In an appearance on CNN, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries insisted that House and Senate Democrats are united, and he slammed Republican Rep. Mike Lawler, who tried to interrupt one of Jeffries’ news conferences on Wednesday.
“Well, MAGA Mike Lawler is an irrelevant individual,” Jeffries said Thursday morning. “He doesn’t even have the support of the House Republican leadership who have refused to address the issue of extending the Affordable Care Act tax credits.”
Lawler, a New York Republican, attempted to enter the room while the news conference was still underway but was stopped by staff, according to two sources. After the event concluded, he approached Jeffries, triggering a heated five-minute exchange in the hallway. Lawler pressed Jeffries to support a bill to extend health insurance tax credits for one year. Democrats continue to push for a permanent extension.
Earlier in the day, Lawler had also stopped Sens. Ruben Gallego and Mark Kelly, both Arizona Democrats, when they confronted House Speaker Mike Johnson over not swearing in Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva. Lawler, who represents a swing district, insisted Democratic leadership has “voted multiple times to keep the government shut down.”
Jeffries said Thursday that Democrats “will sit down with anyone, any time, any place one to reopen the government, negotiate a bipartisan agreement that has to actually make life better for the American people, not hurt everyday Americans.”
