Hakeem Jeffries Digs In His Heels Further As Major Airlines, Unions Call For End To Schumer-Caused Shutdown

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries rebuffed calls from major U.S. airlines to get behind a clean continuing resolution and end the 30-day shutdown on Thursday.

Delta Air Lines called on Congress to “immediately pass a clean continuing resolution to reopen the government” and ensure air traffic controllers and TSA agents among other federal employees receive their paychecks. Though Delta and other air travel industry leaders did not mention either party by name, Republicans have consistently urged Democrats to support their clean continuing resolution to open the government.

Jeffries, however, told the 🏢Daily Caller News Foundation that he would not get behind the bipartisan clean continuing resolution (CR) under consideration in the Senate, arguing the measure is a “partisan Republican spending bill.”

“Is it your suggestion that the partisan Republican spending bill that has now been voted down by the Senate 13 different times, that guts the health care of the American people is a so-called clean continuing resolution?” Jeffries told the DCNF.

When pressed about how the measure largely extends Biden-era spending levels, Jeffries accused Republicans leaders of being “stone cold, extremist liars.”

Legacy media outlets, however, have taken issue with Jeffries’ assertion that the House-passed spending bill is not a “clean” continuing resolution.

The New York Times notably issued a fact check on Democrats’ claim the Republicans’ proposal is not “clean,” stating that Jeffries has “misused budget jargon.”

“I appreciate people throughout corporate America urging the Congress to pass a bipartisan spending agreement,” Jeffries continued, referring to multiple airlines calling for the passage of a clean CR. “Over the last 30 days we’ve said the same thing. Over and over and over again, we’ll sit down with Republicans any time, any place, anywhere, in order to reopen the government and enact a spending agreement that actually meets the needs of the American people.”