Jeffries says Trump is avoiding public engagement as federal shutdown continues

President Donald Trump was accused by House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries on Thursday of avoiding public engagement during the ongoing federal government shutdown.

The shutdown began early Wednesday morning. Since then, according to the account provided, the president has made Truth Social posts and appeared in a television interview on Wednesday, while otherwise remaining largely out of public view, with no apparent progress toward ending what is described as the third shutdown under a Trump administration.

Appearing on MSNBC’s Morning Joe, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries argued that the president is avoiding public scrutiny because he “knows he’s responsible” for the government shutdown. Citing the president’s recent social media posts and an Oval Office meeting held just hours before the deadline, Jeffries said this was “further confirmation that Republicans are the ones who were clearly determined to shut the government down.” He added: “Everything that President Trump has done after Monday has been unhinged and unserious. In fact, Donald Trump is in the presidential witness protection program. No one can find him when it comes to the government shutdown issue because he knows he’s responsible for having caused it. And the behavior—the erratic behavior that we’ve seen—is further confirmation of that unfortunate fact.”

The White House rejected Jeffries’ characterization. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt dismissed the criticism as “ridiculous fodder,” saying, “The president is literally working around the clock right now.” She noted a swearing-in ceremony and “several meetings on the books today,” adding, “He literally works 24/7… And Hakeem Jeffries and Senate Democrats should get back to work in a few minutes and vote to reopen the government.”

A public photo since Tuesday night showed Trump arriving Thursday with the first lady at the Naval Observatory for dinner with the Vances. Earlier Thursday, Trump met with Office of Management and Budget Director and Project 2025 architect Russell Vought to consider “which of the many Democrat Agencies, most of which are a political SCAM,” he wants to eliminate. During the 2024 campaign, Trump had described Project 2025 as “seriously extreme” and “absolutely ridiculous.”