Tempers flared on Capitol Hill Wednesday as New York Republican Rep. Mike Lawler reportedly confronted House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, accusing Democrats of keeping the government shuttered while refusing to engage in meaningful negotiations.
The tense exchange unfolded outside Jeffries’s press conference, where Lawler pressed the Brooklyn Democrat on why his caucus voted to block a bipartisan spending bill to keep the government open. “Didn’t you want all Republicans to be here?” Lawler asked. “I’m here.”
Lawler, who has publicly supported continuing resolutions to avoid a shutdown, pointed out that he voted “for a clean CR to keep the government open and funded,” while Jeffries and nearly every House Democrat “voted to shut it down.”
Rather than discuss the issue, Jeffries fired back with personal jabs, accusing the first-term Republican of political opportunism. “Are you trying to elevate yourself because you’re afraid you’re going to lose reelection?” Jeffries said, at one point pointing his finger in Lawler’s chest. “You’re chasing clout.”
When Lawler continued pressing him on Democratic obstruction, Jeffries snapped, telling his colleague to “keep your mouth shut.”
The confrontation underscored growing frustration among Republicans over what they describe as Democrats’ calculated refusal to end the impasse.
For weeks, Jeffries has faulted House Republicans for not allowing floor debate on the shutdown, even as his party has repeatedly voted down compromise measures.
In September, nearly all House Democrats opposed a bipartisan continuing resolution to fund the government. Since then, Jeffries has demanded that any spending measure include roughly $1.5 trillion in unrelated policy initiatives — conditions that Speaker Mike Johnson has flatly rejected, saying Democrats must first vote to reopen the government before any negotiations proceed.
Across the Capitol, Senate Democrats once again blocked the House-passed funding measure Wednesday, marking the sixth time they have done so since the shutdown began.
The exchange between the two New Yorkers did not end with the budget fight. Lawler also pressed Jeffries over his silence in the New York mayoral race, where Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani — a 35-year-old socialist state lawmaker — is heavily favored to win. “When are you endorsing him?” Lawler asked. “Do you endorse him for mayor?”
Jeffries refused to give a clear answer. “First of all, I don’t answer to you,” he replied. “You don’t even answer to yourself. I’ll answer whatever questions I need to answer about the mayor’s race.”
Lawler noted that Mamdani drew outrage earlier this week after marking the anniversary of the October 7th terror attacks with a statement many saw as blaming “the Jews.” Jeffries did not respond to Lawler’s question or condemn the remark. “That’s sad,” Lawler said afterward.
Despite growing pressure from party leaders in New York, both Jeffries and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer have so far declined to endorse anyone in the race — a silence that, for critics like Lawler, reflects deeper divisions among Democrats struggling to defend their shutdown strategy and their city’s leftward drift.
[READ MORE: Poll Shows Hochul Vulnerable as Stefanik Gains Ground in New York Governor’s Race]
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