On Thursday, in a major win for congressional Republicans and President Donald Trump, the House passed a budget bill on a vote of 216-214. Republicans have a particularly narrow majority in the House, and so it always looked like it was going to be tight, especially with some defections from their own party members. Nevertheless, it passed. Not only did House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) vote against the bill, he went for quite the vile narrative when it comes to highlighting the numbers.
House Democrats lost two members last month. Sylvester Turner, 70, of Texas died on the evening of March 4, after Trump gave his speech before a joint session of Congress. He had just been sworn in two months prior, and was the new representative for Texas' 18th Congressional District. The late Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee died last year.
Raúl Grijalva of Arizona died on March 13. He died "due to complications of his cancer treatments," his office announced, though his office was still posting from his account to go after the Trump administration that same day over concerns about the Department of Education, after Grijalva had already reportedly died.
Um... Aren't you dead? https://t.co/F24UE83k2R pic.twitter.com/BW6o7aETXK
— Leftism (@LeftismForU) March 13, 2025
When ranting and raving against the budget on Thursday, Jeffries decided to focus on Turner and Grijalva's deaths.
"Passing this initial budget resolution should have been a slam dunk for Republicans, they had to pull the bill down off the floor last night and barely struggled to pass it today," Jeffries said. "We had two tragic deaths in the House Democratic Caucus. Had those deaths not occurred last month, Republicans would not have even passed the bill today," he continued to claim during his Thursday remarks.
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While he referred to the deaths of his colleagues as "tragic," Jeffries nevertheless used their absences due to death as a prop. There's also no absolute guarantee that other Democratic members wouldn't have been absent for other reasons, or that Republicans wouldn't have been able to gain assurances from their members who voted against the budget, especially Rep. Victoria Spartz of Indiana, as Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky was almost certainly a "no" vote no matter what.
There also were other absences from both sides of the aisle, given that Reps. Donald Norcross (D-NJ), Robert Onder (R-MO), and David Valadao (R-CA) did not vote. Especially if Onder and Valadao did vote for the budget, Jeffries' point is even more moot, though no less shameful when it comes to using his dead colleagues for such a narrative.
For all of Jeffries' shameful "what ifs" about the budget, it's worth reminding that it did pass, and also speaks to the ways in which Republicans are working together and doing what they can with the thin majority they have, as Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) also met with House Republicans earlier this week who had expressed concerns, and secured many of their votes. At least the party did something productive with the time they used to reschedule the vote on the budget. Democrats, meanwhile, continue to experience record lows, as multiple polls show.
Rep. Jeffries says the only reason Republicans passed a bill today is because his Democratic colleagues keep dying 😳
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) April 10, 2025
pic.twitter.com/v9TtwYpJbd
Those aren't even the only parts of Jeffries' remarks worth breaking down. He also continued the Democratic Party's lie when it comes to the Trump administration's plans for Medicaid and Social Security.
"So, it's going to be very difficult for them, because once the Committee process starts, they can no longer pretend as if they're not intending to cut Medicaid and nutritional assistance and hurt veterans all across the country," he stressed, also gesturing for emphasis.
Democrats have been going for this vile tactic for some time. Speaking once more about Trump's speech before a joint session of Congress, Rep. Al Green (D-TX) had to be removed, after being given several warnings, because he kept causing disruptions as he ranted and raved about supposed cuts. The administration has made clear there will not be cuts, however.
It's also particularly rich for Jeffries to speak about standing up for veterans, given that when Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-OH) stood behind a sign in late February outside of the Capitol that was supposed to be about just that, she took the time to go after Elon Musk, who became a citizen over 20 years ago, and his national origin. Democrats can spare us talk about standing up for veterans, then, when their real aim appears to go after Musk and Trump.
During Thursday's episode of "The Tony Kinnett Cast," host Tony Kinnett viciously ripped apart Jeffries for such remarks. He also pointed out that Jeffries did not express the same concerns about numbers when Rep. Jackie Walorski (R-IN) passed away in August 2022.
