During an appearance on MSNBC early Thursday morning, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) criticized House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) for keeping the House from conducting business during the government shutdown — but was pressed on why he and most Democrats helped save Johnson’s speakership more than a year ago.

After emphasizing to Way Too Early host Ali Vitali that he intends to hold Republicans accountable for blocking an extension of Affordable Care Act subsidies — the central issue of the shutdown — Vitali questioned Jeffries about his current relationship with the Republican speaker, Raw Story reported.

“It was irresponsible for Mike Johnson to keep House Republicans on a taxpayer-funded vacation for more than seven weeks and to castrate, you know, the House of Representatives as it relates to his majority. At the end of the day, we’re a separate and coequal branch of government,” Jeffries said about Johnson’s decision to adjourn the House during the longest government shutdown in modern history, which ended Wednesday evening.

“The problem with House Republicans is that they continue to function like a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Trump cartel, as opposed to what Democrats will do, which is serve as a check and balance on an out-of-control executive branch,” he added.

At that point, Vitali noted that some Democrats voted to keep Johnson as Speaker when many Republicans were opposed to keeping him.

“I wonder if, given that you regret the way that the caucus acted when his job was in jeopardy?” the host asked.

After a short pause, Jeffries replied: “No, I think that every moment calls for the best possible decision.”

“At the time, Joe Biden was the president, Senate Democrats were in the majority,” he offered. “We had a responsibility to continue to move forward, particularly in that instance where we needed to fund our ally, Ukraine. That’s in a war defending not just their territorial integrity, but also principles of democracy and freedom and truth.”

Ukraine isn’t a formal “ally” of the U.S., and historically, the country has been one of the most corrupt in Europe.

The House of Representatives on Wednesday evening approved a spending package to end the longest government shutdown in U.S. history, despite opposition from Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and most House Democrats.

Lawmakers voted 222 to 209 to reopen the government, with six Democrats breaking ranks to support the measure. The White House said President Donald Trump will promptly sign the bill into law.

The Democrats who voted in favor were Reps. Jared Golden of Maine, Adam Gray of California, Henry Cuellar of Texas, Marie Gluesenkamp Perez of Washington, Don Davis of North Carolina, and Tom Suozzi of New York, the Daily Caller reported.

Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), a fiscal conservative, voted against the government funding package. He was joined by Rep. Greg Steube (R-Fla.), who opposed the bill due to a provision allowing senators to sue the federal government if their phone records are seized without prior notice.

“I’m not gonna send [Republican South Carolina Sen.] Lindsey Graham half a million dollars,” Steube told reporters before he voted.

The 43-day government shutdown left hundreds of thousands of federal employees without pay while still requiring them to cover their bills, disrupted access to federal food assistance for low-income Americans, and caused widespread travel delays across the country.

The Senate passed the spending package Monday night, ending weeks of gridlock after Democrats delayed action on funding the government for nearly seven weeks.

The funding agreement notably excludes Democrats’ top demand — a guaranteed extension of Affordable Care Act (ACA) premium tax credits — which Republicans had rejected as a nonstarter.

Both Jeffries and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer opposed the measure, which ultimately passed both chambers after several Democrats broke ranks to support it.