WASHINGTON — To listen to Republicans, the stalemate that has closed much of the federal government is the "Schumer shutdown," as they seek to pin blame mostly on Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer for Democrats' blocking a bill to end the closure.

But in this political combat, fellow Brooklynite and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries has become Schumer’s aggressive wingman, providing daily and more-dynamic counterattacks, and keeping the focus on health care.

While Jeffries remains little-known by much of the public, some House Democrats privately suggest that the shutdown has provided him a stage on which to more fully emerge from the shadow of his predecessor as party leader, former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).

Jeffries, 55, has been constantly confronting Republicans over t

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