Margaret Brennan Challenges Hakeem Jeffries on NY Redistricting Fiasco: ‘This Was a Democrat-Led Process’

Face the Nation host Margaret Brennan challenged Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) on Sunday about New York’s redistricting fiasco, noting it was a “Democrat-led process.”

This comes as a judge has approved a new congressional district map for the Empire State following a battle over redrawn districts. The process involved Democratic infighting, as Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (D-NY), the head of the campaign arm of Congressional Democrats, announced he would run in a newly-drawn district that is currently represented by another Democrat, Rep. Mondaire Jones. However, Jones decided to switch and run in another district.

“I want to ask you a bit about what’s happening in your home state of New York. We’ve talked on this program previously about the redistricting that has been happening around the country, New York, to Democrats’ advantage largely. But you’ve had this fight internally over the congressional map,” said Brennan. “Bottom line, did Democrats put their own communities at risk in your state by gerrymandering it to the degree they did?”

“Well, the Court of Appeals was wrong in a decision that they made,” Jeffries said, “both on the substance and in terms of turning over redistricting to an out-of-town unelected special master and a judicial overseer in Steuben County who’s a Republican leader.”

Brennan pushed back.

“Democrats control your state legislature,” she said. “This was a Democrat-led process. Even though I know you’re talking about the court right now.”

“Right,” said Jeffries. “Well, the process, unfortunately, was highjacked by the Court of Appeals. A bad process has now led to a bad result. You talking about five different congressional districts where a Black and Latino population was degraded. The only, most significant Jewish district in the country has been detonated for no good reason.”

Watch above, via CBS.