House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) earned an annoyed eye roll from CNBC anchor Becky Quick as they squared off over health care during a Friday morning appearance on “Squawk Box.”
Quick and Jeffries were discussing the apparent impasse between Republicans and Democrats over the Affordable Care Act — and how long an extension they might approve for the COVID-era subsidies — and Quick tried several times to point out that some Republicans were willing to work out a deal, but Democrats were still trying to make demands.
WATCH:
Incredible exchange here as Hakeem Jeffries gets IRATE with CNBC’s Becky Quick for daring to press him on his robotic ACA talking points:
Quick: *Cuts Jeffries off to try to make him actually answer a question*
Jeffries: “You can ask the question, I’ll provide the answer!”… pic.twitter.com/gegocDMQja
— Western Lensman (@WesternLensman) November 21, 2025
Quick began by pointing out that there was already at least one bipartisan measure — supported by Reps. Tom Suozzi (D-NY) and Don Bacon (R-NE) — that had been proposed, offering a two-year extension to the subsidies in question. That would double the extension that Democrats had pitched weeks earlier — one year — as a potential shutdown-ending deal.
“If you want to get done, you are going to need at least some Republicans to come over, why not start with a one-year extension or potentially even a two-year extension?” Quick asked, noting that a three-year extension was likely to be “dead in the water.”
Jeffries balked, noting that Democrats had already tried promising to end the shutdown in exchange for a one-year extension, but that Republicans had turned that down.
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“That’s different. I’m talking about what you have now. Let’s not go back to what’s done in the past and what has not been extended. If you want to get something that it has actually done, you need to do something that will have bipartisan effect,” Quick pushed back.
“You can ask me the question. I’ll provide the answer,” Jeffries said.
“Answer the question instead of going back,” Quick pressed.
“I’m providing an answer in order to provide context,” Jeffries argued, prompting an annoyed eye roll from Quick. “Republicans have repeatedly refused to take yes for an answer. It was a very reasonable multi-year extension that was offered. It was one year straight extension, plus a multi-year process through a bipartisan commission to more permanently resolve the Affordable Care Act issue. So having that context is absolutely important, regardless of what you may think.”
“It’s important context to make me realize that I don’t think you want to get a deal done,” Quick replied. “I think this is something where you’d like to see the rates go higher and allow the Republicans to hang themselves with that. Is that the answer? Is this politics?”
Jeffries bristled: “That’s absolutely a ridiculous assertion, and really shame on you for saying that.”
“Three years is not going to get passed, so what do you do?” Quick asked again.
Jeffries repeatedly claimed that the issue was “patriotic” rather than “partisan,” but failed to acknowledge the fact that both the one-year extension offered by Senate Democrats and the three-year extension he appeared to be set on would guarantee that Republicans would have to address the same subsidy fight in an election year. The two year extension — to which he seemed adamantly opposed — was the only offer on the table that would put the next subsidy battle in an off year.
