Newly elected Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi thought to gamble with Americans’ security when she offered a childish proposal of money to President Donald Trump’s demand for border wall funding. Now, House Minority Whip Steve Scalise is shredding the speaker for her “insult” to Americans.
In order to end the partial government shutdown, Pelosi joked that she’d give only “one dollar” to fund the border wall, as IJR Red reported — she, along with other top Democrats, have been in a feud with the president on the border wall and border security.
Watch the video below:
Reporter: Is there any situation in which you would accept even a dollar of wall funding for this president in order to reopen the government?
Speaker Pelosi: A dollar. https://t.co/Got6bUbO7O pic.twitter.com/oZwiPZ8ZUq
— NBC News (@NBCNews) January 4, 2019
During the discussion on the House floor on Friday, Scalise rebuked Pelosi for gambling with border security.
“How could you call this a fabricated crisis, when you see deaths, when you see over 90 percent of the heroin that comes into this country and kills Americans every single day is coming across our southern border?” Scalise said. “That’s not a fabricated crisis. Those are real, serious things that are happening that are bad.”
Pelosi, along with Sen. Chuck Schumer, previously called President Trump’s push for a border wall a “manufactured” crisis, as IJR Red reported.
“The real question is how much money is the other side willing to support to actually secure the border if the department that’s tasked with keeping our country safe is saying they need $5.7 billion,” Scalise said.
“It’s not $1, and let’s at least recognize that was an insult. And so, if it’s not $1, then what is the amount you will support and put on the table to start a real negotiation to solve this crisis.”
Watch the video below:
We could have the government open today if Democrats were willing to even try to propose a serious offer that addresses wall funding. But instead, Nancy Pelosi said she wouldn’t offer more than $1 for the wall. That’s how unserious Democrats are about reopening the government. pic.twitter.com/PODePY7HYw
— Steve Scalise (@SteveScalise) January 11, 2019
As IJR Red previously noted, Trump is having a hard time gaining support from top Democrats for his proposed border wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, claiming it’s easier to negotiate trade deals with China than with Democrats on improving border security.
The partial government shutdown continues as there seems to be no negotiation yet, resulting in, by the end of the day, the longest shutdown in history — President Trump said there is still the possibility of declaring a national emergency in his push for border wall funding.