USE ONLY ONCE Reps. Chris Deluzio (D-17th District), left, and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York speak at a press conference at Pittsburgh International Airport on Monday, July 1, 2024. (Steve Mellon/Pittsburgh Union Progress)
PITTSBURGH — Heavy equipment rumbled in the background as two U.S. Congressman – Rep. Chris Deluzio (D-17th District), and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) – stood before a small group of reporters and talked for nearly 10 minutes about the $1.5 billion modernization of Pittsburgh International Airport. That project is helped along, they pointed out, by the passage of President Joe Biden’s massive 2021 infrastructure bill.
When it came time for questions, however, it became clear that reporters had things other than infrastructure on their minds. Jeffries was asked if he had any thoughts about the much-anticipated U.S. Supreme Court ruling, issued just a few hours earlier, giving former President Donald Trump substantial immunity from prosecution. The ruling will most likely delay Trump’s trial on charges he plotted to subvert his 2020 election loss to President Joe Biden.
Jeffries’ answer started with a bit of a history lesson.
“In America the foundational principles first established in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in 1787 is that no one is above the law,” he said. “This is not a country of kings or monarchs or dictators, we’re a democracy. And it’s important to make sure that standard is brought to life all across the country. Everyday Americans are held to that standard.”
Jeffries then motioned to several hard-hat wearing union workers standing nearby.
“The men and women or organized labor are held to that standard,” he continued. “We have to make sure that people in powerful positions are also held to the standard that in America no one is above the law. And it appears the Supreme Court has not done justice to that standard in this unfortunate decision.”
Jeffries said the House Democratic Caucus had yet to look closely at the decision, but noted it was just one of several recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings his party views as concerning. He specifically mentioned the Chevron decision, issued Friday, which sweeps aside long-standing legal precedent and makes it more difficult for federal agencies to regulate areas such as the environment, health care and workplace safety.
“We’re going to have to study and evaluate the decisions that have been issued over the last couple of days, but they are deeply troubling and inconsistent,” he said, with Congressional efforts to “deliver a better quality of life for the American people.”
Next came questions about last week’s presidential debate, and Biden’s lackluster performance. Was it concerning to Deluzio and Jeffries?
“I’ve been clear who I’m supporting in this race, and as much as it was a tough night, I think I also heard Donald Trump lie probably 30 times,” Deluzio said. “I heard him say he won’t commit to respecting the election results and I continue to think he’s a significant threat to our freedom, this democracy.”
Jeffries pivoted the discussion to what he termed Biden’s successes, noting the 2021 infrastructure bill as an example.
“It was one debate as compared to an incredible track record of success that President Biden has had over his 3 ½ years in office,” Jeffries said. “All across the country we’re creating millions of good paying union jobs by fixing our crumbling bridges, roads, tunnels, mass transit systems and airports, modernizing them for the future.”
Biden, he said, is “putting people over politics, making life better for the American people, solving problems and delivering real results.”
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