White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries exchanged sharp personal attacks on Friday during the ongoing government shutdown. Jeffries called Leavitt 'sick' and 'demented' in a press conference, while she labeled him a 'stone-cold loser.' The barbs highlight escalating tensions as Congress fails to resolve funding disputes.
The confrontation unfolded on October 17, 2025, the 17th day of a partial government shutdown triggered by Congress's inability to agree on federal funding. Republicans had proposed a seven-week continuing resolution last month to extend fiscal year 2025 funding levels, providing time for negotiations on a long-term fiscal year 2026 deal. However, Democrats in both chambers blocked the measure multiple times—reports vary between a fourth and tenth blockage—before departing Washington for the weekend, pushing the shutdown toward its fourth week.
During a press conference, Jeffries criticized Republican attacks on Democrats, including a recent swastika flag incident in Rep. Dave Taylor's (R-Ohio) office, which Taylor attributed to an unidentified group targeting multiple Republican offices. Turning to Leavitt specifically, Jeffries said: "You've got Karoline Leavitt, who's sick. She's out of control. And I'm not sure whether she's just demented, ignorant, a stone-cold liar or all of the above." He added: "But the notion that an official White House spokesperson would say that the Democratic Party consists of terrorists, violent criminals and undocumented immigrants makes no sense, that this is what the American people are getting from the Trump administration in the middle of a shutdown."
Leavitt responded to Fox News Digital, defending her prior statements on Democratic policies. "Hakeem and Democrats are lashing out because they know what I said is true," she said. She accused Democrats of catering to "pro-Hamas terrorists, illegal aliens and violent criminals," citing their vote against a resolution condemning Hamas after the October 7 attacks and support for policies allowing millions of undocumented immigrants into the country. Leavitt also criticized soft-on-crime measures and directly attacked Jeffries: "Democrats do NOT serve the interests of the American people. Hakeem Jeffries is an America Last, stone-cold loser. Now open up the government and stop simping to try to get your radical left-wing base to like you."
Democrats have refused funding deals without concessions, including extensions of COVID-19-era Obamacare subsidies set to expire by year's end, fueling the impasse. No immediate resolution is in sight as partisan rhetoric intensifies.