Tensions boiled over on Capitol Hill Wednesday as the government shutdown stretched into its eighth day, leading to a heated shouting match between two New York lawmakers — House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) and Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.).
The confrontation erupted outside Jeffries’ press conference after Lawler pressed the Democratic leader to back a bipartisan one-year extension of enhanced ObamaCare subsidies, a sticking point in negotiations over reopening the government.
“We’ve got a one-year extension — why don’t you sign on right now?” Lawler challenged.
Jeffries fired back, asking whether Lawler had “gotten permission” from “his boss Donald Trump.”
“He’s not my boss,” Lawler shot back.
The exchange quickly spiraled into a shouting match, with both men accusing the other’s party of prolonging the shutdown. Jeffries at one point jabbed his finger toward Lawler’s chest, telling him, “You’re not going to talk over me… so why don’t you just keep your mouth shut?”
“Oh, is that the way to talk?” Lawler replied.
The two sparred for several minutes — trading insults and arguing over the Republicans’ “One, Big Beautiful Bill Act,” a sweeping GOP policy package that Jeffries called an “embarrassment.” Lawler defended his vote, calling it “the largest tax cut in American history” and saying it saved the average New Yorker $4,000.
Jeffries countered that the bill amounted to “the largest cut to Medicaid in American history.”
Lawler also taunted Jeffries over whether he would endorse Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani for mayor of New York City — a question Jeffries ignored.
The argument ended with Jeffries accusing Republicans of “vacationing in their districts” during the shutdown, while Lawler retorted, “You wanted Republicans to be here — I’m here. So let’s pass the ACA extension.”
As tensions continued, Jeffries asked once more if “Trump was behind it,” before dismissing Lawler with a parting jab: “Are you mathematically challenged, bro?”