House

Jeffries still confident Democrats will take back House after Virginia redistricting ruling

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by Sarah Davis - 05/09/26 1:48 PM ET

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by Sarah Davis - 05/09/26 1:48 PM ET

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House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) expressed confidence on Saturday that Democrats can still win back the House of Representatives, despite a recent redistricting loss in Virginia.

“We’re going to take back control of the House of Representatives,” Jeffries told MS NOW’s Ali Velshi.

“We’re going to continue to make clear to the American people that we will lower their high cost of living, fix a broken health care system and clean up the corruption that we’re seeing in the country, in the Congress, certainly with the Supreme Court and deal with the most corrupt administration in American history,” he continued.

Republicans currently have a slim majority in the lower chamber of Congress. There are 217 GOP members, 212 Democrats and one independent representative in the House who caucuses with Republicans. Additionally, there are five vacant seats that were previously held by three Democrats and two Republicans.

Jeffries called for “nationwide” reform to judicial, electoral and campaign finance systems.

“Which is why we have to take the House back, take the Senate back, keep pressing forward, and then in 2028, take the presidency back as well,” the Democratic leader said.

Democrats are looking to capitalize on Americans’ affordability concerns this November, as President Trump’s Iran war continues to push up energy costs and place financial strains on businesses and consumers across the nation.

The average cost of standard gasoline in the U.S. was up to $4.53 a gallon on Saturday, a 44 percent increase from a year ago, according to AAA.

The Trump administration has defended these rising costs as “short-term” pains for a new nuclear deal with Iran. During his first term, the president exited an existing agreement shepherded by former President Obama.

Former White House Legislative Affairs Director Marc Short, who served under Trump’s first administration, cautioned the White House about political ramifications of these financial strains in the midterm races.

“The reality is that prices are going to continue to go up,” Short said on CNN in March. “This is going to continue to ripple through … To say this is a short-term pain really sets an expectation for a lot of Americans that if it’s not, it’s going to create a bigger and bigger problem come November.”

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