Hallway Showdowns Mark Day 8 of Government Shutdown

Tempers flare with no end in sight as shutdown starts to hit home for Americans

WASHINGTON, DC - OCTOBER 01: The U.S. Capitol Visitors Center is closed to visitors during the federal government shut down on October 01, 2025 in Washington, DC. The government shut down early Wednesday after Congress failed to reach a funding deal. ( (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

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WASHINGTON _ The gloves came off on Capitol Hill Tuesday as the government shutdown stretched into its eighth day, with lawmakers trading barbs in the hallways and Democrats cranking up the heat on Speaker Johnson (R-La.) to swear in Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva (D-Ariz.).

Republicans continue to accuse Democrats of holding the government hostage over partisan demands, while Democrats are demanding that Obamacare subsidies be extended, warning that letting them lapse will spike insurance costs for millions. Fueling Democratic anger: Johnson’s continued refusal to swear in Grijalva, which Democrats say is a calculated move to deny them the numbers needed on a discharge petition to force a vote on a measure that would release the Epstein files.

Arizona Democratic Sens. Ruben Gallego and Mark Kelly confronted Johnson and Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) outside the Louisiana Republican’s office in the Capitol, where the Democrats were gaggling with reporters.

Kelly blasted House GOP leadership for keeping the House out of session as they look to strong-arm Democrats in the upper chamber, telling reporters: “The guy who works in this office right here is keeping all of his Republican colleagues and his caucus on an extended summer vacation. He will not come back to negotiate with us. We are ready.”

The Democrats then demanded answers from Johnson on when Grijalva would be sworn in.

“Let’s be clear, the reason Adelita Grijalva is not here is because Mike Johnson wants to do two things. Number one, cover up for pedophiles on the Epstein list. And number two, put his members in a really rough position when it comes to voting on extending these ACA tax credits,” Gallego said.

The Democratic senators pointed to Florida Republican Reps. Randy Fine and Jimmy Patronis, who were sworn in shortly after winning their special elections in the spring, arguing that it’s unprecedented behavior to stall while constituents remain unrepresented.

Johnson shot back: “This is absurd,” adding, “This is a publicity stunt. I’m not blocking her.” The speaker went on to argue that “they had their families here. They had a scheduled day for the oath of office, and the House was called out of session that day. They had all their family and friends here. So we went ahead and went through the process.” Johnson later asserted that she would be sworn in after they reopen the government.

“Your excuse just keeps moving,” Gallego shot back.

Gallego then told Johnson to “get your people in and stop covering up for the pedophiles.” Johnson called it a “ridiculous” accusation.

Lawler then jumped in to defend the speaker, telling the senator: “No one is covering up for pedophiles, knock it the hell off.”

Heated exchanges continued on the House floor when Democratic Reps. Greg Stanton, Ted Lieu, Katherine Clark, Pete Aguilar and Yassamin Ansari demanded to be recognized while calling for Grijalva’s swearing-in. They ultimately were not recognized by the chair, with Stanton yelling: “This is undemocratic.”

Shortly after the heated exchange outside Johnson’s office, Lawler and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries got into a hallway spat when Lawler confronted the New York Democrat over why he wouldn’t sign on to Rep. Jen Kiggans’s (R-Va.) one-year ACA extension bill, asserting “You can extend it right now” while making the case that Democrats are responsible for the shutdown.

Jeffries clapped back, arguing the subsidies need to be made permanent and telling the Republican lawmaker “You’re embarrassing yourself right now.”

As the stalemate continues — with the Senate voting down both a GOP-led clean continuing resolution for a sixth time and a Democrat-led alternative — Jeffries has floated the idea of pushing for a standalone bill to pay military troops as anxiety grows over federal employees going unpaid.

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