CNN Catches Hakeem Jeffries In Straight-Up Lie About Government Shutdown

CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins caught House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) in an outright lie about the ongoing government shutdown, pushing back immediately when he claimed that Republican leaders were not engaging on the issues that might finally get the government reopened.

Collins spoke with Jeffries on Wednesday’s broadcast of “The Source,” on the eve of the shutdown’s 30th day, and she challenged him directly on his claim that House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) was not willing to even sit down and “have a conversation” with him.

WATCH:

CNN’s Kaitlan Collins: “You said that Mike Johnson isn’t willing to sit down and have a conversation. Y’all did have a phone conversation, I believe you said earlier today. Who initiated that call?”

Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY): “It was a call from Mike Johnson. It was very brief and… pic.twitter.com/Shi8jhAYWo

— RedWave Press (@RedWave_Press) October 30, 2025

“You said that Mike Johnson isn’t willing to sit down and have a conversation. Y’all did have a phone conversation, I believe you said earlier today,” Collins pointed out. “Who — who initiated that call? Was that you or was that Speaker Johnson?”

“It was a call from Mike Johnson,” Jeffries admitted. “It was very brief and it wasn’t a substantive discussion in terms of finding a path forward.”

Collins pressed again, asking, “But was he calling to talk about the government shutdown?”

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“I mean, you could say that — that was in the ballpark,” Jeffries conceded her point, but then attempted to cover: “But it was a private conversation that will remain private. However, nothing meaningful came out of it, again, because Donald Trump has not given Mike Johnson permission to enter into a bipartisan negotiation.”

Jeffries then reverted to his previous talking point, claiming that Republicans had been on vacation for the last five weeks.

Collins also played a clip of Jeffries from 2013 — in which he claimed that government shutdowns caused unnecessary pain to the American people and demanded the passage of a clean continuing resolution — and then asked Jeffries whether he had changed.

“The Hakeem Jeffries of today definitively agrees with the Hakeem Jeffries of yesterday,” Jeffries claimed — despite the fact that Republicans have repeatedly offered Democrats the chance to reopen the government via a clean CR — and then attempted to explain why demanding the exact opposite now was somehow the same.

CNN’s Kaitlan Collins: *Plays clip of Hakeem Jeffries from 2013 blasting a government shutdown, declaring it unnecessarily hurts Americans.*

Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY): “The Hakeem Jeffries of today definitely agrees with the Hakeem Jeffries of yesterday.” pic.twitter.com/gZe5MpRE7u

— RedWave Press (@RedWave_Press) October 30, 2025