Jeffries vows to pressure his fellow Democrats who are waging a war on federalism
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Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, DN.Y., has vowed to put pressure on Maryland Democratic state Senate President Bill Ferguson, who has spoken out against a Democrat-led plan to redistrict the state’s lone Republican in the House outside his district.
“Let’s talk about Maryland, because this is a battle within your party. The governor, Wes Moore, supports this plan to redraw one Republican from his district. This passed the state house, but it was held in the state assembly by one man, the president of the state parliament, Bill Ferguson. Bill Ferguson, who does not bring the NNside of R Politics.” “Would he charge you a lot? This president of the Democratic State Senate in Maryland?”
Ferguson urged his party in a letter in October to avoid pursuing measures to reopen Maryland’s congressional lines, fearing the process could backfire. Democratic Gov. Wes Moore ignored the president’s caucus warning in November.
“He will have to live with that if that is the result at the end of the day. But I don’t think that will be the result, because we know that we have the support of many right now as we speak in the parliament of the state of Maryland. And all we ask of President Ferguson is to allow democracy to prevail,” answered Jeffries. “That means an up or down vote.”
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) speaks during a press conference at the US Capitol on February 09, 2026, in Washington, DC Maryland State Senate President Bill Ferguson speaks about the Maryland State Trade and Opportunity Protection Act he and Sen. Johnny Ray Salling sponsored in January 2025. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images; Kim Hairston/Baltimore Sun/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
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“One man shouldn’t be standing in the way of the people of Maryland using their representatives on a national strike, being able to make a decision, should we go this way or should we not respond to Donald Trump’s continued efforts to rig the midterm elections?” the minority leader of the House continued.
Jeffries asserted that Democrats are taking the issue of voter fraud seriously, compared to what Republicans are doing, saying they “pass maps that they do on purpose, often erasing Black or Latino districts at night.”
When asked about Ferguson’s concerns about legal challenges and legislation that could reverse the shooting, Jeffries said, “He’s not right.”
The House minority leader then vowed to put pressure on Ferguson if he stood in the way.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, DN.Y., walks toward the House Chamber on Capitol Hill on December 18, 2025, in Washington, DC. Lawmakers will return home after the House of Representatives held its final 2025 vote on Thursday, leaving unresolved the expiration of Obamacare’s pandemic-era funding for millions of Americans who are at risk of losing health care in Jan. 1, 2026. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
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“I will have to talk to him if he continues to stand on the way to vote up or down. But hopefully in the next few days, he will change his mind,” he said.
Ferguson did not immediately return Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Jeffries said Democrats are trying to redistrict the entire country to ensure that “the national map is free and fair.” Texas Republicans successfully he passed a new congressional map in August, which added five new Republican-leaning counties to the state.
“And whatever benefit the Republicans thought they would get from selling red states across the country, we’re making sure those benefits are completely eliminated,” he said.
Maryland Governor Wes Moore in Annapolis, Maryland, on February 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Steve Ruark)
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Raju asked Jeffries how much money Democrats were willing to spend to pass the Virginia ballot measure. The Virginia Senate voted 21-16 along party lines Wednesday to pass a set of new congressional maps that will leave one Republican district in the state.
“Whatever it takes,” he responded. “We’re going to spend tens of millions of dollars to make sure that Republicans don’t successfully sponsor voters in Virginia, and that voters have all the information they need to decide whether they want Donald Trump to confirm the midterm elections and stop the ability of the American people to decide who is in the majority, or whether Virginians and the American people get to decide.”
