By Solange Reyner – Watch Video Here
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries told House Speaker Mike Johnson that Republicans can’t rely on Democrats to pass a funding bill that would fund most of the government through the end of September, reports Axios.
Jeffries, D-N.Y., made the comment during a call with Johnson.
When asked by Axios, Jeffries said he had had “conversations with Leader Schumer and Mike Johnson” but that he has “had no conversation with the White House.”
The Trump administration, he said, “understands that the only group of people that speak for House Democrats are House Democrats.”
The Senate voted Friday to fund most of the government while carving out a temporary extension for Homeland Security funding, giving Congress two weeks to debate new restrictions on federal immigration raids across the country.
With a weekend shutdown looming, President Donald Trump struck the spending deal with Senate Democrats on Thursday in the wake of the deaths of two protesters at the hands of federal agents in Minneapolis.
Democrats said they would not vote for the larger spending bill unless Congress considers legislation to unmask agents, require more warrants and allow local authorities to help investigate any incidents.
The bill passed 71 to 29 and will now head to the House, which is not due back until Monday. That means the government could be in a partial shutdown temporarily over the weekend until they pass it.
Johnson, who held a conference call Friday with GOP lawmakers, said he expects the House to vote Monday evening. But what is uncertain is how much support there will be for the package.
Johnson’s right flank has signaled opposition to limits on Homeland Security funds, leaving him reliant on Democrats who have their own objections to funding U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement without immediate restraints.
Jeffries told reporters Friday that any change in the Homeland Security bill needs to be “meaningful and it needs to be transformative.”
Absent “dramatic change,” Jeffries said, “Republicans will get another shutdown.”
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said the two sides will “sit down in good faith,” but it will be “really, really hard to get anything done,” especially in such a short amount of time.
“We’ll stay hopeful, but there are some pretty significant differences of opinion,” Thune said.
Source: https://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/jeffries-johnson-dems/2026/01/31/id/1244375/
