Democratic House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said that his party will not work with Stephen Miller, President Donald Trump's new chief of staff, during an appearance on ABC’s "This Week" Nov. 8.
"There’s not going to be any opportunity, certainly, to work with Stephen Miller and what he represents," Jeffries said.
Miller was tapped to replace former chief of staff Susie Wiles on Nov. 6 and will step into the role on Nov. 9.
He is a long-time advisor to Trump, dating back to his first term, and the top architect of the Trump administration's anti-immigration crackdown.
Jeffries, who is likely to be the next Speaker of the House when Democrats assume the majority in January, called the move "an awful choice" and "irresponsible." He previously
called Miller a "dangerous xenophobe" and a "reckless extremist" when the change was announced.
"(Miller) has unleashed billions of taxpayer dollars to brutalize and kill American citizens, like Alex Pretti and Renee Nicole Good," Jeffries said on "This Week." "He clearly represents, along with Pete Hegseth and a few others, a really toxic brand of political engagement, of politics and of governance and the American people just voted for that kind of MAGA extremism to be eradicated."
He added that Democrats will have a "firewall" in Congress against the Trump administration following the Nov. 3 midterms.
Jeffries says Hegseth impeachment has Democratic support
Jeffries said during the appearance on "This Week" that an impeachment vote against Secretary of Defense Pete Hegesth could come as early as this week and would have "incredibly strong" Democratic support. He added that he is a "hard yes" on the resolution introduced by outgoing Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Kentucky.
"The so-called secretary of defense has abused his power undermined our national security and engineered this reckless and costly war of choice in Iran, which has skyrocketed prices on the American people and made the country less safe," Jeffries said. "Pete Hegseth has got to go."
In eight impeachment articles, Massie accused Hegseth of conducting the war on Iran without congressional authorization, seizing Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro without constitutional authority and killing suspected drug traffickers in the Caribbean without judicial authorization.
Hegseth has vowed to fight the charges and refused calls to resign following the GOP's wipeout in the midterms attributed in-part to the ongoing war.
The lame-duck Republican majority can kill the impeachment effort in the House by voting to table it.
Contributing: Bart Jansen, USA TODAY
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Jeffries says Democrats will not work with Trump's new chief of staff
