Trump’s Virus Defense Is Often an Attack, and the Target Is Often a Woman

New York Times logoNow part of the long list of women the president has insulted: a governor, a reporter, the head of General Motors and, of course, the House speaker.

WASHINGTON — As he confronts a pandemic, President Trump’s attention has also been directed at a more familiar foe: those he feels are challenging him, and particularly women.

“Always a mess with Mary B.,” Mr. Trump tweeted last week, attacking the female chief executive of General Motors, Mary T. Barra, as he accused the company of dragging its feet on producing ventilators. “As usual with ‘this’ General Motors, things just never seem to work out,” he wrote, “this” G.M. apparently referring to the one led by the first female chief executive of an American auto manufacturer.

At least he mentioned Ms. Barra by name. When it came to Gretchen Whitmer, Michigan’s Democratic governor, who delivered her party’s official response to his State of the Union address earlier this year and has been pushing for a national emergency declaration in her state, Mr. Trump did not acknowledge her by name. Continue reading.

Pelosi vows quick House passage of Senate stimulus Friday

The Hill logoSpeaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Thursday that the House will move quickly on Friday to approve the Senate’s massive, $2 trillion coronavirus relief package through the lower chamber and on to President Trump, who has vowed to sign it immediately.

While a number of House lawmakers — conservatives and liberals alike — are grumbling about both the process and content of the mammoth stimulus bill, Pelosi predicted smooth sailing through the lower chamber with broad support from both parties.

“I feel certain that we will have a strong bipartisan vote,” she told reporters in the Capitol. Continue reading.

Pelosi Battling Trump And McConnell Over Pandemic Relief Legislation

Top Republican leaders — from Donald Trump to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell — are dismissing a bill from congressional Democrats that would provide economic security to workers most impacted by the fallout from the COVID-19 outbreak, saying they don’t want to rush a response.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer introduced a bill this week that would give workers 14 days of paid sick leave (the number of days someone with COVID-19 or those suspected to have it must remain in quarantine), as well as provide food security to low-income families that rely on food stamps or free school lunch. It would also make testing for the virus free.

But Trump and McConnell are dismissing the bill, with Trump saying it’s full of “goodies” and McConnell saying offering free testing and economic security for vulnerable communities is “not related to the pressing issues at hand.” Continue reading.

Pelosi, Trump strike deal on coronavirus response package

The Hill logoSpeaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and President Trump have struck a deal on a multibillion-dollar stimulus package aimed at assisting millions of Americans directly hurt by the coronavirus outbreak.

Pelosi announced the deal on Friday evening after days of roller-coaster negotiations that put the outcome in doubt, as the nation’s leaders raced to ease public anxiety and stabilize volatile markets. Trump said on Twitter that he looked forward to signing the legislation.

“I have directed the Secretary of the Treasury and the Secretary of Labor to issue regulations that will provide flexibility so that in no way will Small Businesses be hurt. I encourage all Republicans and Democrats to come together and VOTE YES!” Trump wrote in a series of tweets. Continue reading.

Dems press ahead on coronavirus package as Senate waits for Trump

The speaker and president have different plans to boost the economy.

The White House and Speaker Nancy Pelosi began preliminary talks on Tuesday over a legislative package to juice the U.S. economy amid the worldwide coronavirus outbreak.

But House Democrats are simultaneously pressing forward with their own plan to counter the crisis that could get a vote as early as this week — showing that even the response to a massive public-health emergency is breaking down along partisan lines.

President Donald Trump presented Republican senators with several potential actions Congress could take as lawmakers look to avert disastrous economic impacts from the virus — but he did not offer a specific legislative package during their hour-long lunch meeting on Tuesday, according to several attendees. Continue reading.

Pelosi: Trump abused his power in weighing in on Roger Stone sentencing

Pelosi says matter should be investigated but doesn’t mention possible impeachment articles

President Donald Trump again abused his power in weighing in on the Justice Department’s recommendation on Roger Stone’s sentencing, Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Thursday.

In using the phrase “abuse of power,” Pelosi referenced one of the charges the House used to impeach Trump over the stalled military aid package to Ukraine. The Senate acquitted him of the abuse of power charge, as well as a separate charge of obstruction of Congress.

Pelosi did not mention additional impeachment articles when asked what Congress can do to address this latest instance of Trump allegedly abusing his power.  Continue reading.

Nancy Pelosi Rips Republicans For ‘Normalizing Lawlessness’ In Scathing Op-Ed

The GOP-controlled Senate has ensured Trump remains “an ongoing threat to American democracy,” Pelosi wrote in a column for The Washington Post.

Nancy Pelosi on Friday launched a fresh attack on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and the GOP senators who earlier this week voted to acquit President Donald Trump on impeachment charges.

The Democratic House speaker, in a searing editorial for The Washington Post titled “McConnell and the GOP Senate are accomplices to Trump’s wrongdoing,” accused them of “normalizing lawlessness and rejecting the checks and balances of our Constitution.”

Pelosi noted how Trump’s defense team “all but” conceded the president’s misconduct in the Ukraine scandal, in which she said he “abused the power of his office to pressure a foreign power to help him cheat in an American election” before stonewalling the congressional investigation into said allegation and preventing key witnesses from testifying in the Senate trial. Continue reading.

Trump Falsely Accuses Pelosi Of Crime For Ripping Up His Speech

From a Feb. 7 appearance on the White House lawn:

DONALD TRUMP: Well, I thought it was a terrible thing when she ripped up the speech. First of all it’s an official document, you’re not allowed, it’s illegal what she did. She broke the law.

But I haven’t been asked a question other than a lot of people that viewed it, they couldn’t believe that she did it. I thought it was terrible, I thought it was very disrespectful to the chamber and to the country.

Video here.

Trump hits Romney, Pelosi for invoking religion during impeachment

President Trump on Thursday swiped at Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) for invoking religion during the impeachment proceedings while speaking at the National Prayer Breakfast.

“Weeks ago, and again yesterday, courageous Republican politicians and leaders had the wisdom, fortitude and strength to do what everyone knows was right,” Trump said. “I don’t like people who use their faith as justification for doing what they know is wrong. Nor do I like people who say ‘I pray for you’ when they know that’s not so.”

Trump opened his remarks at the event by railing against the recently concluded impeachment process, taking an unmistakable jab at Romney, who voted to convict Trump one impeachment charge, and Pelosi, who was seated just a few feet away. When he entered the room, Trump held up newspapers emblazoned with headlines announcing his acquittal. Continue reading.

Pelosi-Trump relationship takes turn for the terrible

The Hill logoSpeaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and President Trump’s relationship may be beyond repair, and the only thing that might break the tension could be the November election itself.

The partnership between Washington’s two top powerhouses has always been fraught. But their ongoing feud took a turn for the worse during Trump’s third State of the Union address when the president appeared to snub the Speaker as she tried to shake his hand and Pelosi tore up a copy of his speech before the cameras.

Even though Trump didn’t mention impeachment during his nearly 90-minute address, it was clearly the elephant in the room on the eve of the Senate vote to acquit him of two impeachment charges passed by the House. Continue reading.