Hakeem Jeffries Blasts Republican Who Confronted Him on Shutdown Bill
 

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Democratic House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries ripped into his fellow New York representative, Republican Mike Lawler, for confronting him at the U.S. Capitol about signing a GOP-backed bill to end the government shutdown.

By Anna Commander

The confrontation between the two on Capitol Hill illustrates the deepening partisan tensions at the heart of the ongoing government shutdown.

The dispute centers on extending the Affordable Care Act (ACA) premium tax credits and passing critical funding legislation to reopen the federal government. These debates directly impact millions of Americans' health care affordability and the paychecks of hundreds of thousands of federal employees, including military service members and civilian personnel.

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On Wednesday, Lawler confronted Jeffries in a hallway outside a news conference, demanding that he back a bipartisan ACA subsidy extension bill crafted by Republican Representative Jen Kiggans of Virginia as a temporary measure to maintain premium tax credits for another year.

Jeffries rebuffed Lawler's demand, repeatedly telling the Republican congressman, "You're embarrassing yourself."

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He then accused Lawler of speaking over him and said, "Just keep your mouth shut." Lawler responded, "Is that the way to talk?"

The two were discussing the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which passed earlier this year.

Jeffries also accused Lawler of "chasing clout" for confronting him while demanding he sign the bill.

Lawler pressed Jeffries repeatedly about signing the bill and questioned why he has not backed Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic nominee in the race for New York City mayor.

The confrontation comes as the government shutdown stretched into its eighth day, with Senate and House leaders at an impasse over the inclusion of a permanent ACA subsidy extension in stopgap funding measures. While House Republican leaders have urged Democrats to support their continuing resolution, passed last month, Senate Democrats maintain that protecting health care affordability is essential for reopening the government.

Jeffries, during the roughly five-minute confrontation, accused Lawler of not working for the American people. He then asked the New York Republican if he was trying to elevate himself because he's "afraid you're about to lose reelection."

"No, I'm not going to lose reelection," Lawler replied.