House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries rejected key positions associated with the Democratic Socialists of America during a Sunday interview on NBC’s Meet the Press, even as new polling suggests Democratic voters are increasingly open to socialism.
NBC host Kristen Welker asked Jeffries whether democratic socialists belong in the Democratic Party after the DSA held a convention in Chicago from July 31 to Aug. 2, 2026.
“Well, what I can say is that I do not support defunding the police. I do not support open borders. I do not support abolishing the Senate,” Jeffries replied, according to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s account of the interview.
Jeffries said House Democrats are focused on “actually solving problems” for taxpayers, especially lowering the cost of living.
Jeffries Leaves Room for a Broad Caucus
Welker followed up by asking whether there is “room” in the Democratic Party for democratic socialists.
“Well, listen, I don’t support the DSA agenda as has been articulated by the DSA itself,” Jeffries said.
He added that individual candidates who win Democratic primaries and then general elections would become part of the House Democratic Caucus. Jeffries described that caucus as broad, including progressives, New Democrats and Blue Dogs.
Jeffries also said he was focused on candidates trying to flip seats in November and on building a majority that, in his words, would push back against “Donald Trump’s extremism.” He also pointed again to affordability and “holding the crooks accountable beginning on day one in January of next year.”
Poll Shows Democratic Voters More Positive on Socialism
The exchange came as a CBS News poll published Sunday found that 58% of Democrats have a positive view of socialism. Among Democrats with a college degree, that figure rose to 71%, according to the poll.
CBS News Poll also reported that Democrats, unlike the public overall, had a more favorable impression of socialism than capitalism and tended to believe socialism would improve their own finances.
The same poll found that only 8% of Democrats surveyed said the Democratic Party was more progressive than they preferred.
DSA-Tracked Races Add to the Pressure
The Daily Caller News Foundation reported that, of 171 races tracked by the DSA, 62 DSA candidates had won and 54 had lost, with 55 still running at the time of publication.
