CNN Host Point Blank Asks Hakeem Jeffries If Shutdown Is Purely A Negotiating Tactic

A CNN host asked House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries Friday whether the government shutdown was truly about Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)  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.

During an interview on “The Lead with Jake Tapper,” 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.

“Is this about ICE, or is this purely a negotiating mechanism, a vehicle, to get the negotiation that you want on ICE restrictions?” Mattingly asked.

Jeffries responded by attacking the previous Republican Congress and saying ICE has billions in slush fund.

“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,