US House Democrat leader rips Republicans for prolonged recess during shutdown

WASHINGTON

US House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries on Friday slammed House Republicans for deliberately prolonging the government shutdown by refusing to return to Washington and engage in bipartisan negotiations.

"House Republicans remain on vacation for three weeks," Jeffries told the reporters.

His remarks came right after House Speaker Mike Johnson said that the lower chamber will not reconvene in full until the government shutdown ends.

"Our members are out working diligently in their district, serving their constituents right now. We will come back here and get back to the legislative session as soon as the Senate Democrats turn the lights back on. That's the fact. That’s where we are," Johnson told the reporters on day 10 of the government shutdown.

Jeffries criticized Johnson's "strategy" to keep House Republicans on vacation.

"Our plea to our Republican colleagues is to get serious about reopening the government. Let's have a conversation so we can find a bipartisan path forward to do the things that are necessary in a spending agreement to actually improve the quality of life of the American people and address the health care crisis that they have created, including by extending the Affordable Care Act tax credits," he said.

Jeffries emphasized that Republicans now control all levers of government—the House, the Senate, and the presidency—and yet have allowed the shutdown to continue without a clear plan to resolve it.

"They decided to shut the government down. Republicans in the House have decided to remain on vacation. Republicans canceled votes last week. They canceled votes this week, and now they cancel votes next week. They're not serious," he said.

On Thursday, the Senate again failed to advance funding bills to end the shutdown for the seventh time.

The government shutdown is now expected to extend into next week, as the upper chamber is not scheduled to hold any votes until next Tuesday.

While a government shutdown does not automatically result in a full-blown economic crisis, it creates major disruptions for many aspects of American life, also adding to uncertainty around the state of the world's biggest economy.

Many federal employees have been furloughed, or forced to work without pay, while others will be placed on mandatory leave until a new budget is approved. Each federal agency has its own shutdown plan, determining which government employees are essential.

In previous shutdowns, employees were furloughed, not fired, and no government programs were ended. Democrats say such moves are likely illegal.