The top House Democrat said a floor exchange would “provide the American people with the transparency they deserve.”
By Nicholas Wu and Mia McCarthy
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries challenged Speaker Mike Johnson to a floor debate on the government shutdown Monday as agencies remained closed into a second workweek.
“Given the urgency of the moment and the Republican refusal to negotiate a bipartisan agreement, a debate on the House Floor will provide the American people with the transparency they deserve,” Jeffries said in a letter sent Monday. “It will also give you an opportunity to explain your my way or the highway approach to shutting the government down, when Democratic votes are needed to resolve the impasse that exists.”
Johnson declined the offer at a news conference Monday, calling the offer “nonsense” and Jeffries “desperate” while arguing that the time to debate was when the House took up a seven-week continuing resolution late last month.
“I respect him, but we all know what he’s trying to do there,” Johnson said.
It’s not the first time Jeffries has tried to engage the speaker in a tete-a-tete. He similarly asked for a “one-on-one debate” with Johnson in April as the House GOP muscled through its party-line domestic policy megabill.
It’s set to be a quiet week in the House, with Johnson keeping the chamber in recess as Republicans try to pressure Senate Democrats to pass the House-approved seven-week CR. He told House Republicans on a private call over the weekend they would be given 48 hours notice if they needed to return to the Capitol. Jeffries, meanwhile, is set to host his members for a Monday evening online conference meeting but has not announced any plans to bring them back to Washington.