Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) found himself facing an unexpected adversary while trying to push the Democrats’ talking points about the Schumer Shutdown — none other than CNN. Yes, you read that right. In a rare moment of journalistic honesty, host Dana Bash torpedoed Jeffries’s tired “Republicans shut down the government” narrative, leaving the New York liberal visibly scrambling to recover.
It was almost funny to watch — Jeffries came armed with his usual pre-packaged spin, only to have it blown apart by a CNN anchor who, for once, wasn’t willing to play along. The result? A flustered Democrat exposed in real time for trying to rewrite reality after Bash correctly noted that Democrats have voted 14 times now against reopening the government:
JEFFRIES: “Donald Trump and Republicans shut the government and refused to reopen it. Donald Trump has spent the last 35 days, more time on the golf course, more time talking to Hamas and more time talking to the Chinese Communist Party than to Democrats on Capitol Hill, who represent half the country.”
BASH: Mr. leader…you guys are voting ‘no’ on opening the government, not…not Republicans…
JEFFRIES: Hold on, hold on one second Dana, let’s just be clear about that. The American people clearly understand who’s responsible for shutting down the government.”
BASH: “Yeah, yeah. But you said ‘they’ shut down the government…”
WATCH:
Hakeem Jeffries was left momentarily stunned on CNN after host Dana Bash fact-checked his claim in real time that Republicans “shut down” the government.
The House Minority Leader wasn’t expecting the pushback and it showed.
He got heated.
JEFFRIES: “Donald Trump and… pic.twitter.com/DnSy3Gywmc
— Overton (@overton_news) November 5, 2025
Jeffries, let’s get something straight — everything you just accused President Trump of doing falls squarely under the powers of the executive branch. You know, the same powers your party was perfectly fine with when Biden was bumbling through them between naps in Rehoboth. And heaven forbid Trump actually tries to end the Gaza War or strike trade deals that benefit American workers — can’t have that, right?
Republicans proposed a simple, seven-week continuing resolution that would’ve kept the government running at Biden-era funding levels while Congress worked through the remaining appropriations bills and dealt with the expiring Obamacare subsidies. Democrats could’ve taken the deal. Instead, they chose to torch the process and shut down the government — all to cling to $1.5 trillion in health care handouts for illegal immigrants and guaranteed taxpayer dollars for NPR.
This isn’t about governance. It’s about the Left’s addiction to spending and virtue signaling — even if it means holding the country hostage. Nice to see a CNN host holding a Democrat to account for a change.
