Pelosi Jabs Schumer For Second Time As Democrats Seethe Over Support For GOP Spending Bill

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi continued to criticize Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer Tuesday, suggesting he voluntarily relinquished Democrats’ leverage in the government funding fight.

“I myself don’t give away anything for nothing,” Pelosi told reporters during a San Francisco town hall on Republican lawmakers’ alleged cuts to Medicaid — despite no existing proposal from GOP lawmakers to cut the entitlement program. “I think that’s what happened the other day.”

Though Pelosi said she was confident in Schumer’s continued leadership, the former speaker’s blistering critique of the Senate Democratic leader’s strategy reflects widespread anger among the party’s base over Schumer’s decision to vote to advance the GOP spending bill Friday. Many congressional Democrats are urging Schumer to escalate resistance tactics against the Republican-controlled Senate and refuse to work with GOP lawmakers.

“His popularity is somewhere between Elon Musk and the Ebola virus,” a senior House Democrat told Axios.

Pelosi previously criticized Schumer’s decision to vote for the GOP spending bill to stave off a partial government shutdown, telling