White House demands apology from Dem leader Jeffries for vowing to fight GOP agenda 'in the streets'

The White House wants House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries to say he’s sorry for what the administration believes was a call to violence against the GOP’s agenda. 

The White House framed Mr. Jeffries’ comments that Democrats would fight President Trump’s freeze of federal loans and grants, along with other elements of his agenda, “in the streets” as an incitement of violence after a day filled with partisan rancor. 

“Will Minority Leader Jeffries apologize for this disgusting threat?” the White House questioned in a statement. “Or will he double down on the same calls for violence that have plagued the country for years?”

Mr. Jeffries, New York Democrat, held a press conference on Friday in New York City discussing the Trump administration’s directive to freeze federal loans and grants, a move rescinded by the Office of Budget and Management and that faces legal challenges after being rolled out to confusion and criticism this week. 

The congressman also railed against Republicans’ plans to extend the president’s 2017 tax cuts, which Democrats have contended would give tax breaks to billionaires rather than working-class people. 

“That’s not acceptable. We are going to fight it legislatively. We are going to fight it in the courts. We’re going to fight it in the streets,” Mr. Jeffries said. 

The House GOP is fresh from a retreat in Doral, Florida, where they ironed out how to pass the president’s agenda. 

House Speaker Mike Johnson, Louisiana Republican, vowed that the House Budget Committee would start building a budget resolution when the House returns from a weeklong break. 

Meanwhile, the remarks from the White House and Mr. Jeffries come on the heels of a day filled with partisan mudslinging following Wednesday’s collision of a commercial jetliner with a military helicopter over the Potomac River that led to dozens of deaths. 

Mr. Trump blamed Democrats’ zeal for diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives for undermining the Federal Aviation Administration’s mission of safety in the skies, while Democrats hammered his administration for a federal hiring freeze amid a shortage of air traffic controllers. 

Neither side’s argument was backed by clear evidence while investigations are underway to determine just how the midair collision happened.