Hakeem Jeffries and GOP Rep. Mike Lawler Butt Heads Amid Government Shutdown
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) and Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) exchanged intense arguments on Wednesday (Oct. 8) after the latter confronted the former over a short-term extension of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) amid the government shutdown. According to The Hill, Lawler approached Jeffries after a House Democratic leadership press conference, pressing for a signature.
“Why don’t we sign on right now? Why don’t we sign on right now?” Lawler demanded. “You can easily extend the ACA right now.”
U.S. President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump pose for a photo with Rep. Mike Lawler after Trump delivered remarks during an Independence Day military family picnic on the South Lawn of the White House on July 04, 2025 in Washington, DC.
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“Did your boss, [President] Donald Trump, give you permission?” Jeffries interjected.
“He’s not my boss,” Lawler insisted, as Jeffries declared, “Yes, he is.”
Lawler doubled down, “No, he’s not, and by the way, why did you vote to shut the government down?” As noted by The Hill, Lawler is one of three Republicans in Congress who hold seats that voted for former Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 Presidential election.
The argument continued with both men accusing the other of having ulterior motives for their political moves.
“You’re making a show of this to make yourself relevant,” Jeffries claimed to Lawler. “You’re embarrassing yourself right now…You’re chasing clout. You’re an embarrassment.”
“It’s sad. It’s sad. You could easily sign on to this,” remarked Lawler. “The only embarrassment here is you…You have four Democrats on here? Why won’t you sign?”
U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) speaks to members of the media about the ongoing Congressional government shutdown negotiations outside of the U.S. Capitol Building on October 09, 2025 in Washington, DC.
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“Let me ask you a question. You voted for this ‘One Big Ugly Bill?’” pressed Jeffries.
“I voted for a tax cut bill that gave the largest to Americans…are you against that?” Responded Lawler.
Jeffries fired back, “You voted for a permanent extension of massive tax breaks for your billionaire donors — so they can get a permanent extension. But working-class Americans can’t? Is that right?”
“You can pass an ACA extension right now, sign on to the bill,” Lawler continued to plead.
After the exchange, Jeffries doubled down on his willingness to meet with Republicans despite the argument.
“We will sit down with anyone, any time, any place to reopen the government, negotiate a bipartisan agreement that has to actually make life better for the American people, not hurt everyday Americans,” he expressed, per Politico. “And a meaningful part of that is to address the Republican health care crisis, which includes, but is not limited to, the largest cut to Medicaid in American history.”
Lawler expressed his belief that “Hakeem is BIG Mad,” in a social media post that shared the aforementioned news article, which contained Jeffries’ response.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks in the Oval Office at the White House on October 06, 2025 in Washington, DC. Trump and other cabinet secretaries spoke on an executive order that will increase the development and production of Alaska’s natural resources.
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The government shutdown has continued for 10 days and will extend into next week, as lawmakers fail to reach an agreement on a bill funding government services.
“We’re going to be cutting some very popular Democrat programs that aren’t popular with Republicans, frankly, because that’s the way this works,” declared Trump, according to USA Today.
“They wanted to do this, so we’ll give them a little taste of their own medicine.”
