House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries took aim at President Donald Trump’s Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt on Friday, unleashing a barrage of personal insults during remarks to reporters as tensions mounted over the ongoing government shutdown.
“You’ve got Karoline Leavitt, who’s sick. She’s out of control,” Jeffries said. “And I’m not sure whether she’s just demented, ignorant, a stone-cold liar, or all of the above,” Fox News reported.
Jeffries’ comments were in response to Leavitt’s earlier claim that the Democratic Party “consists of terrorists, violent criminals, and undocumented immigrants.” He accused the Trump administration of spreading misinformation during a critical time for the country.
“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,” Jeffries continued. “This is what the American people are getting from the Trump administration in the middle of a shutdown.”
The remarks quickly drew attention across Washington and ignited a fierce response from Leavitt, who fired back in a lengthy post on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
“Hakeem Jeffries and the Democrats are lashing out because they know what I said is true,” Leavitt wrote. “The Democrat Party’s elected officials absolutely cater to pro-Hamas terrorists, illegal aliens, and violent criminals.”
Leavitt accused Democrats of repeatedly siding with radical activists and opposing efforts to defend U.S. borders.
“House Democrats voted against a resolution condemning Hamas following the horrific October 7th terrorist attacks,” she said. “Democrats cheered on pro-Hamas radicals while they hijacked America’s college campuses and harassed Jewish students.”
Leavitt also faulted Democrats for what she called “failed border and crime policies,” pointing to the record influx of illegal crossings in recent years.
“Democrats opened our borders and allowed tens of millions of illegal aliens into our country over the past four years, including rapists and murderers, because they view them as future voters,” she continued. “Democrats coddle violent criminals and support soft-on-crime policies like cashless bail that let violent offenders back on the streets to hurt law-abiding citizens.”
Her post ended with a direct attack on the Minority Leader himself.
“Democrats do NOT serve the interests of the American people. Hakeem Jeffries is an America Last, stone-cold loser,” Leavitt wrote. “Now open up the government and stop simping to try to get your radical left-wing base to like you.”
She later clarified her remarks in an appearance on Fox News’ Sean Hannity program.
It remains unclear why Jeffries singled out Leavitt during his exchange with reporters, though the comments came amid renewed controversy on Capitol Hill involving a Republican lawmaker’s office.
Jeffries was asked about a swastika that was reportedly found on an American flag displayed on a corkboard inside the office of Rep. Dave Taylor, R-Ohio.
In a statement to Fox News, Taylor said multiple GOP offices were targeted in what he described as a coordinated campaign.
“New details have emerged from a coordinated investigation into the vile symbol that appeared in my office,” Taylor said. “Numerous Republican offices have confirmed that they were targeted by an unidentified group or individual who distributed American flags bearing a similar symbol, which were initially indistinguishable from an ordinary American flag to the naked eye.”
Taylor said the flag in his office was taken down “immediately upon the discovery of the obscured symbol it bore,” and emphasized that “no employee of this office would knowingly display such a despicable image.”
The exchange between Jeffries and Leavitt marks the latest flashpoint in a Capitol increasingly consumed by partisan infighting as the shutdown enters its fourth week.
The standoff continues after Senate Democrats blocked a Republican-backed continuing resolution Thursday night, preventing the government from reopening.
The GOP measure would have extended current federal funding levels through November to allow more time for negotiations on a long-term fiscal 2026 deal. Democrats, however, have refused to support any agreement that does not include expanded healthcare subsidies and additional pandemic-era spending extensions.