❓WHAT HAPPENED: House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) dismissed an outlandish demand by Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) for a primetime debate on the House floor over the Senate Democrats’ government shutdown.
👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Speaker Mike Johnson, Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY).
📍WHEN & WHERE: The debate request was made on Monday morning amidst the ongoing government shutdown, caused by the Democrat minority in the Senate blocking spending legislation.
💬KEY QUOTE: “The House has done its job. I’m not going to let Hakeem try to pretend for theatrics.” – Mike Johnson
🎯IMPACT: The government shutdown continues as negotiations stall, with Democrats pushing for significant changes to President Donald J. Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” including money for illegal immigrant healthcare and an early extension of Obamacare subsidies.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) declined a challenge to a prime-time House floor debate against Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) over the Senate Democrats’ ongoing government shutdown. Jeffries wrote to Johnson on Monday morning, challenging him to a debate on the House floor “any day this week,” to be broadcast live “to the American people.”
Johnson called the demand a “publicity stunt,” stating, “When the poll says that about 13 percent of the people approve of your messaging, then you make desperate pleas for attention, and that’s what Hakeem Jeffries has done.” He added that the House had already debated and passed its bill in a bipartisan manner before sending it to the Senate.
The short-term federal funding bill, aimed at keeping the government running through November 21, passed the House largely along party lines—with some Democrats joining the Republican majority—but has since stalled in the Senate. Johnson noted, “The ball is in the Senate’s court now,” and criticized Jeffries’ call for a debate as theatrical.
“The House has done its job. I’m not going to let Hakeem try to pretend for theatrics,” Speaker Johnson said. Notably, polling consistently shows voters oppose the Democratic Party’s shutdown of the federal government.
Jeffries, in his letter to Johnson, accused Republicans of shutting down the government over healthcare issues and failing to engage in bipartisan negotiations. Senate Democrats have rejected the GOP-led funding plan four times, with Democrats pushing for an extension of enhanced Obamacare subsidies set to expire by the end of 2025. In addition, Senate Democrats are demanding the repeal of a number of provisions enacted under President Donald J. Trump‘s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” including the barring of money to fund illegal immigrant healthcare.
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