In a heated exchange reminiscent of classic New Yorker grit, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries told Republican Representative Mike Lawler (NY) to “keep your mouth shut” during a confrontation about the Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies. This debate is fueling a government shutdown that has now dragged into its ninth day.
After a press conference on October 8, Lawler approached Jeffries while cameras were rolling, bringing up the ongoing deadlock. “We got a one-year extension. Why don’t we sign on to it right now?” he asked about a bipartisan proposal meant to extend the ACA subsidies for another year.
Jeffries didn’t hold back, responding with a sharp query, “Did you get permission from your boss? Did Donald Trump give you the green light?”
As Lawler continued to interrupt, things heated up further. Jeffries threw down some serious words, saying, “You’re making a show of this to stay relevant. You’re embarrassing yourself. … Why don’t you just keep your mouth shut?”
While Lawler and other Republicans pushed for a one-year extension of the tax credits related to the ACA, Jeffries and his Democratic colleagues aim for something much more permanent. The Congressman outright called the proposal “a non-starter,” reminding Lawler of his previous support for the One Big Beautiful Bill that promoted extensive tax credits for the wealthy.
The political climate on Capitol Hill is quite tense. The disagreement between Jeffries and Lawler was just the tip of the iceberg, as earlier that day, Arizona’s Democratic Senators Mark Kelly and Ruben Gallego had confronted Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson over his failure to swear in Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva, who recently won a special election in Arizona’s 7th District.
Gallego accused Johnson of delaying Grijalva’s swearing-in to keep controversial Jeffrey Epstein files under wraps. Rumors suggest these files might implicate numerous influential figures in illegal activities. Once sworn in, Grijalva would cast the decisive 218th vote in the House, urging action on these issues.
Johnson brushed off the claims, branding them as “totally absurd.” In a heated moment, when Johnson attempted to shift blame onto Democrats for the ongoing government standoff, Lawler defended his colleague, stating, “Don’t come here lecturing us. How about you just go down the hall and vote to reopen the government? That would be fantastic… Thanks a lot.”
The two parties had actually planned to come to terms that day to work on advancing funding strategies to try to put an end to the shutdown.
