Tipsheet

Mike Johnson Mocks Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries Over Democrats' 'Family Squabble'

Dmitri Bolt
Dmitri Bolt  |  February 03, 2026 1:45 PM

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R–LA) mocked congressional Democrats on Thursday, highlighting what he described as a growing disconnect between the party’s top leaders as lawmakers scramble to end a partial government shutdown. 

While Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has signaled a willingness to compromise with President Trump, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries has so far stopped short of taking a similar position or rallying House Democrats behind a deal.

“It is hard to square, and it’s not my place to get involved in their family squabble,” Johnson said at a Tuesday press conference. 

“I think Hakeem has made very clear, he’s … upset, offended that Chuck Schumer presumed to speak for House Democrats. So you’ll have to figure that out. The Democrats are in a family squabble over there, and it’s not of our doing.”

Speaker Johnson dismissed any prospect of Democrats including any amnesty provision to end the government shutdown and rejected claims that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) must obtain a judicial warrant, in addition to an administrative one, to detain individuals already known to be in the country illegally.

"We have to make sure we maintain the important parameters here. We can't go down the road of amnesty. You can't in any way lighten the enforcement requirement of federal immigration law," Johsnon said. "Thats what the American people demand and deserve. We want dangerous and illegal criminals to be sent out of the country, and they have been very successful at that."

Johnson went on to argue that Democratic efforts to require judicial warrants for ICE arrests are less about civil liberties than about obstructing immigration enforcement altogether. In other words, Democrat's rhetoric of protecting civil rights serves as a convenient cover for opposing the very enforcement measures the American people voted for.

"Imagine if we had to go through the process of getting a judicial warrant, anadditional warrant, to go and apprehend people who we know are here illegally," Johnson told reporters. "How much time would that take? We don't have enough judges, we don't have enough time. It would take decades, probably, to do that. The people who are advocating for that don't want any immigration enforcement."

Congressional leaders are aiming to resolve the partial government shutdown with a House vote on Tuesday, although it remains to be seen if the funding package will pass.