By Lauren Burke
As House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries departed a press conference with several other Democrats on Capitol Hill, Republican Congressman Michael Lawler was waiting. The federal government has been shut down because Congress has not agreed to fund the federal government since midnight on October 1.
Lawler serves in a New York congressional district that will be tough for him to win re-election in. He declined to run for Governor of New York, a move that would not have been surprising given his tough re-election chances in 2026. Lawler spoke on “1.2 billion dollars wasted” by the government, to which Leader Jeffries replied, “You’re not going to talk to me and talk over me because you don’t want to hear what I have to say. So why don’t you keep your mouth shut. You showed up and you voted for this one big ugly bill for a permanent extension of massive tax breaks for your billionaire donors.”
Rep. Lawler was critical of Leader Jeffries in a moment when the U.S. House, U.S. Senate, White House, and U.S. Supreme Court are controlled by the Republican Party. President Trump has taken unprecedented action, laid off thousands of federal workers, and dismantled federal agencies such as USAID and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Trump has been backed after many of his actions by a Supreme Court controlled by Chief Justice John Roberts and a majority of Republican appointees. “Is your boss Donald Trump?” Leader Jeffries asked Rep. Lawler at the beginning of the tense exchange. “You’re making a show of this to make yourself relevant,” Jeffries, who is from Brooklyn, New York, told Lawler firmly.
The confrontation between Rep. Lawler and Leader Jeffries occurred in the U.S. Capitol outside the House TV studio, a day after Arizona Democrat Ruben Gallego told Republican Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) to “stop covering up for pedophiles,” in a hallway on Oct. 7. That exchange was also witnessed by reporters. “That is ridiculous,” Johnson said in response, saying that the delay in swearing in a newly elected Democrat, Rep-Elect Grijalva, it has nothing to do with Epstein.” Gallego was referring to a vote that will likely occur in the U.S. House after Rep-Elect Grijalva is sworn in, which would release the files in the case of Jeffrey Epstein to the public. Rep. Lawler was on the scene of the exchange with Speaker Johnson and entered into that conversation to defend the Republican Speaker.
