Video News Clips: In Their Own Words

Chris Cuomo Drops Fact Check On Hakeem Jeffries Over Government Shutdown Claim

[Screenshot/NewsNation]

NewsNation host Chris Cuomo on Wednesday fact-checked House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries’ claim that congressional Republicans did not try to pass a “clean” continuing resolution (CR).

Jeffries repeatedly stated that Democrats voted against the CR, which would have kept the government open through Nov. 21, because it was not a “clean” resolution. Cuomo pointed out on his NewsNation program, “Cuomo,” that the legislation was, in fact, a “clean CR.”

“Listen, I like Hakeem Jeffries. I think he’s got an amazing future. He’s got better fights than this. This is a clean CR,” Cuomo said. “What does that mean, by the way? Continuing resolution. Instead of passing a real budget like they should, this just says, ‘hey, remember the last one? Let’s just continue at those levels again.’ Alright? Now that might mean that some people who should get less won’t, certain people who need more won’t. But a clean CR means that this is an extension from the last set in this case, Biden’s spending levels. That’s what a clean CR is. This is a clean CR.”

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The Committee for a Responsible Budget, a non-partisan organization, stated that the resolution was “as clean of a C.R. as you could get,” according to The New York Times.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer supported the resolution in March. Cuomo said that Schumer has only changed his mind currently because he does not want Democratic New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to challenge him in the upcoming primary.

“And that CR [Schumer] voted for is the same as this one,” Cuomo continued. “So what changed? [Ocasio-Cortez] eyeing his Senate seat.”

Ocasio-Cortez refused to tell MSNBC’s Chris Hayes whether she threatened to primary challenge Schumer if he supported the CR.

Vice President J.D. Vance made the same point during a White House press briefing on Wednesday, stating that Schumer is trying to protect himself politically by caving to the far-left wing of his party. He also predicted that the shutdown will likely not last long if moderate Democrats decide to work with Republicans.

The Democrats voted against the Republican-led CR because it did not include an extension of Biden-era Obamacare subsidies in exchange for their support. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) previously estimated that such a permanent extension of the tax credit would expand the deficit by $350 billion between 2026 and 2035.

Democratic Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman, Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada and independent Maine Sen. Angus King, who caucuses with Democrats, were the only ones to vote in favor of keeping the government open. Fetterman said he voted for “our country over [his] party” and that the shutdown was a “sad day for our nation.”

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt predicted on Thursday that the shutdown will lead to “thousands” of federal layoffs in the coming days.

A New York Times/Siena University poll found that 65% of Americans oppose Democrats shutting down the government.