progressives. There will be New Dems. There will be Blue Dogs.â
âWhat Iâm excited about are the candidates who are running to flip seats in November, to deliver us a majority that pushes back against Donald Trumpâs extremism and moves the country in the right direction,â Jeffries continued, before pivoting to affordability and âholding the crooks accountable beginning on day one in January of next year.â
Approximately 58% of Democrats have a âpositiveâ view of socialism, according to a CBS News poll published Sunday. Of those with a college degree, that share jumps up to 71%.
Of the 171 races the DSA is tracking, 62 of its candidates won, while 54 others lost. An additional 55 are still running at the time of publication.
Only 8% of Democrats surveyed in the CBS News poll said the Democratic Party was more progressive than they preferred.
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