House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries blasted Donald Trump and Republican leadership on Friday over their unwillingness to negotiate a solution to the looming government shutdown.
“Our position: Protect the health care of the American people. To me, that’s the exit strategy,” Jeffries told reporters. “Like Republican leaders in the House and the Senate, Donald Trump should just listen to their own members and we can find a path forward. Cancel the cuts. Lower the cost. Save healthcare. Not complicated. Eight words. Even Donald Trump should be able to understand that.”
Jeffries chastised Trump for lying about the negotiations and slammed both him and the GOP for their apparent indifference to the crisis—specifically, the president taking a trip to watch golf as the country careens toward a government shutdown.
“Here’s the off ramp. Donald Trump, get back to Washington, D.C. Why are you at a golf event right now, and the government is four days away from closing? That’s outrageous,” Jeffries said. “They could care less. They’re on vacation right now. I’m here in Washington, D.C.—ready, willing, and able to sit down with any of them anytime, anyplace.”
Jeffries added that Trump’s decision to cancel a meeting with Democratic leaders to negotiate a funding solution was an act of cowardice, driven by an “indefensible” and unpopular stance.
The government funding deadline is Sept. 30. But Trump—who has threatened to punish the federal workforce if he doesn’t get his way—spent Friday watching the Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black Golf Course in Farmingdale, New York instead.
