‘Keep your mouth shut.’ Tempers flare over shutdown with no end in sight
WASHINGTON – With two weeks to go before the seemingly endless government shutdown, tensions are high and growing among the people with the power to end it.
At the U.S. Capitol this week, two Democratic senators confronted the Republican speaker of the House of Representatives outside his office and accused him of “covering up for pedophiles” by avoiding a vote to release more information about sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
That same day, the Democratic House minority leader separately yelled at a Republican congressman to “keep your mouth shut.” And this is just the beginning.
These tense scenes underscore the increasingly acrimonious relationship between America’s two major political parties as the first government shutdown in seven years approaches the beginning of its third week. Lawmakers made little effort to resolve their differences publicly. The House of Representatives has not voted in more than three weeks, and the Senate has yet to hold a weekend session since funding expires at the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30.
At the same time, the risks of closure are also increasing. On Wednesday, October 15, military service members will not receive their first paycheck since the shutdown crisis began. Funding a vital food aid program that millions of mothers and babies rely on you’ll probably run out of money in the coming days. And basic economic data needed to calculate Social Security payments More than 70 million Americans next year Doesn’t look like it’s coming recently.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) points to a poster depicting Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) during a press conference on the tenth day of the government shutdown at the U.S. Capitol on October 10, 2025 in Washington, DC. The government remains closed after Congress failed to reach a funding deal last week.
Read more: Military wife confronts Mike Johnson as shutdown continues, says kids ‘could die’
Members of Congress say they’re starting to feel the pressure. “I try to garner every ounce of Christian charity I can,” the speaker said. mike johnsonR-Louisiana talked about relations with Democrats.
“There are bare knuckles in this fight,” added Rep. Jimmy Gomez, D-California.
Senators face speaker
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) held a press conference at the U.S. Capitol on the sixth day of the federal government shutdown on October 6, 2025. The Senate is scheduled to vote on the interim funding bill for the fifth time later in the day.
On Wednesday, October 8, two Democratic senators from Arizona were complaining about Johnson outside his office.
That’s when the speaker emerged and walked toward senators Ruben Gallego and Mark Kelly, who criticized him for refusing to nominate a new Democratic congressman from their state during the shutdown.
They noted that when House-elect Adelita Grijalva is officially inaugurated, she will likely cast the final vote needed to pass a measure that would force the Justice Department to make more of the Epstein files public.
Read more: An elected representative from the Democratic Party does not take the oath. Is it because it would force an Epstein vote?
Senators accused Johnson of keeping House members away from the Capitol to delay the Epstein vote.
“We’ll do that as soon as we get back to work. But the lights have to come back on,” Johnson told them. Video from NOTUS news source. “You guys are experts on red herrings… This has nothing to do with Epstein.”
“You keep making excuses,” Gallego responded.
This speech attracted the attention of security guards, employees and reporters; many of them stood nearby, phones drawn and watching intently. The meeting ended with all three politicians speaking at the same time. Video of the encounter spread widely online.
Johnson drew even more outrage when he received the call on C-SPAN the next morning. A rotation of frustrated Americans criticized him for failing to negotiate a solution to the shutdown. One caller in particular, a woman who said she was a military spouse living paycheck to paycheck in Northern Virginia, told the House speaker that “her children could die” if soldiers went without pay.
Top Democrat to congressman: ‘Keep your mouth shut’
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries held a press conference on the ninth day of the federal government’s partial shutdown at the U.S. Capitol.
In another violent scene the same day, a conversation between a Republican congressman and the leader of the House Democrats escalated into a fight.
Rep. Mike Lawler, R-New York, confronted House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-New York, over his refusal to support a one-year extension of expiring health insurance subsidies that have been at the center of the shutdown fight.
Read more: Democrats want health tax credits to end the shutdown. Why is the GOP saying it hasn’t yet?
Lawler “Sad” in questionHe holds a copy of the proposed bill to continue subsidies that come in the form of tax credits.
Jeffries said, “Why don’t you keep your mouth shut?” he said.
The noise attracted a group of onlookers, many of whom filmed the interaction that later went viral. Speaking to reporters after the debate, Lawler said Democrats were “so full of profanity it’s not even funny.”
At the Cabinet meeting held at the White House the next day, the President Donald Trump He focused on shutting down the political opposition by dealing a series of blows. “We really don’t know who’s leading the Democrats,” Trump said.
Glitter of bipartisanship
Senator Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD), Senator Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), and Senator Adam Schiff (D-CA) walk on the Senate Metro to go to the vote.
There are still some glimmers of bipartisanship in the halls of the Capitol.
Senators on both sides of the aisle are talking to each other, albeit in limited doses. Back-channel talks are ongoing among lawmakers over a potential health care deal that could help encourage Democrats to vote to reopen the government, but Sen. Markwayne Mullin described those negotiations as “stalled” this week.
Likewise, Gallego gave the GOP some credit. “I’m talking to my Republican friends,” he told reporters. “They want to find a way out.”
Zachary Schermele is USA TODAY’s congressional correspondent. You can reach him via email at zschermele@usatoday.com. Follow him at @ZachSchermele on X and @zachschermele.bsky.social on Bluesky.
This article first appeared on USA TODAY: ‘Keep your mouth shut.’ Anger flares during lockdown and no end in sight
