Rep. Hakeem Jeffries "very confident" Democrats will retain majority in midterms
CBSN
Despite a new CBS News poll showing growing concern about inflation and President Biden's handling of the economy, Democratic Rep. Hakeem Jeffries expressed optimism Sunday that his party could still hold on to its narrow majority in Congress in November's midterm elections.
The New York lawmaker, who chairs the House Democratic Caucus, told "Face the Nation" that the president's early actions to fight the COVID-19 pandemic helped create millions of new jobs and "rescued the economy." His assessment came shortly after the release of the CBS News/YouGov survey showing that nearly 70% of Americans say the economy is bad — including 52% of Democratic respondents.
Democrats are widely expected to lose seats in the midterms, with Republicans hoping to retake both the House and the Senate. Jeffries, on the other hand, said he is "very confident that we will be able to hold on to the majority."
An Arizona grand jury indicted 18 people Wednesday in the ongoing investigation into an alleged attempt to use alternate electors after the 2020 presidential election as part of a wider alleged conspiracy to falsely declare then-President Donald Trump the winner, the state's attorney general announced.
Almost four out of every 10 people in the United States live in a place where air pollution is considered bad enough to put their health at risk, the American Lung Association warned in its latest "State of the Air" report released on Wednesday. That proportion of people — about 39% of the population — had risen sharply since earlier rounds of pollutant data were analyzed for the annual report last year, and the trends were especially pronounced in certain parts of the country.