An interview between Speaker Nancy Pelosi and CNN’s Wolf Blitzer grew uncharacteristically tense on Tuesday as the California Democrat was pressed to explain why she had rejected the GOP’s latest coronavirus stimulus proposal.
Pelosi repeatedly defended her decision to continue negotiating with the White House — rather than accept the GOP’s recent $1.8 trillion offer, which top Democrats say falls hundreds of billions short in key areas — in the dwindling days before the election.
But Pelosi appeared to lose patience with Blitzer as he grilled her on why she wouldn’t accept at least some of the money — as some House Democrats have argued — and asked whether the reason is because President Donald Trump has demanded his name on stimulus checks that would be distributed to many Americans.
“With all due respect, you really don’t know what you’re talking about,” Pelosi told Blitzer, acknowledging that her Democratic chairs — who also came out against the GOP offer — stood behind her decision. “So do a service to the issue and have some level of respect for the people who have worked on these issues, written the bill to begin with.”
Blitzer then asked Pelosi about the pressure within the Democratic Party to accept a deal, citing comments from Democrats such as Rep. Ro Khanna of California or one-time presidential candidate Andrew Yang, who called on her to accept a deal. Others in her caucus, particularly centrists with tough reelection battles this fall, have spent weeks pushing for a compromise.
The two sides have gotten closer on some issues, such as small-business aid, a new round of $1,200 stimulus checks and testing money, but remain divided over issues like unemployment aid and state and local government funding. But Democrats also point out that they remain further apart on the bigger issues, such as lack of a strategic plan to defeat the virus nationwide.