Jeffries Bullish on House Map as He Campas for Kaptur in Ohio, Blasts Trump's Russia Sanctions Waiver

On Sunday morning in Toledo, Ohio, House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries went to church services, then sat down with The Associated Press to make a case about the state of the midterms: the climate, he said, is holding firm for Democrats. He was in town to campaign for Rep. Marcy Kaptur, whose district is among the most heavily contested in the country and one that could help decide who controls the House.

Kaptur has held the Toledo-area seat for decades. But Donald Trump has carried the district, and Republicans are trying to flip it. Kaptur is 80. In August, the vehicle she was riding in as a passenger was struck while she was on her way to church, and she was hospitalized with injuries. She says she has since recovered. Jeffries called her a legendary figure in the Great Lakes region and predicted that she would once again defy expectations.

Jeffries is in line to become speaker if Democrats win the majority, and he has already traveled to some 50 cities on behalf of Democratic candidates. He said House Republicans are divorced from reality if they believe the Nov. 3 election will repeat the 2024 sweep that put Trump in the White House and Republicans in control of Congress. Speaker Mike Johnson recently suggested as much. Jeffries framed his own pitch as a call for dramatic change over the status quo, and said Democrats will be the only ones fighting to make the country affordable.

Ohio is being fiercely contested this fall. Much of the attention has gone to the Senate race between Republican Sen. Jon Husted and Democrat Sherrod Brown, but the House contests are a district-by-district slog that is key to unlocking control of that chamber. Kaptur told the AP that she and her team work year-round, not only at election time, to make a difference in people's lives.

The visit also landed in the middle of a fight over Russia. Late Friday, Trump abruptly waived provisions of the Russia sanctions bill named for Lindsey Graham, which Congress passed to help Ukraine as it battles Vladimir Putin's invasion. The sanctions were due to take effect Sunday, and Trump had signed the bill into law only last month.

The issue is close to home in Toledo. The area has a large Ukrainian American population, and Kaptur founded and co-chairs the Congressional Ukraine Caucus, a bipartisan group of lawmakers focused on the country. She called Trump's decision un-American and said he has sided with Putin.

Jeffries said it was shocking but not surprising that an American president would do so much to undermine democracy, freedom and dignity for the Ukrainian people. He said a bipartisan effort will take shape in the House to pursue a new sanctions package, one the president would not be able to waive.

The outrage was not limited to Democrats. Members of both parties voiced anger over the weekend. Appearing Sunday on Fox News Channel's "Sunday Morning Futures," Johnson said a number of his colleagues have raised concerns. He had not yet discussed the matter with Trump, he said, but knows the president is evaluating the situation, and he urged careful consideration of unintended consequences. With the election less than three weeks away, the questions to watch are whether a new sanctions package gains traction in the House and whether Kaptur holds her seat.