{"id":2585144,"date":"2026-03-29T22:35:02","date_gmt":"2026-03-30T02:35:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/cnn-host-point-blank-asks-hakeem-jeffries-if-shutdown-is-purely-a-negotiating-tactic\/"},"modified":"2026-03-29T22:37:54","modified_gmt":"2026-03-30T02:37:54","slug":"cnn-host-point-blank-asks-hakeem-jeffries-if-shutdown-is-purely-a-negotiating-tactic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/cnn-host-point-blank-asks-hakeem-jeffries-if-shutdown-is-purely-a-negotiating-tactic\/","title":{"rendered":"CNN Host Point Blank Asks Hakeem Jeffries If Shutdown Is Purely A Negotiating Tactic"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">28<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fcnn-host-point-blank-asks-hakeem-jeffries-if-shutdown-is-purely-a-negotiating-tactic%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2585144&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>A CNN interview with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries centers on the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/dozens-of-house-republicans-demand-mitch-mcconnell-stop-stalling-the-save-act\/\" title=\"Dozens of House ...s Demand Mitch McConnell &#039;Stop Stalling the SAVE Act&#039;\">ongoing partial government shutdown<\/a> and ICE policy. Jeffries argues the debate is not just about ICE, but about negotiating leverage, accusing Republicans of using ICE funding and a claimed $75 billion \u201cslush fund\u201d from a previous bill while noting GOP cuts to medicaid and nutrition assistance. Democrats had filibustered DHS funding to push for new ICE restrictions, arguing taxpayer dollars should support Americans rather than aggressive immigration enforcement. Senator John Fetterman is highlighted as backing the full-year DHS funding and Musk\u2019s proposal to pay TSA salaries,criticizing Democrats for leaving workers reliant on food pantries,while Jeffries contends Democrats would reform policy priorities without slamming the government shutdown. The piece attributes its content to the Daily Caller News Foundation and includes standard site disclosures and related material.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<section> \t\t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (AC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC3)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>A CNN host asked House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries Friday whether the government shutdown was truly about Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)&nbsp; or simply a negotiating tactic. The Senate failed to end the partial government shutdown last week as Democrats again withheld their votes, leaving Transportation Security Administration employees unpaid.<\/p>\n<p>During an interview on &ldquo;The Lead with Jake Tapper,&rdquo; guest host Phil Mattingly pressed Jeffries with a direct question about ICE policy and its role in ongoing negotiations, as Jeffries avoided a direct answer.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Is this about ICE, or is this purely a negotiating mechanism, a vehicle, to get the negotiation that you want on ICE restrictions?&rdquo; Mattingly asked.<\/p>\n<p>Jeffries responded by attacking the previous Republican Congress and saying ICE has billions in slush fund.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;ICE has a $75 billion slush fund that was part of the Republican One Big Ugly bill. That was enacted by Republican-only votes last year, where at the same time they ripped Medicaid away from the American people and stole food from the mouths of hungry children, seniors, and veterans with a $186 billion cut to nutritional assistance. So there&rsquo;s a continuing fight about policy priorities,&rdquo; Jeffries said.<\/p>\n<p> <script type=\"text\/javascript\"> \t\t\tif ( getCookie( \"ff_subbed\" ) ) { \t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"anyclipvideo\").remove() \t\t\t} else { \t\t\t\tdocument.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\", function() { \t\t\t\t\tfunction loadAnyclip() { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst container=document.getElementById(\"anyclipvideo\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!container) return;  \t\t\t\t\t\tconst script=document.createElement(\"script\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.src=\"https:\/\/player.anyclip.com\/anyclip-widget\/lre-widget\/prod\/v1\/src\/lre.js\"; \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.setAttribute(\"pubname\", \"westernjournalcom\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.setAttribute(\"widgetname\", \"001w000001jULVcAAO_M12924\");  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ append inside the container so player shows in correct spot \t\t\t\t\t\tcontainer.appendChild(script); \t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\tfunction findPreviousParagraph(selector, x) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst targetElement=document.querySelector(selector); \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!targetElement) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Target element not found.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Get all <\/p>\n<p> elements in order as they appear in the document \t\t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphs=Array.from(document.querySelectorAll(\"p\"));  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the index of the last <\/p>\n<p> before the target element \t\t\t\t\t\tlet targetIndex=paragraphs.findIndex(p=> p.compareDocumentPosition(targetElement) & Node.DOCUMENT_POSITION_PRECEDING);  \t\t\t\t\t\tif (targetIndex===-1 || targetIndex <x) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Not enough paragraphs before the target element.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\treturn paragraphs[targetIndex - x]; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Set up IntersectionObserver \t\t\t\t\tfunction observeElement(element) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!element) return;  \t\t\t\t\t\tconst observer=new IntersectionObserver( \t\t\t\t\t\t\t(entries)=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tentries.forEach(entry=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tif (entry.isIntersecting) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log(\"Paragraph is now visible:\", entry.target.textContent.trim()); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tloadAnyclip(); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.disconnect(); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t}, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t{ threshold: 0.5 } \/\/ Adjust threshold as needed \t\t\t\t\t\t);  \t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.observe(element); \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the 1st paragraph before #anyclipvideo and observe it \t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphToObserve=findPreviousParagraph(\"#anyclipvideo\", 2); \t\t\t\t\tobserveElement(paragraphToObserve); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> <\/p>\n<p>Jeffries also said that Republicans leverage TSA operations and air travelers in the immigration debate.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;House Democrats believe that taxpayer dollars should be spent to make life more affordable for the American people, not to brutalize and kill American citizens or <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >violently target law-abiding immigrant families<\/a>. At the same period of time, we want Republicans to stop holding TSA agents and air travelers hostage to their extreme immigration [policies],&rdquo; Jeffries added.<\/p>\n<p>Democrats filibustered Department of Homeland Security funding to push new restrictions on ICE operations, citing the January shootings of Alex Pretti and Renee Nicole Good&nbsp;in Minneapolis during protests against federal immigration enforcement.<\/p>\n<p>Democratic Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman was the only member of his party to back the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/government-shutdown-averted-after-senate-passes-short-term-funding-bill\/\" title=\"... Averted After Senate Passes Short-Term Funding Bill\">full-year appropriations bill<\/a> for the DHS, <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/SenFettermanPA\/status\/2035337851202584748\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">supported<\/a> Elon Musk&rsquo;s offer to pay TSA agents&rsquo; salaries and criticized Democrats for leaving workers dependent on food pantries and community donations.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I was the only Democrat through this entire thing to refuse to shut our government down. This is wrong. Now you can want to reform ICE. That&rsquo;s reasonable, now, but it has no impact on that directly,&rdquo; Fetterman told Greta Van Susteren.<\/p>\n<div class=\"disclaimer\">\n<p>All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/union-membership-plummets-to-record-low\/\" title=\"Union Membership Plummets to Record Low\">legitimate news publisher<\/a> that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter&rsquo;s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/mailto:licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org\">licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-submit-correction inner-content\">\n<div class=\"correction-form\">\n<form style=\"display: none;\">\n<div class=\"sc-name-field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* Name<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"sc--field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* <\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<label>* Message<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t<textarea name=\"message\" required><\/textarea> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"required-message\" style=\"display: none; padding-bottom: 15px;\">* All fields are required.<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); firefly_sc();\"> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-sc-confirm\" style=\"display: none;\">Success!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> \t\t<script> \t\t\tfunction firefly_sc() { \t\t\t\tif( typeof window.captchaPublicKey==typeof undefined ){ \t\t\t\t\tconsole.error('window.captchaPublicKey is not defined'); \t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\tgrecaptcha.execute( window.captchaPublicKey, { action: 'submit_correction' } ).then( function( token ) { \t\t\t\t\tvar opts={ \t\t\t\t\t\taction:    'firefly_sc_submit', \t\t\t\t\t\tname:      document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"name\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\t:     document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tmessage:   document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"message\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id:   firefly_post_id, \t\t\t\t\t\tcap_token: token \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tvar inputs=[ 'name', '', 'message' ];  \t\t\t\t\tfor( var i=0; i <inputs.length; i++ ) if( ! ( opts[inputs[i]]=document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"' + inputs[i] + '\"]' ).value ) ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .required-message' ).style.display='block'; \t\t\t\t\t\treturn; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction input[type=\"submit\"]' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).src=firefly_loading_gif_url; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='inline-block';  \t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( 'ma subbing' );  \t\t\t\t\tif( firefly_post_id ) opts['post_id']=firefly_post_id;  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Send the data using post with element id name and name2*\/ \t\t\t\t\tvar posting=jQuery.post( firefly_ajax_url, opts );  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Alerts the results *\/ \t\t\t\t\tposting.done( function( response ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif( response.success ) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( response.data ); \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-confirm' ).style.display='block';  \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdataLayer.push( { 'event': 'submit-correction' } ); \t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> \t     \t\t\t\t\t\t     \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p style=\"border: 1px solid #f5f5f5; padding: 16px;\">Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/advertise-us\/?wj_source=article\">Advertise Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><script>console.log(\"ad slot (BA1)\")<\/script> \t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A CNN host pressed House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries on whether the partial government shutdown is really about Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) or just a negotiating tactic. With the Senate unable to end the shutdown and TSA workers unpaid, the interview on The Lead with Jake Tapper featured guest host Phil Mattingly asking if the dispute centers on ICE policy or is merely a vehicle to secure concessions on ICE restrictions. Jeffries avoided a direct yes-or-no, instead criticizing the prior Republican Congress and arguing that ICE has a large \u201cslush fund\u201d created by Republicans in last year\u2019s package, while they simultaneously cut Medicaid and nutritional assistance. He framed the fight as a clash over policy priorities.<\/p>\n<p>Jeffries also suggested that Republicans are using TSA operations and air travelers as leverage in the immigration debate, urging Republicans to stop hostage-making over immigration policy. Democrats filibustered DHS funding to push for new ICE restrictions, citing January shootings in Minneapolis during protests against federal immigration enforcement. Sen. John Fetterman was the only Democrat to back the full-year DHS appropriations, supported Elon Musk\u2019s offer to cover TSA salaries, and criticized Democrats for leaving workers dependent on food pantries. He told Greta Van Susteren that he was the only Democrat to oppose shutting down the government and that reforming ICE is reasonable, even if it doesn\u2019t directly affect the shutdown.<\/p>\n<p>All content is from the Daily Caller News Foundation<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2585145,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/IMG_7387.jpeg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[50623,74057,76781,5894,5123],"class_list":["post-2585144","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-cnn-2","tag-hakeem-jeffries-2","tag-negotiating-tactic","tag-politics","tag-shutdown"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/IMG_7387.jpeg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2585144","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2585144"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2585144\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2585148,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2585144\/revisions\/2585148"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2585145"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2585144"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2585144"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2585144"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}