Fox News Hosts Clash Over Government Shutdown: ‘Enough With This!’
Tensions frayed between the network’s token liberal, Jessica Tarlov, and her conservative colleague.
Fox News host Jessica Tarlov snapped at her network colleague Bret Baier during a heated debate about a government shutdown.
The clash raged as President Trump threatened to fire federal workers caught in the shutdown chaos, and Tarlov insisted people would blame Republicans.
The U.S. government began shutting down on Wednesday after Congress blew past the Oct. 1 funding deadline without a deal.
Senate Republicans and Democrats are stuck at an impasse. The GOP has a 53–47 majority, but needs seven Democrats to pass a short-term funding bill.
Republicans baulked at Democratic demands for an extension of Obamacare and the Affordable Care Act. “This is kind of simple,” Baier insisted during the Special Report segment, hours before the shutdown began. “This is a plain, fund-the-government continuing resolution.”
U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer deliver remarks following a meeting with Trump at the White House.
Win McNamee/Getty Images
Tarlov cut in, “But it’s a clean resolution, inclusive of these cuts. When you look at what’s gonna happen with 114 percent hikes on the ACA premiums, that affects Democrats just as much as Republicans. And there are a lot of Republicans on Obamacare.”
Get the best of The Beast delivered right to your inbox
By clicking “SUBSCRIBE” you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
“That doesn’t stop until the end of the year,” Baier shot back. “So, you fund the government and—”
“Enough with this!” Tarlov interjected, throwing up her hands. “Who’s to say that they’re gonna sit down and negotiate with us afterwards?”
Trump has threatened to permanently fire federal staff deemed "non-essential."
Win McNamee/Getty Images
Senate Republicans scheduled another round of votes for Wednesday on the two funding bills, framing it as a chance for Democrats to flip. Democratic leaders Hakeem Jeffries and Chuck Schumer instead pin the shutdown on Donald Trump and the GOP, accusing them of refusing to protect Americans’ healthcare.
Tarlov pointed to President Trump’s social media post pushing an AI-generated video falsely claiming Democrats want to give healthcare to undocumented immigrants—a line repeated by Vice President JD Vance and Speaker Mike Johnson.
The clash comes as Schumer himself faces pressure from his own caucus, after angering progressives in March when he cut a deal with Republicans on a six-month spending bill without securing concessions.
See more of our coverage in your search results.
Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast here.
Register below to read this article for free or subscribe
to unlock unlimited access to The Daily Beast.
Monthly
$1
First month then $5.99/month
Annual
$35
First year then $59.99/year
Premium
$79
First year then $119.99/year
*Substack access provided by the next business day, using your subscription email. Choosing the Premium plan constitutes your permission to share your subscription email with Substack and your agreement to Substack’s Privacy Policy.
Already have an account? Sign In
Looks like you already have a subscription!
You're all set!
Thanks for subscribing.
Sign in or create an account
Login dialog
Loading comments…