CNN’s Dana Bash Reminds Hakeem Jeffries Who Is Keeping Government Shut Down

CNN anchor Dana Bash reminded House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries on Tuesday that it was his party that shut the government down.

Jeffries attempted to blame Republicans for the ongoing shutdown, which became the longest in U.S. history on Wednesday, because the continuing resolution (CR) did not extend Biden-era subsidies in the Affordable Care Act. Bash interjected to remind Jeffries that his party voted to shut down the government.

“Donald Trump and Republicans shut the government down and refused to reopen it. Trump has spent the last 35 days [with] more time on the golf course, more time talking to Hamas and more time talking to the Chinese Communist Party than to Democrats on Capitol Hill who represent half the country,” Jeffries said. “And they continue to stubbornly refuse to address the healthcare crisis that they created and the American people clearly have a problem with that. We want to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits, and Republicans refuses to spend a dime on that and this is the same group of people who could find $40 billion to bail out some right-wing wannabe dictator in Argentina. It’s too much for the American people. The Republicans have gone too far.”

“But, listen leader, you guys are voting no on opening the government. Not Republicans,” Bash said. “I know you’re asking for specific things and it’s much more complicated than that.”

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Jeffries argued that the Republicans caused the shutdown because they hold the power in the legislative and executive branches.

The Democrats shut the government down on Oct. 1 and have falsely claimed that the Republicans did not pass a “clean CR,” a funding bill that includes no new policy, spending cuts or amendment changes. Contrary to Democrats’ claims, the Committee for a Responsible Budget, a non-partisan organization, stated that the resolution was “as clean of a C.R. as you could get,” according to The New York Times.

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) previously estimated that such a permanent extension of the Obamacare tax credit would expand the deficit by $350 billion between 2026 and 2035.

Democratic Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman, Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada and independent Maine Sen. Angus King, who caucuses with Democrats, were the only ones to vote in favor of keeping the government open.

Republicans and President Donald Trump’s administration have repeatedly called on Democrats to reopen the government. The shutdown has caused many federal workers to arrive to work each day without a paycheck, including air traffic controllers.

Republican Oklahoma Sen. Markwayne Mullin said on Tuesday that Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer privately urged his party to keep the government shut down until after Election Day, believing that the shutdown would help Democrats secure victories.