Tag: Nancy Pelosi

Trump vs. Pelosi: What happened in Chinatown

Washington Post logoUnder fire for reacting too slowly to the coronavirus pandemic, Trump is trying to turn the tables and argue Pelosi was actually slower than he was. He points to his Jan. 31 decision (effective on Feb. 2) to impose some travel restrictions on non-U.S. citizens coming from China — and contrasts that with a visit Pelosi made to San Francisco’s Chinatown.

Of course, Chinatown is not China. And there are many things Trump keeps getting wrong about her visit. It was pretty uneventful, but he tries to spice it up with claims that she called for a “big parade,” a “street party,” a “street fair” and so forth. Then he tosses in some ridiculously false claims.

The Facts

Trump’s repeated remarks dismissing the threat of the coronavirus to the United States have proved to be a problem for his reelection campaign. A president sets the national tone. But, to be fair, other high-profile politicians also did not express early alarm or advocate the extreme social distancing tactics now set in most of the country. Continue reading.

Pelosi warns of deadly risks if country reopens too soon

The Hill logoSpeaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Thursday warned against reopening the country prematurely, saying the public health threat posed by the deadly coronavirus is a greater evil than the current economic hardship facing businesses and workers nationwide.

Speaking to reporters on a conference call, Pelosi roundly rejected the notion — one being promoted by a growing number of Republicans — that lifting social distancing restrictions for the sake of boosting the economy is worth the increased risk of spreading the coronavirus, even if it means more deaths.

The Speaker is calling for more widespread testing around the country, to gauge the regional prevalence of the deadly virus, before scaling back locally imposed prevention measures. Continue reading.

Pelosi Warns That Trump’s Lies Are Costing Lives

As Donald Trump spoke during his daily coronavirus briefing Tuesday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued a stark warning for Americans to “ignore the lies” and “insist on the truth” while the U.S. assesses next steps in the crisis.

Pelosi’s scathing outline of Trump’s monthslong handling of the virus outbreak contrasted with his eagerness to reopen the economy.

“There are important decisions ahead,” Pelosi wrote to House Democrats. “But if we are not working from the truth, more lives will be lost, economic hardship and suffering will be extended unnecessarily.” Continue reading.

Pelosi, Schumer want aid to states, hospitals in GOP small business bill

The Hill logoSpeaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Democratic Leader Charles Schumer (N.Y.) say a Republican request to funnel an additional $250 billion to a special small-business loan program for the coronavirus crisis must also include hundreds of billions of dollars for hospitals, state and local governments and food assistance.

“As Democrats have said since Day One, Congress must provide additional relief for small businesses and families, building on the strong down-payment made in the bipartisan CARES Act,” they said in a statement Wednesday morning.

The Democratic response comes a day after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said he would ask for unanimous consent on the Senate floor Thursday to approve an additional $250 billion in funding for the popular small-business Paycheck Protection Program. Continue reading.

Combative in public, Trump administration and congressional leaders negotiate behind the scenes on coronavirus relief

Washington Post logoThe president and the speaker haven’t spoken in months, while the president is openly taunting the Senate’s top Democrat about a potential primary challenge more than two years away. The top Republicans have direct channels to the president but don’t share the same big-spending appetite as the leader of their party.

The core five leaders in Washington — President Trump, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) — and their interactions with one another have come under scrutiny amid the coronavirus outbreak, as the pandemic continues to swamp the nation, killing thousands of Americans and plunging the U.S. economy into crisis.

Yet for all the public signs of discord, communications and coordination between congressional leaders and the Trump administration have hummed along, compensating for the dysfunctional relationship — or the outright lack of one — between Trump himself and the top two Democrats on Capitol Hill. Continue reading.

Pelosi, McConnell clash over next coronavirus bill

The Hill logoSpeaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell(R-Ky.) are publicly at odds over a potential fourth coronavirus package.

The two leaders, whose public relationship has been tense in recent weeks, are taking different tactics on follow-up legislation and sparring through the media on next steps to address the devastating economic and health effects of the pandemic.

The mixed messaging, which comes as lawmakers are out of town until at least April 20, underscores the looming challenge of keeping the congressional response to the coronavirus bipartisan. The first three bills passed with overwhelming support on both sides of the aisle. Continue reading.

Pelosi eyes end of April to bring a fourth coronavirus relief bill to the floor

The Hill logoSpeaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said in a letter to fellow House lawmakers on Saturday that she wants to bring a second stimulus package to the floor by the end of this month to further relieve the American public during the coronavirus pandemic.

“It is my hope that we will craft this legislation and bring it to the floor later this month,” Pelosi said in the letter, according to Bloomberg, adding that American communities “cannot afford to wait.”

Pelosi added that the next stimulus package “must go further in assisting small businesses including farmers, extending and strengthening unemployment benefits and giving families additional direct payments.” Continue reading.

Pelosi forms House committee to oversee coronavirus response

The Hill logoSpeaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Thursday announced the creation of a special House committee charged with overseeing the unprecedented, multitrillion-dollar federal response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Pelosi has tapped Rep. James Clyburn (D-S.C.), the Democratic whip, to lead the bipartisan panel, which will be authorized “to examine all aspects of the federal response to the coronavirus and ensure the taxpayer’s dollars are being wisely and efficiently spent.”

“The panel will root out waste, fraud and abuse; it will protect against price-gauging, profiteering and political favoritism,” she told reporters on a press call. “The fact is, we do need transparency and accountability.” Continue reading.

Trump’s ambitious infrastructure vision faces Senate GOP roadblock

The Hill logoPresident Trump faces a clash with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell(R-Ky.) and other Senate Republicans over the president’s desire for a $2 trillion infrastructure spending bill, something he promised during his 2016 campaign.

McConnell has criticized Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) for proposing a big infrastructure package, saying she wants “to practice what [former Obama White House chief of staff] Rahm Emanuel famously said after the financial crisis in 2008: ‘Never let a crisis go to waste.’ ”

“In other words, seize upon crisis to try to makes systemic or policy changes you couldn’t otherwise pass,” McConnell told “The Guy Benson Show” on Tuesday. Continue reading.

Pelosi should ‘stand down’ on passing another rescue bill in House, McConnell says

Washington Post logoOne week after the Senate unanimously passed a $2 trillion emergency relief bill aimed at limiting the financial trauma from the coronavirus pandemic, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said he would move slowly on considering any follow-up legislation and would ignore the latest efforts by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) to jump-start talks.

McConnell’s sweeping dismissal of Pelosi’s urgent call for action underscored the uncertainty and fierce political warfare in Congress as the coronavirus outbreak shuts down much of the nation and throttles the economy, with little consensus on what should follow the biggest rescue package in U.S. history and lingering tensions from those negotiations between McConnell and Pelosi.

“She needs to stand down on the notion that we’re going to go along with taking advantage of the crisis to do things that are unrelated to the crisis,” McConnell said in an interview with The Washington Post, calling the speaker’s recent comments about a fourth round of virus-related legislation “premature.”  Continue reading.