Joe Kernen Exposes Rep Hakeem Jeffries’ False Claims in Brutal CNBC Interview [WATCH]

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries faced an unexpected pushback during a live interview on CNBC’s Squawk Box Thursday morning, when co-host Joe Kernen confronted him with a series of factual corrections regarding the ongoing federal government shutdown, as reported by the Gateway Pundit.

The exchange came days after the so-called “Schumer Shutdown” took effect at 12:01 a.m. on October 1, following the failure of two separate measures in the Senate aimed at keeping the government open.

Both bills required 60 votes to pass. The Republican-backed bill failed in a 55–45 vote, with Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) joining Democrats in opposition.

The Democrat-controlled Senate’s inaction left the government unfunded, while Republicans in the House continued advancing measures to reopen agencies.

Democrats, however, have refused to negotiate unless the GOP agrees to repeal portions of President Trump’s 2017 tax reform law, reinstate funding for Obamacare subsidies, and include controversial provisions related to illegal immigration and transgender medical procedures for minors.

During the CNBC segment, Jeffries repeated his claim that Republicans were solely responsible for the shutdown.

Kernen countered that argument by reminding Jeffries that Republicans, who won the election, are entitled to pursue the legislative agenda voters approved — just as Democrats did when they controlled Congress.

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“There was an election, and the Republicans were put in a position where they were able to pass the Big Beautiful Bill,” Kernen said, referring to Trump’s landmark tax reform legislation.

“To then say, ‘We don’t like that, so we’re gonna shut down the government until you take back all the things you duly passed through legislation’ — if the Republicans tried to do that to the Inflation Reduction Act or any of the Biden acts, you’d be going crazy.”

Kernen continued, “You’d be going crazy about using a shutdown of the federal government on a continuing resolution to get what you want. It’s not how it works. It’s bad precedent.”

Jeffries responded by accusing Republicans of refusing to engage in bipartisan negotiations. “What is bad precedent is the Republican refusal to engage in bipartisan negotiations,” he said. “Republicans have embarked on a my-way-or-the-highway approach from the beginning of this Congress.”

Kernen pressed further, noting that the Senate currently has a bipartisan bill ready to reopen the government with support from at least five Democratic senators.

Jeffries deflected, claiming, “Republicans control the House, the Senate, and the Presidency… So if the government shuts down, they’ve made the government shutdown.”

Co-host Becky Quick then joined in, pointing out that House Speaker Mike Johnson had already passed a clean continuing resolution (CR) to fund the government temporarily.

“You can reopen the government and have the conversations on health care,” Quick said. “It sounds like there is a willing party on the other side who sees this as an issue in their district as well.”

Jeffries attempted to pivot the conversation, citing comments from Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene and other Republicans to justify the Democrats’ refusal to cooperate.

However, the interview concluded with Kernen and Quick holding firm — emphasizing that bipartisan discussions could occur after the government is reopened.

BREAKING: Hakeem Jeffries was just EMBARRASSED for holding the government hostage…holy smokes. This was bad.

CNBC: “There was an ELECTION. Republicans were able to pass the Big Beautiful Bill. To then say, ‘We don’t like that, so we’re gonna shut down the government until… pic.twitter.com/wlcxytaZC6

— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) October 9, 2025

The exchange quickly circulated across social media, with viewers noting that Jeffries appeared unprepared to defend his position when faced with detailed policy questions.

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