At a weekend event launching the final 100-day sprint to the midterm elections, a new line appeared in the stump speech of House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-New York): “We are going to hold the crooks accountable.”
Read more Blanche’s AG nomination in doubt as a critical Republican remains unsatisfied
His fresh emphasis on corruption showed what Democrats recognize is growing voter concern.
When Pew Research Center asked registered voters earlier this month what issue they would most like to hear congressional candidates in their districts talk about, economic ones — unsurprisingly — dominated. But “government ethics and reform” came in second, ahead of immigration, health care and foreign policy.
In a CNN poll released Wednesday, 66 percent said President Donald Trump — who as president has expanded his wealth on a scale far beyond his predecessors — does not put “the good of the country above his personal gain.”
In his speech in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, Jeffries stood in front of a banner that said “Fighting for an affordable America.” He linked corruption to the pressures that voters are feeling from rising costs for gasoline, groceries, housing and health care.
“Tackling the affordability crisis alone will not be enough,” he said. “We must also deliver accountability in the face of rampant corruption in Washington, D.C., the likes of which we have never seen in our nation’s 250-year history.”
Read more After a disastrous 2025 season, Commanders launch training camp with renewed intensity
Painting the issue broadly, Jeffries vowed to crack down on price gouging by corporations; ban the president, vice president and members of Congress from trading stocks, and “clean up the mess at the United States Supreme Court.”
He added: “Anyone who is stealing from the American people, screwing over the American people or shortchanging the American people is going to be held accountable beginning on day one.”
As the midterms go into their final stretch, that is a message that no doubt will be echoed by other Democrats.
Catch up quickly every weekday morning with a rundown of the 7 most important and interesting stories. Sign up for The 7 newsletter.
Read more Feds relied on accounts from famed mobster, TV actress to build Comey case
