Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi didn’t try too hard to hide her reactions to Donald Trump’s 2019 State of the Union address. But in case there was any doubt left, she also issued a statement, lasering in on the fact that Trump “threatened the United States Congress not to exercise its constitutional responsibility of oversight.” Let’s read that as a no on Trump’s demand.
“Instead of fear-mongering and manufacturing a crisis at the border,” Pelosi continued, “President Trump should commit to signing the bipartisan conference committee’s bill to keep government open and provide strong, smart border security solutions.” She went on to note one big thing he didn’t talk about, “the gun violence epidemic that is claiming lives across the country,” and, while she described Trump’s big call to end HIV transmission “interesting,” that was in the spirit of her facial expressions all night long. “If he is serious about ending the HIV/AIDS crisis, he must end his assault on health care and the dignity of the LGBTQ community.”
Pelosi ended with a call for Trump to follow through on some of the potentially bipartisan ideas he floated:
“The President said that he wanted to work to lower prescription drug prices and build America’s infrastructure. Thus far, the President has not put forward any real proposals. Now, with a new House Democratic Majority working For The People, the President has an opportunity to join us to deliver real progress in lowering the price of prescription drugs and making the bold investments needed to rebuild America’s infrastructure in a green and modern way.
But don’t interpret the hat tip to bipartisanship as a sign that she’ll be working on Trump’s terms:
President Trump must now take concrete steps to work with Democrats to strengthen the health and economic security of families across America. After two years of the President’s empty words, the American people deserve real results.”
Her tone doesn’t suggest Pelosi is holding her breath, though.
