Jeffries says Dems are standing firm as shutdown drags on
On Day 17 of the government shutdown, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries is standing firm against Republican pressure to end the standoff -- insisting Democrats remain united as partisanship continues to block a breakthrough.
"House and Senate Democrats are going to continue to hold firm as it relates to a basic common sense position, that when we enact spending bills we should be helping the American people, not hurting them," Jeffries told reporters Friday morning.

He added that Democrats "will not support a partisan Republican spending bill that continues to gut the healthcare of the American people."
"Let's sit down in good faith to reopen the government," Jeffries said.
Asked by ABC News about when the pain of a shutdown might reach a breaking point for Democrats' heath care demands, Jeffries blamed Republicans and their absence on Capitol Hill .
"Part of the problem is that House Republicans are nowhere to be found, literally, have been on vacation for three consecutive weeks," Jeffries said.
-ABC News' Selina Wang, Lauren Peller and John Parkinson







