House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries deflected the question when asked on NBC’s “Meet the Press” whether elected Democratic Socialists will have an equal part in the Democratic House Caucus.

WELKER: Do Democratic Socialists belong in the Democratic Party? JEFFRIES: What I can say is I do not support defunding the police, I do not support open borders, I do not support abolishing the Senate. We’re focused on actually solving the problems hard-working American taxpayers want us to solve, which is to lower the high cost of living in a situation where life is far too expensive in this country. That’s the Democratic agenda. WELKER: Do you think, though, that there is room in the Democratic Party, under the tent of the Democratic Party, for democratic socialists? Is it big enough? JEFFRIES: Well, listen, I don’t support the DSA agenda as has been articulated by the DSA itself. Now, you’re going to have individual members who have been elected in Democratic primaries and if they are elected in the general in November, will be part of the House Democratic Caucus. It’s going to be a broad caucus. There will be progressives. There will be New Dems. There will be Blue Dogs. What I’m excited about are the candidates who are running to flip seats in November, to deliver us a majority that pushes back against Donald Trump’s extremism and moves the country in the right direction. That means us, House Democrats, lowering the high cost of living in areas like groceries, and gas, and, of course, housing and fighting to make health care affordable for every single American while, at the same period of time, pushing back against the corruption that has been unleashed on the American people and holding the crooks accountable beginning on day one in January of next year.

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