Representative Mike Lawler confronted House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries in a heated hallway exchange on Wednesday, accusing him of sabotaging a GOP-backed funding bill and forcing a government shutdown.
Another hallway confrontation between House lawmakers — Mike Lawler demanding Hakeem Jeffries sign onto a bipartisan bill temporarily extending enhanced ACA credits
— Liz Elkind (@liz_elkind) October 8, 2025
“You’re embarrassing yourself,” Jeffries kept repeating pic.twitter.com/seGKlcMRiF
Representative Lawler of New York approached Jeffries in the hallway, asking why the Minority leader had voted to shut down the government.
Jeffries asked, “Did you get permission from your boss?” as the two Congressmen began to talk over one another. Reporters surrounded the pair, recording the confrontation.
"You’re embarrassing yourself right now." Jeffries continued. "You’re chasing clout. You are an embarrassment! Let me ask you a question."
"You have four Democrats on here. Why won’t you sign on?" Lawler asked, referencing a bipartisan bill that would temporarily extend Affordable Care Act (ACA) credits.
"Let me ask you a question. Let me ask a question. You voted for the one big ugly vote, correct?" Jeffries continued.
"I voted for a tax cut bill that gave the largest tax cut to Americans in history, including, by the way, the average New Yorker getting a $4,000 tax cut. Are you against that?" Lawler retorted.
"You’re embarrassing yourself right now. The largest cut to Medicaid in American history—you voted for that," Jeffries said.
“Leader Jeffries has once again chosen partisanship over governance,” Congressman Lawler said after the confrontation in a statement. “Instead of coming to the table to work out a bipartisan compromise that extends ACA credits, he’s playing political games with people’s livelihoods. It’s disgraceful and it’s hurting families across New York and the country.”
“Shutting down the government is cowardice to radicals in the Democratic Party, like AOC and the Squad. I’m in Congress to deliver results for the people of the Hudson Valley. That’s what the American people expect, and they are tired of this nonsense. The only reason we’re in this situation today is because Hakeem Jeffries would rather force a shutdown than let Republicans share in a bipartisan win. That’s shameful,” the Congressman concluded.