EXCLUSIVE: Military veterans in Congress are criticizing House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., for dodging questions on whether he will forego his paycheck as government workers go without pay due to the ongoing shutdown.

Reps. Gabe Evans, R-Colo., Mariannette Miller-Meeks, R-Iowa, and Tom Barrett, R-Mich., each of whom served in the U.S. Army, said they would give up their paychecks for the duration of the shutdown, citing concern for American service members.

The three took aim at Jeffries for not saying whether he would do the same.

As the government shutdown enters its fifth week, Jeffries was asked on CNN on Wednesday night if he would defer his paychecks during the shutdown in light of TSA agents and other federal workers having to work without pay. Jeffries dodged the question, saying, "I’ll be commenting on that shortly."

JOHNSON REJECTS PUSH FOR MILITARY PAY FIX AS SHUTDOWN FIGHT INTENSIFIES

"I understand the sacrifice that people are making, including Capitol Police officers here, and I'm going to conduct myself accordingly given that sacrifice," Jeffries added, to which the CNN host pressed, "So, that sounds like a yes, that you will defer your paycheck?"

Jeffries answered, "Well, I'll have more to say about that shortly, but I think consistent with the values that I just articulated."

In response, Evans, who served as a Black Hawk helicopter pilot, called Jeffries’ dodge an "insult to Americans" that "just reiterates their unserious and irresponsible legislating and proves how out of touch they are from those they are supposed to serve."

HOUSE GOP BLOCKS DEMS' MILITARY PAY BILL AS GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN THREATENS CHECKS

"As a former cop and soldier who still lives paycheck to paycheck, I understand firsthand the severity and impact that this Democrat-led shutdown has caused our country to endure, and is why I’ve chosen to defer my pay and stand in solidarity with every federal employee who misses a paycheck until the Democrats decide to work with Republicans to reopen our government," Evans told Fox News Digital.

He added that "while thousands of dedicated and hardworking Americans continue to work tirelessly without a paycheck to keep America safe and running, Democrats continue to be noncommittal when asked about deferring their own pay amid the government shutdown."

Meeks, who retired as a lieutenant colonel, told Fox News Digital that if Jeffries "cared half as much about working families as he does about his own salary, the government would already be open."

"While 42 million Americans face losing their SNAP benefits and our troops go unpaid, Hakeem Jeffries is still cashing a paycheck," she said.

FLIGHT DELAYS WORSEN AS UNPAID AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLERS FEEL GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN PAIN

"Hakeem Jeffries is so out of touch that he thinks he should be compensated for shutting down the government and causing the American people to suffer," added Barrett, a 22-year veteran.

"This type of hypocrisy is exactly what I came to Washington to fight against," he said. "It’s time for him to drop this ‘rules for thee and not for me’ attitude and make a decision: pay our federal employees or pass on his paycheck like the rest of us."

Fox News Digital reached out to Jeffries' office for a response but did not receive a comment by the time of publication. 

Facing tightening polls and growing scrutiny of his progressive agenda, New York City Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani spent Friday courting senior voters on the Lower East Side — even joining a tai chi class as he delivered his final affordability pitch.

The self-described democratic socialist heads into the final weekend before Election Day with a double-digit lead. In the latest Fox News Poll, released Thursday, Mamdani has a 16-point lead: 47% back him, while 15% favor Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa and 31% go for Independent candidate Andrew Cuomo.

Mamdani, whose platform to freeze rents and expand city-run services has drawn fire from business groups and moderate Democrats, framed his campaign’s closing message around affordability.

NEW POLL REVEALS MAMDANI'S LEAD IS SHRINKING AS CUOMO GAINS GROUND IN NYC SHOWDOWN

"It's the same message that we opened with, which is that this is the most expensive city in the United States of America, and it's time to make it affordable," Mamdani told Fox News Digital on Friday.

CUOMO NARROWS MAMDANI’S ADVANTAGE IN LATEST POLL AHEAD OF NYC MAYORAL ELECTION

Mamdani's campaign agenda includes city-run grocery stores, rent freezes and free childcare, all of which he plans to pay for by raising taxes on corporations and the top 1% of New Yorkers.

"When I stood there alongside hundreds of supporters in Long Island City on Oct. 23, last year, we said then what we say now: We're going to freeze the rent for rent-stabilized tenants. We're going to make the slowest buses in America fast and free. We're going to deliver universal childcare, and we're going to do it because at the heart of our struggle is for the working New Yorker who's been pushed out of the city," Mamdani told Fox News Digital.

Less than 12 hours prior, Mamdani greeted hospital workers at Elmhurst Hospital, canvassed taxi drivers at LaGuardia Airport and met those working night shifts in Jackson Heights.

It's a style of retail politics that Mamdani has employed throughout his campaign, and particularly in this final week, as he attempts to shake any and every hand — even in the sea of local, national and international reporters following his every move.

"Last night, after I spoke to taxi drivers, before I went to Elmhurst Hospital and outside of Elmhurst Hospital, I spoke to an 1199 organizer, he told me that he commutes two hours each way from Pennsylvania because he cannot afford a place to live in the city," Mamdani said.

To Mamdani, the campaign ends where it began, with a pitch to working-class New Yorkers.

"We have people that we look at and understand as New Yorkers, they can't even live here anymore, and that is a shame," Mamdani said. "That is unacceptable, and it doesn't actually have to be that way. I'm looking forward to proving that starting Jan. 1."

And while Mamdani already has his eyes set on next year, affirming his commitment to keeping New York City Police Department Commissioner Jessica Tisch in her position if he is elected, the latest polling indicates Cuomo is making up some ground ahead of Election Day.

The latest Quinnipiac University poll released Wednesday shows Mamdani's 10-point advantage over Cuomo is down from his 13-point lead in their poll earlier this month, and this latest poll matches the Suffolk University poll released Monday that found Mamdani losing ground with a now 10-point lead.

"Make no mistake: The race is tightening, and Andrew Cuomo is closing in fast," Cuomo campaign spokesman Rich Azzopardi said in a statement this week.

The latest Fox News poll finds Independent candidate and current mayor Eric Adams, who endorsed Cuomo last week, received 2% support despite dropping out of the race Sept. 28. Adams will still appear on the ballot.

Despite traded jabs this year, Adams has joined Cuomo on the campaign trail in a last-ditch effort to boost the anti-Mamdani vote.

Adams announced Friday his plan to increase the NYPD's headcount by 5,000 officers, increasing the total number of officers to 40,000 by 2029 — which he says will be the highest level in 20 years.

It's a $17.8 million investment for the upcoming fiscal year with plans to raise the investment to $315.8 million by 2029.

"The vast majority of New Yorkers want more police officers on their streets and in their subways, and that is what we are delivering by adding these 5,000 new officers," Adams, a former NYPD officer, said in a statement Friday.

Mamdani's approach to public safety and past criticisms of the NYPD have been a major point of contention for his mayoral campaign.

He apologized this month on Fox News to the NYPD for his past comments, including calling the department "racist, anti‑queer & a major threat to public safety" in 2020, among other insults.

Mamdani was asked to respond to Adams' new proposal during a media availability Friday.

"I have said time and again that I believe we have the right number of police officers," Mamdani said, while arguing that Adams does not have the money to hire an additional 5,000 officers.

"We know what New Yorkers actually care about," Mamdani added Friday. "It's not a question of headcount. It's a question of safety, and that's exactly what I'm going to deliver in retaining Commissioner Tisch and creating a Department of Community Safety, and finally ensuring that we live up to the words that Eric Adams has set himself said four years ago, that New Yorkers need not choose between safety and justice."