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Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., told Fox News on Thursday that Democrats need to “stand strong” amid calls for the old guard to step aside to make way for the younger generation of policymakers.
The comments came hours after former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., announced that she would not seek re-election in 2027 in a video posted to social media.
“We’re really focused on ending the shutdown and preserving health care,” Jayapal told Fox News’ Aishah Hasnie. “But the reality is we’ve got something really critical that is happening right now. People across this country are hungry, and we need to make sure that we are continuing to stand strong.”
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Jayapal added the party wants to continue fighting for healthcare policies, dodging specific questions about elderly leadership and redirecting blame for the federal government shutdown on Republicans.
“As the House Democratic Caucus has been doing as many as the Senate Democratic Caucus has been doing, and we want to continue that because I think [President Donald] Trump said it perfectly yesterday. He said that the American people understand who’s responsible for this crisis,” the congresswoman said. “So let’s end it by negotiat[ing] and getting a deal that preserves health insurance premiums. And the ability to cancel all these cuts to make sure that we are actually working for the American people.”
More than a month into the longest shutdown in U.S. history, Zohran Mamdani, a democratic socialist, on Tuesday won the mayoral race in New York City, and Democrat Mikie Sherrill secured the New Jersey governorship.
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California’s Proposition 50 on redistricting also passed, and Democratic Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justices Christine Donohue, Kevin Dougherty and David Wecht won their respective retention races.
Despite the party’s success, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., bashed Democratic leadership during the post-election press conference Wednesday of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., criticizing a lack of support in various political races.
“Well, the party leadership did not support [mayoral candidate Zohran] Mamdani in New York,” Sanders said in front of the Senate podium. “Party leadership is not supporting [Senate hopeful Graham] Platner in Maine. And I think he’s going to win… I think there is a growing understanding that leadership, and defending the status quo and the inequalities that exist in America, is not where the American people are.”
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Jayapal said the American people “did their part” by voting “overwhelmingly for progress to end Republican cruelty.”
“They told us with their votes to keep standing up and to keep fighting for them. They did their part, and we have to do ours now,” she said. “We have to save healthcare. That’s been the crux of the fight from the beginning.”
Schumer said on Wednesday that he and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., demanded President Donald Trump sit down with them to discuss healthcare issues.
Democratic leaders have been urging Republicans in both the House and Senate to confront the surge in health insurance premiums tied to the expiration of Affordable Care Act subsidies. Meanwhile, funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) has lapsed.
Though several stopgap measures have been proposed by Republicans, including a GOP-led bill blocked Tuesday, Congress has yet to reach an agreement.
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