Jeffries, Lawler clash as shutdown tensions explode at Capitol

The National Hockey League played seven games of its young 2025-2026 season at the end of the day last Wednesday. The competitions consisted of a total of two fights.

The government shutdown had lasted eight days as of late Wednesday. And the now-extended shutdown has sparked two extraordinary verbal brawls in the halls of Congress between lawmakers.

NHL referees Gord Dwyer and Mitch Dunning worked the showdown between the Washington Capitals and Boston Bruins Wednesday night in Washington. Perhaps the House and Senate sergeants-at-arms could have summoned Dwyer and Dunning to the Capitol to dole out a few ten-minute fouls beforehand.

“You’re embarrassing right now!” » shouted House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., to Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y.

JOHNSON INCREASES BET ON SCHUMER AS GOVERNMENT STOPS BARRELS IN WEEK 3

House Majority Whip Tom Emmer said Democrats, led in the House by Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, were endangering access to health care by refusing the GOP’s federal funding plan. (Annabelle Gordon/Bloomberg via Getty Images; Valérie Plesch/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“The only embarrassment here is you!” Lawler thundered at Jeffries.

Tempers flared as Lawler waited outside the House Radio/TV Gallery studio for an abrupt close after Jeffries concluded his now daily press conference.

“You’re not going to talk to me and talk to me if you don’t want to hear what I’m going to say!” » an animated Jeffries shouted at Lawler, pointing his index finger at his colleague’s chest but never pushing him.

“Oh, I’m listening,” Lawler said.

“Then keep your mouth shut!” » shouted the usually cool Jeffries.

There were several rounds of fisticuffs between members and leaders of Congress.

Senators Mark Kelly, Democrat of Arizona, and Ruben Gallego, Democrat of Arizona, summoned the press to the hallway outside the office of House Speaker Mike Johnson, Democrat of Los Angeles, to complain about the shutdown and criticize the president for failing to swear in Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva, Democrat of Arizona, more than two weeks after her election. Johnson then faced Arizona senators. And Lawler was nearby, serving as the “fourth man.”

“This is absurd,” Johnson said, exasperated.

Screaming match breaks out between HAKEEM JEFFRIES and MIKE LAWLER AS GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN CHAOS CONTINUES

“This is the longest period the House has ever lived…” Gallego interrupted.

“Do you want me to answer the question?” Johnson retorted.

“You’re not really answering the question,” Gallego retorted.

The multiple hallway brawls between lawmakers were almost unprecedented in Congress. The abrupt shutdowns have led to disputes over health care. Lawler held up legislation focused on pushing Democrats during the shutdown: a package aimed at extending Obamacare subsidies.

“If you believe it so much!” » reprimanded Lawler, with a rhetorical uppercut.

“Brother, do you understand mathematics?” » counter-punched Jeffries.

Tension rises at the Capitol. Yours truly asked Johnson about Lawler’s confrontation with Jeffries and his decision to leave the President’s office to hire Kelly and Gallego. I pointed out to the Speaker that if the House were in session, there might be fights in the hallways.

House Speaker Mike Johnson speaks during a news conference at the U.S. Capitol on the tenth day of the federal government shutdown, October 10, 2025, in Washington, DC. (Alex Wroblewski/AFP via Getty Images)

“Are you concerned and is it your duty as President to try to bring this temperature down?” I asked.

Johnson added that this setback “concerns me.” He added that he wanted to “restore civility to the institution”.

“Let’s leave the political strife. But let’s not make this personal. It gets personal. Emotions are running high. People are upset. I’m upset. I’m a very patient man. But I’m very angry right now because this is a dangerous thing. And so is it better for them to be physically separated now? That’s probably the case.” Johnson said.

Lawmakers aren’t the only ones raging. Thousands of federal workers are furious over the shutdown. The administration is now laying off federal employees.

“Right now, many families are paying the price for a political impasse that they did not cause,” said Everett Kelley, president of the American Federation of Government Employees.

TENSE CONFRONTATION BETWEEN HOUSE SPEAKER AND SENATE DEMS CAUGHT ON CAMERA DURING ARREST

Rep. Sarah Elfreth, D-Md., represents 44,000 federal employees in her district near Washington, DC. She notes that Maryland has lost 15,000 federal jobs since President Trump took office in January.

“I believe (these firings) are not only unethical and immoral, but it is also illegal for him to go after the people at RIF during a shutdown. No new authority is being given to the president or the OMB during a shutdown,” Elfreth said. “I don’t believe in negotiation through threats. This also shows that I think they have the weaker hand and are losing the public relations battle at the national level by resorting to threats.”

Although the shutdown is the main event, the undercard is a fight between Democrats and Johnson over Grijalva to succeed his late father, Rep. Raul Grijalva, D-Ariz. The elder Grijalva died in March after a battle with cancer.

“I can’t hire staff. We don’t have an office,” Grijalva said. “So it’s a second-class citizen feeling for me.”

Democrats have repeatedly tried to force the House to swear Grijalva in during brief pro forma sessions in which the body moves in and out after just a few seconds. Once in office, Grijalva would provide the crucial 218th signature to go over the President’s head and force the House to vote on a measure to release the Epstein files.

“Get your men in and stop covering up for pedophiles,” Gallego shouted at Johnson during their confrontation in the hallway.

“It’s ridiculous,” Johnson responded.

“No one covers pedophiles,” Lawler chirped from the back of the scrum. “Then let it go.”

Johnson denies that Grijalva’s heist concerns the Epstein files.

Speaker Mike Johnson is canceling votes in the House for the third straight week in an effort to pressure Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer during the government shutdown. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite; Allison Robbert/AP Photo)

“We’ll schedule it, I guess, whenever she wants it. It has nothing to do with that,” Johnson said.

But Grijalva wrote to the President last week demanding that the House swear her in immediately. And the House still hasn’t sworn him in.

Circumstances were different this spring when the Republican majority in the House of Representatives fell to a clear seat. Republicans needed as many votes as they could to pass the Big and Beautiful Bill’s legislative frameworks. Johnson administered the oath of office to Reps. Randy Fine, R-Fla., and Jimmy Patronis, R-Fla., a day after winning the special election.

“These guys worked hard and they earned this position,” Johnson said when they met in April. “These gentlemen are going to come and help us implement the America First agenda.”

Johnson noted that the swearing-in of Fine and Patronis made “the margin a little more comfortable” for House Republicans.

Johnson is therefore keeping the House out of session for the moment. House Democrats are returning to the Capitol this week to insist that Johnson keep the House out of session during the shutdown. Either way, sending everyone back to the Capitol would likely start the congressional equivalent of an online brawl.

There are unwritten rules regarding hockey fighting. You don’t hit someone. You don’t bring your opponent to his knees. You usually fight someone in your same weight class. In hockey, both teams warm up on their side of the red line before the game and between periods. Violation of this code could start a big fight.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Lawmakers on both sides have apparently left their own side of the rink to fight with the other side. Gallego and Kelly in front of the president’s office. Lawler outside Jeffries press conference.

But lawmakers seem to ignore these unwritten rules. The government shutdown is almost entering its third week and everyone is dropping their gloves.