Pelosi stabs top Democrat in the back in vicious move for allowing Trump 'power grab'
Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi offered a brutal assessment after Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer caving to President Donald Trump and Republicans.
It comes as Schumer is facing intense backlash after he and nine other Senate Democrats bucked House Democrats and voted to advance the GOP spending bill.
The 84-year-old former Democratic party leader was speaking at a press conference with other California lawmakers on Tuesday when she was asked what her message is to those frustrated with how the fight played out.
'I'm concerned about next time, I'm concerned about the future,' Pelosi started off.
But then she made a stunning dig about her longtime Democratic Senate counterpart.
'I myself don't give away anything for nothing,' Pelosi said. 'I think that's what happened the other day.'
Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) claimed Democrats could have agreed to a 'third way' after Sen. Chuck Schumer caved to Trump and Republicans over the spending bill
House Democrats last week including many in Trump districts remained united against the House Republican continuing resolution ahead of last Friday's funding deadline.
But when it passed with a slim GOP majority in the House and headed to the Senate, Schumer announced in a move that shocked many party members that he would support it to avoid a government shutdown as most of his conference voted against it.
'We could have in my view perhaps gotten them to agree to a third way, which was a bipartisan CR... in which we could have had bipartisan legislation go forward,' the former speaker said.
Pelosi suggested perhaps the Republicans would not have agreed to it, 'but at least the public would have seen their not agreeing to it.'
'Then they would have been shutting government down because we don't want the government to shut down,' the California lawmaker continued.
Pelosi said when it comes to negotiating the budget, it's a statement of 'values.'
The 84-year-old was House Democratic leader during Trump's first term and has years of experience dealing with him when it came to negotiating a budget and facing off over shutting down the government.
Pelosi and Schumer on March 7, 2024. The two worked closely together as Democratic leaders during Trump's first term and were close allies who worked quickly to help pass Biden's agenda when Democrats were in power
Demonstrators outside Schumer's book tour event scheduled for March 17 before it was postponed
After Schumer announced he would vote to advance the GOP bill, Pelosi urged other Senate Democrats to 'listen to the women' and vote against it in a bold statement last week.
She and other Democrats who opposed the bill warned it included spending cuts and provisions that would give the president more leeway on how to spend money without the approval of Congress and called it a power grab by the president.
Despite the internal party divisions, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said on Tuesday that he has confidence in Schumer moving forward.
Pelosi noted that Jeffries was backing the Senate Democratic leader in her response. She said 'we're on the next stage to this.'
But since the Republican bill passed, Schumer has faced fierce criticism and been on defense for his handling of the spending bill fight.
Some Democrats and progressive groups have raised concerns that Schumer is not the person to meet the moment and fight back against Trump. There have even been calls for him to step aside as minority leader.
But the New York Democrat has stood firm that he did the right thing.
He has made numerous appearances on television as he looks to defuse the angry against him fro members of his own party.
Schumer appeared on MSNBC's Morning Joe on Wednesday where he doubled down. He said he knew he would get flack for his decision but argued a government shutdown would be catastrophic.
'I believe so strongly I did the right thing for all the flack I'm getting,' Schumer said.
