Mike Lawler and Hakeem Jeffries Get Into Fiery Shouting Match Over Government Shutdown: ‘Keep Your Mouth Shut’
A tense showdown unfolded Wednesday on Capitol Hill when Hudson Valley Congressman Mike Lawler (R-NY) confronted House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) after a press conference, sparking a fiery exchange over who was to blame for the partial government shutdown.
Lawler approached Jeffries at the conclusion of the briefing, accusing him of refusing to participate in bipartisan efforts to renew Affordable Care Act (ACA) tax credits.
“Did your boss, Donald Trump, give you permission?” Jeffries shot back with a grin, mocking Lawler as reporters looked on.
Holding up a printed copy of his bill to extend the ACA credits, Lawler rejected the notion that Trump was his “boss” and reminded Jeffries that he himself had previously voted for stopgap funding bills to prevent government shutdowns.
“You’re making a show of this to make yourself relevant,” Jeffries snapped. “You’re embarrassing yourself right now.”
“It’s sad, you could sign onto this right now,” Lawler replied. “You have four Democrats on here. Why won’t you sign on?”
Democrats have blocked the GOP-backed continuing resolution (CR) designed to keep the government running through November 21, insisting instead that Republicans roll back Medicaid reforms and extend the enhanced Obamacare subsidies expiring at year’s end. In return, they have offered to lift the Senate filibuster and allow the CR to pass.
Jeffries has dismissed temporary extensions of the subsidies, maintaining that they must be made permanent before any reopening of the government can occur.
During the confrontation, Jeffries brought up the GOP’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act—now titled the Working Families Tax Cut Act—and accused Lawler of supporting harmful cuts.
“I voted for a tax cut bill that gave the largest tax cut to Americans in history, including, by the way, the average New Yorker getting a $4,000 tax cut,” Lawler said.
Jeffries countered that the legislation gutted Medicaid funding, while Lawler argued that the reforms targeted “waste, fraud, and abuse.”
“Listen, you’re not going to talk to me … and talk over me because you don’t want to hear what I have to say. So why don’t you just keep your mouth shut,” Jeffries snapped, cutting him off mid-sentence.
The minority leader accused Lawler of working to “cut taxes for his billionaire buddies,” but the New York Republican fired back, saying the bill actually expanded the standard deduction widely used by middle-class taxpayers and raised the SALT deduction cap.
“Why are you here right now? Where are the rest of your Republican colleagues?” Jeffries taunted.
Meanwhile, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) has kept the House in recess as leverage to pressure Senate Democrats into supporting the clean CR passed last month. With the House out of session, Democrats are unable to move forward on a revised funding measure.
The verbal sparring between Jeffries and Lawler grew increasingly personal, with Jeffries accusing his GOP colleague of staging “a stunt” to help his reelection campaign, while Lawler retorted that the Brooklyn Democrat spent $42 million last cycle and “didn’t do that great.”
Lawler also took a jab at Jeffries over his silence on New York mayoral hopeful Zohran Mamdani’s attack on Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu on the anniversary of the October 7, 2023, massacre. Jeffries declined to respond.
“I’ve indulged you. I’ve given you your fifteen minutes of fame,” Jeffries said with a smirk as he ended the exchange. “You’re a complete and total embarrassment… and you’re going down for defeat next year.”
Earlier that same day, Speaker Johnson had his own heated encounter outside his office with Senators Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) and Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) as partisan tempers flared across the Capitol.
{Matzav.com}
