House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries pushed back sharply during a CNBC appearance Friday after host Rebecca Quick questioned whether he was leveraging the expiration of Affordable Care Act tax credits for political advantage.

Jeffries is seeking a three-year extension of the subsidies, originally enacted during the Biden-Harris administration, while Republicans have rejected anything beyond a shorter renewal.

During the interview on “Squawk Box,” Quick suggested that Jeffries preferred allowing the subsidies to lapse rather than accepting a shorter extension that could gain bipartisan support.

“It’s important context to make me realize that I don’t think you want to get a deal done. 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?” Quick said.

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Jeffries responded forcefully. “That’s absolutely a ridiculous assertion,” he said.

“Three years is not going to get passed, so what do you do? Shame on you for saying that. It’s not a partisan issue for us. In fact, the states that are most impacted as it relates to an Affordable Care Act tax credit expiration are all Republican states.”

The dispute comes weeks after Democrats voted for what became the longest government shutdown in U.S. history.

The shutdown began October 1 after Democrats opposed the Republican-led funding bill, which did not include extensions of the ACA subsidies.

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The government reopened after 43 days without an agreement on the credits, leading to frustration within the Democratic caucus, including from Jeffries.

Quick argued that a shorter deal could still be reached if both parties returned to negotiations.

She noted that House Republicans might accept a one- or two-year extension rather than the three-year plan Jeffries is seeking.

Jeffries insisted that Democrats want to negotiate.

“Listen, this is not a partisan fight for us. It’s a patriotic fight,” he said.

“We’re fighting for every constituent, even if Republicans aren’t necessarily fighting for their own constituents. We want to find a bipartisan path forward, and that is what we’ve repeatedly indicated we want to do. Like, we want to sit down and have a reasonable discussion, find common ground to address this issue. Now, Republicans said in the House they were willing to deal with the Affordable Care Act tax credit issue after the government funding agreement was reached.”

House Speaker Mike Johnson has not committed to bringing an extension up for a vote.

In the Senate, Majority Leader John Thune agreed to hold a vote on the credits as part of the negotiations that secured Democratic support for reopening the government.

Jeffries said Republicans have had a full year to reach a deal and have not produced a proposal that could pass.

Quick pressed the point that a one-year extension could buy time for both parties to develop a longer-term plan, but Jeffries maintained that Democrats have been willing to negotiate throughout the process while Republicans have not agreed to terms that would avoid lapses in coverage.

The Affordable Care Act tax credits remain unresolved as both chambers return to budget discussions.

Jeffries continues to call for a multi-year extension while insisting that Democrats are ready to work on a bipartisan agreement once Republicans present a framework they are willing to support.

This @BeckyQuick eye-roll at Hakeem Jeffries filibustering is one of the most iconic things I've ever seen in television. https://t.co/9r1bWesQdw pic.twitter.com/dHwveVygNZ

— Matt Whitlock (@mattdizwhitlock) November 21, 2025

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