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EXCLUSIVE: Military veterans in Congress are criticizing House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., for dodging questions on whether he will forego his paycheck as government workers go without pay due to the ongoing shutdown.
Reps. Gabe Evans, R-Colo., Mariannette Miller-Meeks, R-Iowa, and Tom Barrett, R-Mich., each of whom served in the U.S. Army, said they would give up their paychecks for the duration of the shutdown, citing concern for American service members.
The three took aim at Jeffries for not saying whether he would do the same.
As the government shutdown enters its fifth week, Jeffries was asked on CNN on Wednesday night if he would defer his paychecks during the shutdown in light of TSA agents and other federal workers having to work without pay. Jeffries dodged the question, saying, “I’ll be commenting on that shortly.”
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“I understand the sacrifice that people are making, including Capitol Police officers here, and I’m going to conduct myself accordingly given that sacrifice,” Jeffries added, to which the CNN host pressed, “So, that sounds like a yes, that you will defer your paycheck?”
Jeffries answered, “Well, I’ll have more to say about that shortly, but I think consistent with the values that I just articulated.”
In response, Evans, who served as a Black Hawk helicopter pilot, called Jeffries’ dodge an “insult to Americans” that “just reiterates their unserious and irresponsible legislating and proves how out of touch they are from those they are supposed to serve.”
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“As a former cop and soldier who still lives paycheck to paycheck, I understand firsthand the severity and impact that this Democrat-led shutdown has caused our country to endure, and is why I’ve chosen to defer my pay and stand in solidarity with every federal employee who misses a paycheck until the Democrats decide to work with Republicans to reopen our government,” Evans told Fox News Digital.
He added that “while thousands of dedicated and hardworking Americans continue to work tirelessly without a paycheck to keep America safe and running, Democrats continue to be noncommittal when asked about deferring their own pay amid the government shutdown.”
Meeks, who retired as a lieutenant colonel, told Fox News Digital that if Jeffries “cared half as much about working families as he does about his own salary, the government would already be open.”
“While 42 million Americans face losing their SNAP benefits and our troops go unpaid, Hakeem Jeffries is still cashing a paycheck,” she said.
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“Hakeem Jeffries is so out of touch that he thinks he should be compensated for shutting down the government and causing the American people to suffer,” added Barrett, a 22-year veteran.
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“This type of hypocrisy is exactly what I came to Washington to fight against,” he said. “It’s time for him to drop this ‘rules for thee and not for me’ attitude and make a decision: pay our federal employees or pass on his paycheck like the rest of us.”
Fox News Digital reached out to Jeffries’ office for a response but did not receive a comment by the time of publication.
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