By April Ryan
“We are not going to back down,” demanded House Minority Leader Congressman Hakeem Jeffries regarding healthcare for Americans. The Affordable Care Act is one of the key issues that created a stalemate between Democrats and Republicans, which resulted in the government shutdown. The New York Congressman says he is open to meeting with the president, the vice president, and others in the Republican Party to end the government shutdown that began on October 1st. However, he is adamant about not caving on the healthcare issue.
On the Hill today, House Speaker Mike Johnson calls on Democrats to reopen the government so that negotiations can continue. Republicans need five Democratic senators to vote for the House-passed continuing resolution, which makes drastic cuts to health care. Jefferies vows Democrats will not support a “partisan spending bill that guts healthcare.” Adding to the Republican pressure on Democrats, President Donald Trump said over the weekend, furthering a verbal sparring match, “Democrats are causing the loss of a lot of jobs with a shutdown.”
However, Jeffries says those in charge are to blame, explaining, “The extremists have complete control over the government. What are we missing here?” Republicans are in charge of the White House, the House, the Senate, and the Supreme Court. Jefferies made these comments on The Tea With April: “They [Republicans] would rather shut the government down than provide healthcare.”The shutdown could last at least two weeks, creating layoffs and firings. Republicans are refusing to extend the tax credits for the Affordable Care Act for working-class Americans.
Jeffries also contradicts the GOP narrative, “a Republican lie that we are trying to provide healthcare to undocumented workers.” Democrats emphasize that more than 24 million Americans rely on the Affordable Care Act tax credits to afford and access healthcare in this nation. In a related note, the government shutdown is also to blame for the delayed meeting between Jeffries and the Democratic New York Mayoral front-runner, Zohran Mamdani. Jeffries has not endorsed a New York mayoral candidate yet.