House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) downplayed any disunity between him and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), saying on Sunday that they agree on the “overwhelming majority of issues.”
“Chuck and I agree on the overwhelming majority of issues moving forward, including our effort to oppose the largest potential Medicaid cut in American history. And we’re all going to have to come together,” he said in an interview on MSNBC.
Jeffries said he hasn’t spoken to Schumer since the Senate Democrat angered much of his party by supporting a GOP-written stopgap funding measure to keep the government open, even though a majority of the Democratic Party opposed it.
Jeffries noted he was in Houston to participate in memorials for the late Rep. Sylvester Turner (D-Texas), but added, “I do expect to have a conversation with him at some point later on today,” as he defended their divergent votes on the bill.
“Look, Chuck and I disagreed as it relates to the approach and outcome relative to what we viewed as a reckless Republican spending bill and the effort to try to jam these cuts down the throats of the American people — cuts to health care, cuts to veterans’ benefits and cuts to nutritional assistance to children and families throughout America — while potentially handing a blank check to Donald Trump and Elon Musk to continue their extreme Project 2025 agenda,” Jeffries said, before stressing their agreement.
Schumer has defended his decision, arguing against the partial government shutdown that would have resulted without the continuing resolution.
“I believe it is my job to make the best choice for the country, to minimize the harms to the American people. Therefore, I will vote to keep the government open and not shut it down,” Schumer said on the Senate floor last week.
