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The top Democrat in the House of Representatives attacked White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt with a series of insults on Friday.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., accused Republican officials of unfairly targeting Democrats amid controversy over a swastika flag found in a Republican House lawmaker’s office this week, although the lawmaker denied that he or his staff played any role. Jeffries made the comments during a press conference with reporters on the 17th day of the current government shutdown.
“You have Karoline Leavitt, who is sick. She’s out of control. And I don’t know if she’s just demented, ignorant, a callous liar, or all of that,” Jeffries said.
“But the idea that an official White House spokesperson would say that the Democratic Party is made up of terrorists, violent criminals and undocumented immigrants makes no sense, that this is what the American people are getting from the Trump administration in the midst of a shutdown.”
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House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries called White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt “sick” and “insane” on Friday. (Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images; Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Fox News Digital has reached out to the White House for a response.
Jeffries had been asked about the swastika, which was reportedly embedded in a small American flag hanging on a cork board in the office of Rep. Dave Taylor, R-Ohio. This was first reported by a local social media reporter from Ohio who goes by the name X “The Rooster.”
Taylor said in a statement to Fox News that several offices were targeted with the flag, which he said was the work of an “unidentified group” as part of a coordinated opposition campaign.
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A defaced American flag with a swastika in a Capitol office. (Obtained by Politico)
“New details have emerged from a coordinated investigation into the vile symbol that appeared in my office. Multiple Republican offices have confirmed that they were targeted by an unidentified group or individual distributing American flags bearing a similar symbol, which were initially indistinguishable from a regular American flag with the naked eye,” Taylor said.
“After a thorough internal investigation, I am satisfied that no employee of this office would knowingly display such a despicable image, and the flag in question was removed immediately after the obscured symbol it bore was discovered.”
However, it is not immediately clear why events caused Jeffries to specifically invoke Leavitt.
Tensions are high on both sides as the shutdown drags on, and the standoff shows no signs of abating.
Senate Democrats, led by Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., have rejected the GOP funding bill ten times. (Reuters)
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In fact, it’s set to enter its fourth week after Senate Democrats blocked the GOP’s federal funding measure for a fourth time on Thursday before leaving Washington for the weekend.
Republicans last month proposed a seven-week extension of FY 2025 funding levels, called a continuing resolution (CR), aimed at giving congressional negotiators more time to reach a long-term deal for FY 2026.
But House and Senate Democrats were furious at being left out of those talks. The majority of Democrats refuse to accept any deal that doesn’t include serious concessions on health care, at least extending COVID-19 pandemic-era Obamacare subsidies, which are set to expire at the end of this year.
Fox News’ Chad Pergram contributed to this report.
