House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries found himself squirming on live television Thursday after a CNBC host dared to ask what most Americans are already thinking — whether Democrats are setting a dangerous precedent by shutting down the government over a funding bill crafted by the duly elected Republican majority.
CNBC’s Joe Kernan set it up beautifully:
There was an election. Republicans were able to pass the Big Beautiful Bill. To then say, ‘We don’t like that, so we’re gonna shut down the government until you take back all the things you duly passed!
If the GOP did that to the Inflation Reduction Act, or any of the Biden acts, shut down the government because we don’t like it, not pay military, not allow the government to open until you do what we want, after an election when the American people put Democrats in power – you’d be going crazy!
It’s not how it works! It’s bad, it’s bad precedent! And you’re talking about the House? You’ve already passed this! The Senate has a bill to reopen the government right now with five more Democrats.
Naturally, Jeffries countered by incorrectly blaming Republicans. “What is bad precedent is the Republican refusal to engage in bipartisan negotiations! They’ve made the government shutdown, they could open it now,” he said.
“How?” Kernen, a co-host of the Squawk-Box, asked.
“I just explained it! They want to keep the government closed. Cruelty from the very beginning of this administration has been the point. And the responsible thing to do is to sit down and negotiate a bipartisan path forward to address a very real healthcare crisis that’s upon us right now,” Jeffries continued.
“Can you do that while the government is open?” another co-host asked. “That’s the offer on the table…”
She continued, explaining that it sounds like Republicans are willing to negotiate with Democrats over the issue of extending Obamacare’s taxpayer-paid subsidies — which should have expired already but were extended during the COVID pandemic.
WATCH:
? BREAKING: Hakeem Jeffries was just EMBARRASSED for holding the government hostage…holy smokes. This was bad.
CNBC: "There was an ELECTION. Republicans were able to pass the Big Beautiful Bill. To then say, 'We don't like that, so we're gonna shut down the government until… pic.twitter.com/wlcxytaZC6
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) October 9, 2025
Jeffries went on to argue that Republicans have ignored the issue of “healthcare” and attempted to redirect blame towards the GOP, though Democrats in the Senate are mostly refusing to sign on to a clean continuing resolution that keeps current funding levels … like they supported in the past.
Jeffries tried to spin, deflect, and dodge, but the line of questioning clearly hit a nerve. The moment perfectly captured the Democrats’ hypocrisy: they scream about “governing responsibly,” yet they’re the ones holding the government hostage to score political points.
