Padma Lakshmi says Hakeem Jeffries “should be ashamed” over failing to answer a “simple yes or no question” about Medicare for all

Padma Lakshmi isn't impressed with Hakeem Jeffries right now. The 55-year-old television host, model and author took to Threads over the weekend to respond to a user's post, which shared a video of the House Minority Leader's appearance on NBC's Meet the Press on Sunday. The post's caption read,

"Hakeem Jeffries is a DUD. FIRE THE ESTABLISHMENT. Democrats cannot keep asking us to save democracy while refusing to fight for the people living in it."

Lakshmi who has more than 500k followers on threads, replied saying that,

"He can't even answer a simple yes or no question. He should be ashamed."

The fifty-six-year-old Jeffries had sparked debate within the Democratic Party after his Meet the Press appearance, where he said he does not currently support Medicare for All legislation. That being said, Jeffries previously co-sponsored versions of the same proposal before switching his position in recent years. He shared during the interview that,

"I haven't co-sponsored the Medicare for All legislation that has been introduced over the last several years. I do think we need to figure out how to fix our broken healthcare system and then build something better once we repair the damage that has been done."

How Hakeem Jeffries went from backing Medicare for All to refusing to answer questions about it

Jeffries' current position on Medicare for All wasn't always his position. As per a detailed report shared by Truthout, he publicly announced his support for the legislation back in 2019 and remained a co-sponsor through 2021. Things changed in 2023, when he took over from Rep. Nancy Pelosi of California as House Democratic leader. His name disappeared from the co-sponsor list around that same time, though Jeffries has offered no public explanation for the change.

As per the same Truthout report, his rightward shift on healthcare isn't happening in a vacuum. A new wave of left-wing politicians is gaining ground within the Democratic Party, running on positions that include abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement, opposing data center construction, and supporting Medicare for All.

In the meantime, the healthcare crisis has continued to deepen. As per Truthout, while Republicans were stripping back the Affordable Care Act and leaving millions of Americans without coverage last year, Jeffries urged Democrats to

"decisively address the Republican health care crisis because it is serious."

Hakeem Jeffries also added that the path forward needed to be "bipartisan."

Hakeem Jeffries says Supreme Court needs a reform

Hakeem Jeffries also used his Meet the Press appearance to call for sweeping changes to the Supreme Court. He said he wants to see "dramatic reform."

"The American people should have confidence in the highest court in the land," he added.

As per a report shared by The Washington Post, Democrats have proposed a host of major changes to the court in recent months, including expanding its membership and imposing term limits, in response to rulings that have taken a rightward turn.

That being said, Jeffries stopped short of backing the proposal popular with some Democrats to expand the number of justices sitting on the court. He suggested that an overhaul could begin with the creation of an ethical code of conduct for justices.

Hakeem Jeffries also noted that Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, would take the lead in shaping plans to restructure the court if the party wins back control of the chamber this year.

On the specific rulings, Jeffries pointed to his frustration with the Louisiana v. Callais decision in April, which weakened a key section of the Voting Rights Act that ensures the creation of majority-minority districts.

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"The Supreme Court gutted the Voting Rights Act in ways that do the bidding of extreme MAGA Republicans who turned around in the Deep South and unleashed these Jim Crow-like tactics. It's inconsistent with the law and with the Constitution," he shared.

As per the same report shared by The Washington Post, conservatives have dismissed the proposals from Democrats as attempts to further politicize the court over decisions they do not like.

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