What was supposed to be a typical day on Capitol Hill quickly turned into a verbal cage match when Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) confronted House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) in a hallway — in full view of cameras and staffers. The clash wasn’t just heated. It was personal, chaotic, and messy.
Rather than requesting a behind-closed-doors conversation, Lawler ambushed Jeffries in public, pressing him to support a one-year extension of subsidies for the Affordable Care Act. Democrats have made it clear they won’t entertain such a short-term patch, setting the stage for what unfolded next.
Jeffries didn’t hold back. “Did your boss, Donald Trump, give you permission?” he asked, clearly poking at Lawler’s political allegiances.
Lawler fired back: “He’s not my boss! And by the way, why did you vote to shut the government?”
Jeffries, calm but clearly irritated, responded, “You’re making a show of this to make yourself relevant. You’re embarrassing yourself right now. You’re chasing a crowd.”
And that’s exactly what it looked like. The scene had the energy of a press conference gone off the rails — one man trying to score points, the other trying to keep his footing.
“You have to sign on to the bill,” Lawler said, pressing again.
Jeffries responded with a pointed question: “Let me ask you a question. You voted for the ‘One Big Ugly Bill,’ correct?”
That’s when Lawler pivoted. “I voted for a tax cut bill that gave the largest tax cut to Americans in history. Are you against that?”
Jeffries wasn’t having it. “You’re embarrassing yourself right now,” he repeated, as Lawler kept interrupting him. That’s when Jeffries drew a hard line.
“You’re not going to talk to me and talk over me because you don’t want to hear what I have to say,” Jeffries snapped. “So why don’t you just keep your mouth shut?”
He added: “And so you voted for this ‘One Big Ugly Bill,’ a permanent extension of massive tax breaks for your billionaire donors.”
Watch the exchange below:
Happening now: Rep. Mike Lawler confronts Leader Jeffries, asking him to sign onto the one-year ACA subsidies bill
Getting heated… pic.twitter.com/t2eEHvW8Ij
— Rachel Schilke (@rachel_schilke) October 8, 2025
