Tempers flare between Democratic senators and Speaker Johnson over Grijalva’s swearing in and shutdown strategy

By Annie Grayer, Ellis Kim, CNN

(CNN) — Arizona’s Democratic senators got into a hallway confrontation with Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson on Wednesday as the government shutdown’s eighth day dragged on.

The clash between Johnson and Sens. Mark Kelly and Ruben Gallego centered on the speaker’s decision not to swear in Democrats’ newest congresswoman-elect until they break the Senate logjam and reopen the government. Full of traded insults and forceful cross talk, the six-minute exchange underscored just how far apart the two parties remain on how to approach reopening the federal government as each side digs in.

The Democratic senators had been speaking with reporters outside the speaker’s office in the US Capitol to argue he was refusing to swear in Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva because she’d be the deciding signature to force a House vote related to the Jeffrey Epstein case files.

The speaker exchanged handshakes with the pair as he approached to push back on their claims.

“Your excuse just keeps on moving,” said Gallego, as the Democrats pointed to Johnson’s swearing-in of Florida GOP Reps. Jimmy Patronis and Randy Fine during a pro forma session – when the House wasn’t formally in session – earlier this year.

Johnson defended his decision to not do the same for Grijalva by saying “that was the exception we did because the family was here. Ms. Grijalva, Rep.-elect Grijalva has not yet had a scheduled date because she was elected after the House was out of session. So, I am anxious to administer the oath to her as soon as you guys vote to open the government.”

Johnson, who said he was happy Grijalva was elected, denied that it had anything to do with a vote on the Epstein files and remarked the House didn’t need to vote on releasing more of them because the House Oversight Committee is already conducting a bipartisan investigation.

“They’re doing the work. They’re doing it methodically. They’re doing it with subpoena power, and you don’t need an act of Congress for that to happen because they’re already on it,” Johnson said.

The exchange grew more heated as the lawmakers cut each other off, raising their voices to speak over each other.

“Stop covering up for pedophiles,” Gallego charged.

“That is ridiculous,” Johnson immediately shot back, arguing separately that “it has nothing to do with Epstein.”

GOP Rep. Mike Lawler of New York walked up to the group near the exchange’s end, jumping in to defend Johnson.

“Nobody is covering up for pedophiles. Back the hell off. You’re absolutely absurd,” he told Kelly and Gallego.

Shutdown stalemate

The lawmakers also traded barbs over the best way to reopen the government.

Kelly repeatedly pushed Johnson to bring the House back into session so that lawmakers could have a serious discussion about how to fund the government and address expiring enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies – a key demand for Democrats. He said his Republican colleagues in the Senate were telling him that they didn’t want to negotiate without House Republicans also weighing in.

“If you bring them back, we will have a discussion. It’s very simple,” Kelly said.

Johnson was adamant that the House had done its job, a line he has repeated countless times since government funding lapsed on October 1, and said there wouldn’t be a discussion on the Obamacare subsidies until Democrats provided the needed votes in the Senate to pass the Republican House-passed short-term funding bill and reopen the government.

In an apparent attempt to make it personal for the speaker, Kelly argued health care premiums could skyrocket in Johnson’s own Louisiana district.

“I imagine yours are going to hurt even worse than ours with these premium increases. We have to fix this,” Kelly said.

But Johnson held firm that he would not have that policy conversation until the government shutdown ended.

Multiple times, the Democrats gestured to the empty House floor and accused Johnson of giving his lawmakers an extended summer vacation as the two sides continued to talk over each other.

Lawler held up a copy of a House bill that he said would extend the ACA subsidies for one year.

“We actually have put forth legislation to do it. You guys just keep pontificating. How about you go down the hall and go vote to open the government up? That would be great,” he quipped.

After accusing the Democrats of “holding the American people hostage,” Johnson ended the exchange.

“OK I’m going to get back to work. These gentlemen had a publicity stunt here. You see the issue, they need to go vote to reopen the government, plain and simple. The House has done its work,” he told reporters.

Republican congressman spars with top House Democrat

Later Wednesday, private disagreement between lawmakers again broke out into open hostility as Lawler and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries got into a heated verbal confrontation of their own over the shutdown.

The New York Republican confronted the House Democratic leader after he concluded a press conference with reporters. What followed was a five-minute spat that saw the two trade barbs over everything from the extension of Affordable Care Act subsidies to Jeffries’ lack of endorsement for Democratic New York City mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani and Lawler’s rumored gubernatorial ambitions.

Lawler initially confronted Jeffries by questioning why he wasn’t supporting a bill that would extend enhanced Obamacare subsidies for a year.

Jeffries repeatedly asked Lawler whether his “boss” Donald Trump had sent him, and he said Lawler was making a show to make himself relevant.

“You’re embarrassing yourself right now. You’re chasing clout,” Jeffries said as the two traded criticism and spoke over each other.

At one point, Jeffries said, “You’re not gonna talk to me and talk over me because you don’t want to hear what I have to say, so why don’t you keep your mouth shut?”

As Lawler continued to press the Brooklyn Democrat and accuse him of shutting the government down, Jeffries asked his fellow New Yorker: “Why are you playing yourself with these theatrics?”

The two then sparred over Lawler’s reelection prospects, his decision to stay away from the New York gubernatorial race and whether Jeffries would endorse Mamdani.

Lawler in one instance retorted, “No, I’m not gonna lose reelection,” as he remarked that Jeffries “didn’t do that great” last cycle. And he accused Jeffries of seeking to shut down the government because he was “so afraid of Zohran Mamdani,” before questioning whether he’d endorse the candidate.

“Listen, you’re a complete and total embarrassment right now,” Jeffries responded.

“Aww,” Lawler sardonically replied, “Why is that? because you don’t want to answer the question?” before repeatedly pressing him on why he wasn’t answering.

After the pair went back and forth on the prospects of legislation on the Obamacare subsidies that Lawler brought, the exchange boiled over once agian.

“You’re a complete and total embarrassment, you’re embarrassing yourself and your district right now, and you’re going down to defeat next year,” Jeffries told Lawler.

This story has been updated with additional developments.

The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2025 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.