Speaker of the House Mike Johnson dismissed a call from the House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries to hold a televised debate between the two party leaders on the floor of the House over the reasons behind the Schumer Shutdown. Speaker Johnson called the move a "publicity stunt."
"When the poll says that about 13% of the people approve of your messaging, then you make desperate pleas for attention, and that's what Hakeem Jeffries has done," Johnson said.
"We debated all this on the House floor. As you know, before we passed our bill, he spoke for seven or eight minutes. He had all of his colleagues lined up. They gave it their best shot, and they argued, and they stomped their feet and screamed at us and all that. And still we passed the bill in bipartisan fashion and sent it over to the Senate."
"The House has done its job. I'm not going to let Hakeem try to pretend for theatrics. I mean, this is a [Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.] decision. The ball is in the Senate's court now," Johnson cotninued.
"We don't need to waste time on that nonsense. Those debates have been had. I mean, Hakeem is a friend and a colleague. I respect him, but we all know what he's trying to do there."
🚨 BREAKING: Mike Johnson just PUMMELED Hakeem Jeffries...MIC DROP.
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) October 6, 2025
REPORTER: Jeffries challenged you to a debate! Will you?
JOHNSON: "When the polls say that 13% of the people approve of your messaging, then you make desperate pleas for ATTENTION - and that's what Hakeem… pic.twitter.com/PKHXY297qT
Democrats in both the House and Senate blocked a temporary funding bill for the federal government, in an attempt to put up a fight against the Republican-controlled Congress, while also trying to expand funding for Obamacare. However, that funding expansion provides benefits to illegal immigrants and non-citizens, and Democrats haven't been shy about sharing that information.
On Monday morning, Jeffries sent a letter to Speaker Johnson demanding the televised debate, which read, "Democrats have been clear and consistent in our position. The country needs immediate, bipartisan negotiations between the White House and congressional leadership in order to reach an enlightened spending agreement that reopens the government, improves the lives of hardworking American taxpayers and addresses the Republican healthcare crisis."
"Unfortunately, Donald Trump and your party decided to shut down the government, because the GOP refuses to provide healthcare to everyday Americans. Further, you have kept House Republicans on vacation instead of working with Democrats to reopen the government."
The Democrats are struggling to make their case, and Republicans refuse to play into their publicity stunts. On this issue, the cause is plain and simple.