House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) faced a sharp challenge on Sunday’s “Meet the Press” as host Kristen Welker questioned the Democratic strategy of blocking a spending bill, a move that precipitated the current government shutdown.
Despite Jeffries and other Democrats firmly placing the blame for the lapse in funding on Republicans, Welker turned the scrutiny on the Democratic Senate caucus, led by Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), whose members withheld the votes necessary to pass the GOP-led House bill.
The government shut down early Wednesday morning after the Senate vote on the House’s short-term spending bill—often referred to as a “clean continuing resolution”—failed to reach the 60-vote threshold needed to overcome a filibuster. The measure fell 55-45, with only three Democrats joining the Republican side.
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“You say this is a Republican shutdown,” Welker stated to Jeffries. “But it’s Democratic senators who are withholding their votes on what is called a clean resolution—that means no strings attached—which is something, quite frankly, Leader, that you and other Democrats have advocated for in the past.”
To drive the point, Welker then presented a montage of clips featuring prominent Democrats, including former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, speaking out against government shutdowns and advocating for the passage of clean continuing resolutions in previous legislative battles.
Democrats are demanding that any funding bill include an extension of enhanced tax credits for the Affordable Care Act (ACA), arguing that failure to act immediately will lead to skyrocketing premiums for millions of Americans.
Welker pressed Jeffries on the urgency of the demand, noting that the ACA subsidies are not scheduled to expire until the end of the year. She asked why Democrats would not simply “fund the government and debate extending Obamacare tax credits after.”
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Jeffries defended his party’s position by tying the shutdown fight directly to the cost of living crisis and what he termed the “Republican healthcare crisis.”
“What we’ve called for is a bipartisan negotiation where Democrats and Republicans can sit down in good faith, reopen the government, and pass a spending bill that actually improves the quality of life of the American people,” Jeffries responded. “If these Affordable Care Act tax credits are allowed to expire, premiums and healthcare costs are going to skyrocket… So we just want a bipartisan negotiation that addresses the healthcare crisis at the same period of time with the fierce urgency of now.”
Republicans, including many on the right flank, have accused Democrats of using the essential government funding bill as “hostage” to extract a policy win. Some have also claimed the ACA provision is an attempt to provide health care to illegal immigrants, a charge House Democrats have forcefully denied.
The current standoff puts Senate Minority Leader Schumer in a difficult political position.
Following a vote in March where he and nine other Democrats approved a previous GOP-led spending bill, Schumer faced significant backlash from progressives, most notably Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), who called the move “a tremendous mistake.”
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The unified front among Democrats in the current shutdown battle suggests that progressive pressure may be influencing the party’s hardline negotiating strategy.
With the federal government now closed and both parties digging in on their core demands, there is no clear path to a quick resolution, ensuring a prolonged shutdown that will increasingly impact federal workers and the national economy.
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