Jeffries attacks Leavitt as ‘sick’ and ‘demented’ amid government shutdown

The House’s top Democrat attacked White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt with a series of insults on Friday.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (DY) accused Republican officials of unfairly going after Democrats amid a controversy this week over a swastika flag found in the House GOP lawmaker’s office, but the lawmaker denied he or his staff played any role. Jeffries made the comments at a press conference with reporters on the 17th day of the ongoing government shutdown.

“There’s Karoline Leavitt, she’s sick. She’s out of control. And I’m not sure if she’s just crazy, ignorant, a stone-cold liar, or all of the above,” Jeffries said.

“But it makes no sense for an official White House spokesman to say that the Democratic Party is made up of terrorists, violent criminals, and undocumented immigrants—that’s what the American people are getting from the Trump administration in the midst of the shutdown.”

58 ASSEMBLY DEMS VOTE AGAINST RESOLUTION HONORING THE ‘LIFE AND LEGACY’ OF CHARLIE KIRK

Fox News Digital has reached out to the White House for a response.

Jeffries was asked about the swastika that was said to have been placed inside a small American flag hanging on a cork board in the office of Rep. Dave Taylor, R-Ohio. This was first reported by a local Ohio social media reporter who went through branch X. “Cockerel.”

Taylor told Fox News that several offices had been targeted with the flag, which he said was the work of an “unidentified group” conducting a coordinated opposition campaign.

SCREAMING MATCH BETWEEN HAKEEM JEFFRIES AND MIKE LAWLER IS AIRING AS THE GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN CHAOS CONTINUES

An American flag replaced with a swastika in an office on Capitol Hill. (Obtained by Politico)

“New details have emerged as a result of a coordinated investigation into the disgusting symbol that appeared in my office. Multiple Republican offices have confirmed that they were targeted by an unidentified group or individual who distributed American flags bearing the similar symbol, which was initially indistinguishable to the naked eye from a regular American flag,” Taylor said. he said.

“After a thorough internal investigation, I am confident that no employee of this office would knowingly display such a vile image, and the flag in question was immediately taken down upon discovery of the unidentified symbol it bore.”

But it wasn’t immediately clear why events led Jeffries to call out Leavitt specifically.

As the closure period drags on, tensions increase on both sides, and there is no sign of slowing down.

Senate Democrats, led by Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (DY), have shot down the GOP funding bill ten times. (Reuters)

CLICK TO REACH THE FOX NEWS APPLICATION

In fact, it is expected to enter its fourth week after Senate Democrats blocked the GOP’s federal funding measure for a fourth time on Thursday before leaving Washington for the weekend.

Republicans last month put forward a seven-week extension of fiscal year (FY) 2025 funding levels, called a continuing resolution (CR), aimed at giving congressional negotiators more time to reach a long-term agreement for Fiscal Year 2026.

But Democrats in the House and Senate were outraged at being sidelined in those talks. A majority of Democrats refuse to accept any deal that doesn’t include serious health care concessions, including at least an extension of COVID-19 pandemic-era Obamacare subsidies that expire at the end of this year.

Fox News’ Chad Pergram contributed to this report.