WATCH: House Minority Leader Jeffries Grilled On “Rigged Election” Rhetoric In Fiery Exchange Over Gerrymandering Claims

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries found himself on the defensive Sunday after CBS’s Face the Nation host Margaret Brennan accused him of hypocrisy over his use of “rigged election” rhetoric — language Democrats have long condemned when used by President Donald Trump.

In a tense, back-and-forth exchange, Brennan pressed Jeffries on recent remarks in which the New York Democrat accused Trump of trying to “rig the 2026 midterms” through Republican-led redistricting efforts.

“Donald Trump is trying to rig the midterm elections,” Jeffries declared in a speech last week, citing reports that GOP state legislatures were moving to redraw congressional maps in Texas and other battleground states. “He wants to alter the maps all across the country … to rob the American people of a free and fair election.”

Brennan challenged Jeffries on the phrasing. “You said earlier this year that Democrats aren’t election deniers,” she said. “But now you’re using the same ‘rigged elections’ language Democrats condemned Trump for using in 2020. Doesn’t that risk undermining confidence among your own voters?”

Jeffries defended his comments, insisting the situations were fundamentally different. “I’ve been using that term in the context of Donald Trump’s unprecedented effort to gerrymander congressional maps in a partisan fashion all across the country,” he said. “That is an effort to rig the midterms by denying Americans the ability to decide who should represent them.”

Brennan interrupted, noting that Democrats have also engaged in aggressive redistricting in states like California and New York. “You know Democrats are also gerrymandering,” she said pointedly.

Jeffries pushed back. “No, no, no. Democrats are working to ensure fair maps across the country — not the kind of partisan gerrymandering Republicans have initiated state after state,” he said.

The exchange underscored how fraught the politics of election integrity remain heading into the 2026 cycle, with both parties accusing the other of manipulating the system to secure control of the House.

While Democrats have sought to brand Trump and his allies as “election deniers,” Brennan’s line of questioning exposed the party’s own delicate balancing act — condemning election denialism while warning of Republican efforts they claim threaten democracy.