Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) took a shot at Senate Minority Chuck Schumer (D-NY) on Tuesday for his controversial vote with Republicans last week to avert a government shutdown.
Pelosi, during a press conference in San Francisco, affirmed that she had confidence in Schumer’s ability to lead the Democratic caucus in the Senate going forward, but argued that the Brooklyn Democrat made too many concessions to Republicans when he abruptly announced that he would vote to advance the GOP-crafted government funding bill.
“I myself don’t give away anything for nothing,” Pelosi said. “I think that’s what happened the other day.”
“We could have in my view, perhaps gotten [Republicans] to agree to a third way,” she added, referring to a last-ditch proposal by congressional Democrats to extend current government spending for 30 days as negotiations on a longer-term bill take place.
“They may not have agreed to it, but at least the public would have seen them not agreeing to it – then [Republicans] would have been shutting the government down,” Pelosi argued.
The former House speaker pleaded with Senate Democrats hours before last week’s vote to defy Schumer and vote against the six-month spending bill.
“Donald Trump and Elon Musk have offered Congress a false choice between a government shutdown or a blank check that makes a devastating assault on the well-being of working families across America,” Pelosi said in a statement.
Pelosi expressed confidence in Schumer’s ability to lead the Democratic caucus in the Senate. Bloomberg via Getty Images
“[T]his false choice that some are buying instead of fighting is unacceptable,” she added.
Schumer, who has been roundly criticized by left-wing lawmakers over the vote, defended his decision on “The View” earlier Tuesday, claiming a shutdown would have wrought “devastation like we’ve never seen.”
Schumer said he “knew it was a difficult choice” to vote to end debate on the so-called “continuing resolution” Friday, but added that “I felt as a leader I had to do it.”
Despite her jab at Schumer, Pelosi insisted that she’s moving on from the shutdown battle.
“I’m concerned about the next time. I’m concerned about the future,” the California Democrat said. “What happened last week was last week. We’re going into the future.”
Pelosi noted that House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) appeared with Schumer at an event Tuesday and also expressed his support for the embattled Senate Democratic leader.
