‘It’s a Bad Look!’ CNBC’s Joe Kernen Clashes With Hakeem Jeffries Over Shutdown

‘It’s a Bad Look!’ CNBC’s Joe Kernen Clashes With Hakeem Jeffries Over Shutdown

Isaac Schorr Oct 24th, 2025, 11:53 am

CNBC’s Joe Kernen and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D) clashed over the ongoing government shutdown on Friday morning.

After Kernen played a clip of Senator James Lankford (R-OK) pointing out that Democrats have previously opposed shutting down the government as a negotiating tactic over health care policy and lamenting the consequences of the effects on air traffic controllers and SNAP beneficiaries, Kernen prompted Jeffries by musing that “it’s possible, Leader, that Republicans all feel that way, and we’re just going to be stuck here until some really bad things happen.”

“Yeah, we haven’t shut the government down. Donald Trump is the president