Days after admonishing Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer over his willingness to support a Republican bill in order to avoid a government shutdown, Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi affirmed her party’s support for the minority leader, saying she has confidence in his leadership.
Pelosi made the remarks during a Tuesday press conference about Democratic concerns over Medicaid funding, striking a unifying tone even as Schumer faced continued criticism over his actions last week. Schumer was expected to visit San Francisco this week as part of a planned book tour but postponed the appearance following backlash.
“What happened last week was last week,” said Pelosi, adding that House Minority Leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries had also offered support to Schumer on Tuesday. “We’re to the next stage on this now.”
But Pelosi appeared to suggest that Democrats made too many concessions during last week’s vote, which continued federal government funding through September.
Democrats argued that the bill offered hazy details on funding allocations and that the Trump administration would inappropriately spend the money, at a time when it has already pushed the legal limits of executive authority.
“I, myself, don’t give away anything for nothing,” Pelosi said. “And I think that’s what happened the other day. We could have, in my view, perhaps gotten [Republicans] to agree to a third way.”
Criticism against Schumer exploded last week, as Democratic lawmakers openly lambasted his vote, and continued Tuesday. During an appearance on “The View,” he was confronted by some hosts but brushed off questions about his leadership and said he would continue as the Democratic leader in the Senate.
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“No one wants to fight more than me, and no one fights more than me,” Schumer said. “We have to fight smart.”
At Tuesday’s press conference, Pelosi was joined by other California lawmakers, including Sen. Adam Schiff, Rep. Lateefah Simon, Rep. Kevin Mullin, and Rep. Mike Thompson, as well as public health leaders.
The lawmakers gathered for a “Medicaid Day of Action” in an effort to raise awareness around what they describe as a Republican plan to gut the federal program that provides healthcare services to low-income children and adults.
Democrats say the Republican proposal would cut healthcare in order to issue trillion-dollar tax cuts.
“If there’s a scam out there, it’s those guys,” said Thompson, whose district covers part of the North Bay. “That scam will fall directly on the families of our great country.”
Addressing the lack of consensus over Schumer, Schiff said Democrats should avoid disagreements as they fight to save Medicaid.
“We’re going to have to do a lot better the next time a key issue like this comes up,” he said. “We’re going to have to figure out a way where the leadership in the House and the leadership in the Senate is on the same page and clearly communicating a unified message about the harms this administration is doing.”