Hakeem Jeffries tells Mike Lawler to ‘keep your mouth shut’ during heated exchange over shutdown

WASHINGTON, DC: Rep Mike Lawler (R-NY) had a verbal spat with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) on Wednesday, October 8, over his role in causing the partial government shutdown.

At the end of a Wednesday press conference, Lawler approached Jeffries and called him out for not engaging in bipartisan negotiations to extend the Affordable Care Act (ACA) tax credits.

Mike Lawler clashes with Hakeem Jeffries over ACA tax credits and shutdown

Rep Mike Lawler (R-NY) confronted House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) in front of a group of reporters. Jeffries snapped back, saying, “Did your boss, Donald Trump, give you permission?”

Lawler, holding up a copy of legislation to extend the ACA tax credits, responded that President Trump isn’t his boss and noted that Jeffries has repeatedly voted for spending patches in the past to avert government shutdowns.

Jeffries retorted, “You’re making a show of this to make yourself relevant. You’re embarrassing yourself right now.”

“It’s sad, you could sign onto this right now. You have four Democrats on here. Why won’t you sign on?” Lawler countered.

Democrats have blocked a GOP-backed continuing resolution (CR) to keep the government funded through November 21. They have also demanded that Republicans reverse Medicaid reforms and extend the enhanced Obamacare subsidies set to expire at the end of 2025.

In exchange, Democrats are calling for a break in the Senate filibuster to allow the CR to move forward and reopen the government. Jeffries has dismissed calls for a temporary extension of those subsidies, insisting instead on a permanent extension as part of his conditions to end the shutdown.

During the exchange, Jeffries also needled Lawler over the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, further escalating the tense back-and-forth. 

Hakeem Jeffries defends tax bill, tells Mike Lawler to ‘keep your mouth shut’

Hakeem Jeffries told Mike Lawler on Wednesday, “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.”

He added that the megabill also slashed funding for Medicaid. However, Lawler countered that the GOP-backed reforms were aimed at rooting out waste, fraud, and abuse. 

Jeffries snapped back, saying, “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.”

Moreover, he accused Lawler of slashing taxes for his billionaire friends, while the GOP representative argued that the megabill extended the standard deduction and increased the state and local tax (SALT) deduction cap.

Jeffries sniped again, saying, “Why are you here right now? Where are the rest of your Republican colleagues?” During their heated exchange, the two traded barbs, with Jeffries accusing Lawler of staging a stunt to boost his reelection prospects.

Meanwhile, Lawler jabbed that the Brooklyn Democrat spent $42 million last cycle and “didn’t do that great.”