Jeffries and Johnson Agree to Debate on C-SPAN as Shutdown Drags On

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries has agreed to participate in a televised debate against his Republican counterpart, Speaker Mike Johnson, as the government shutdown enters its third week.

The event is slated to air on C-SPAN’s new show “Ceasefire” at a yet-to-be-announced date, the network announced Wednesday. Johnson agreed last week to take part in the debate while appearing on another C-SPAN program.

The idea first popped up when Jeffries sent a letter to Johnson last week demanding that the pair have a face-to-face debate on the House floor. He said it would allow both parties to air their arguments for why they would not budge on their demands to end the shutdown.

“Given the urgency of the moment and the Republican refusal to negotiate a bipartisan agreement, a debate on the House Floor will provide the American people with the transparency they deserve,” Jeffries wrote. “It will also give you an opportunity to explain your ‘My way or the highway’ approach to shutting the government down, when Democratic votes are needed to resolve the impasse that exists.”

Johnson initially balked at the idea, calling it a “desperate plea for attention.”

“When the polls say that about 13% of the people approve of your messaging, then you make desperate pleas for attention — and that’s what Hakeem Jeffries has done,” Johnson said at a press conference last week.

But the Louisiana Republican came around just three days later when asked on C-SPAN’s “Washington Journal” if he would consider hosting the discussion on the network.

“I’ll sit down with Hakeem Jeffries, my counterpart. I’d love to,” Johnson said Thursday. “We’ll get that done.”

Jeffries told reporters Tuesday that he “absolutely” planned to move forward with the debate, saying that he “looks forward” to it.

The made-for-TV event comes as the two parties appear dug into their positions, with little compromise on the horizon and shrinking chances that the shutdown will end this week.

Democrats are demanding the extension of Affordable Care Act subsidies in a last-ditch effort to stave off steep rises for health insurance premiums — while Republicans argue that they will only be willing to discuss health care measures after a “clean” continuing resolution is passed that funds the government at its current levels. Republicans have also falsely accused their counterparts of seeking to provide health care benefits to undocumented immigrants with their shutdown demands.