Hakeem Jeffries tells Trump to ‘get off the golf course’ and end government shutdown

WASHINGTON, DC: House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries wants President Donald Trump to stop teeing off and start showing up.

The New York Democrat torched the commander-in-chief on Monday, October 20, for what he called a “hands-off” approach to the government shutdown, accusing Trump of sitting on the sidelines while federal workers go unpaid and Congress remains stuck.

Hakeem Jeffries calls out Trump for ‘hands-off’ approach to govt shutdown

Jeffries said Trump’s inaction is the biggest roadblock to reopening the government.

“Donald Trump definitively needs to get involved,” Jeffries told reporters in the Capitol. “He needs to get off the sidelines, get off the golf course, and actually decide to end this shutdown that he’s created."

Trump has been seen at his clubs in Florida and New Jersey while Washington remains gridlocked over the budget. However, Republicans say they’ve already done their part.

While Jeffries is calling for action, GOP leaders insist they’ve already put a reasonable offer on the table. House Republicans passed a straightforward seven-week funding patch on September 19, a continuing resolution (CR) that would keep the government open at current fiscal year levels while lawmakers hammer out a longer-term FY2026 deal.

But in the Senate, the plan has gone nowhere fast. The bill has failed to advance twelve times, largely because Democrats refuse to sign on without extensions to Affordable Care Act subsidies. At least eight Democrats are needed to break a filibuster, assuming every GOP senator supports it.

Republicans are framing it as a take-it-or-leave-it situation, saying there’s “nothing to negotiate” until Democrats agree to reopen the government first.   

Hakeem Jeffries blames Trump for stalled talks, says GOP takes orders from him

Jeffries has been in Washington nearly every day throughout the shutdown, pressing Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La) to call lawmakers back to the Capitol for bipartisan budget talks. But so far, nothing’s moving.

“We know that House and Senate Republicans don’t do anything without permission from their boss, Donald J Trump,” Jeffries said. “And the reason why there have been no negotiations, zero negotiations since Republicans shut the government down, is because Donald Trump clearly wants the government shut down. He wants to inflict pain on the American people.”

He added, “And this will not change until Donald Trump gives Republicans permission to sit down with Democrats.”

Trump did briefly meet with congressional leaders from both parties at the White House on September 29, two days before the shutdown. But since then, he’s largely ghosted the process.

Instead, he’s shifted focus to foreign affairs and reportedly brushed off Democratic requests to meet again on the budget. 

Trump posts AI spoof mocking Hakeem Jeffries and Chuck Schumer

This comes just weeks after Trump trolled Jeffries and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer with an AI-generated parody on social media. The clip shows Jeffries wearing a sombrero and mustache while Schumer speaks in a fake voice, making jokes about Democrats losing voters.

Trump shared the video just hours after meeting Jeffries and Schumer at the White House to discuss the looming shutdown. It features mariachi music and a bizarre monologue from the fake Schumer voice.

“Look, guys, there’s no way to sugarcoat it. Nobody likes Democrats anymore. We have no voters left because of all of our woke trans bulls***. Not even Black people want to vote for us anymore. Even Latinos hate us," he says.

“So, we need new voters, and if we give all these illegal aliens free health care, we might be able to get them on our side so they can vote for us,” the fake Schumer continues.

Of course, the Democrats were not amused. Jeffries fired back on X (formerly Twitter), “Bigotry will get you nowhere. Cancel the Cuts. Lower the Cost. Save Healthcare. We are NOT backing down.”

Schumer followed shortly after, writing, “If you think your shutdown is a joke, it just proves what we all know: You can’t negotiate. You can only throw tantrums."

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