‘You Didn’t Get What You Want’: CNN’s Manu Raju Drops Reality Check on Hakeem Jeffries for Praising Democrats After Shutdown Fight

CNN Chief Congressional Correspondent Manu Raju felt compelled to remind House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) that Democrats actually lost the fight over the government shutdown.

On Sunday, eight Senate Democrats crossed the aisle to vote to advance a Republican bill to fund and reopen the federal government, which shut down on Oct. 1. Republicans control the chamber 53-47, but 60 votes are needed to overcome a procedural hurdle known as cloture. The eight Democrats gave the bill the 60 votes it needed, as one Republican – Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) – voted against the measure.

Senate Democrats withheld their support for the GOP bill, as they demanded Republicans agree to extend Covid-era healthcare premium subsidies under the Affordable Care Act. About 24 million Americans receive healthcare under the act, and the vast majority are set to see their premium costs double if the subsidies are not extended. However, Democrats got no such concession in exchange for the eight members of the caucus who voted with the GOP.

On Monday, Raju caught up with Jeffries, who criticized the Senate deal, in which Democrats did not get what they sought:

RAJU: Was the shutdown worth it?

JEFFRIES: We have waged a battle on behalf of the American people. First of all, Donald Trump and Republicans are the ones who shut the government down. They have the House, the Senate, and the presidency. And the American people know it. And that’s been the case for seven consecutive weeks.

RAJU: But you know, at the end of the day, you didn’t get what you want. So, was it worth waging the fight?

JEFFRIES: At the end of the day, the fight lives on.

Members of the Democratic rank-and-file spent much of Monday raging against the party’s leaders, particularly Sen. Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY). Schumer said he opposes the Republicans’ plan, but some Democrats have called on him to step down as leader for failing to control his caucus, if not facilitating the defections.

Earlier on Monday, Jeffries defended Schumer.

Watch above via CNN.