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‘60 Minutes’ Calls Out Pelosi for Obstructing COVID Relief: 'You Held Out for 8 Months'

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“60 Minutes” host Leslie Stahl held House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s feet to the fire on Friday for delaying COVID-19 relief legislation for months, apparently for purely political reasons.

“You yourself are not known as a person who compromises,” Stahl said.

“I compromise. We want to get the job done. I’m mischaracterized by the Republicans that way. But that’s a tactic that they use,” Pelosi responded.

Stahl did not allow that answer to stand.

“What about the COVID relief package that was held up eight months?” she asked.

“But that was their obstruction,” the speaker answered. “Their obstruction.”

“No, yours too,” Stahl fired back. “You held out for eight months.”

Pelosi went on to argue that Democrats held up the bill because they wanted more funding for first responders, health care workers and teachers.

Stahl redirected her yet again, noting that a member of the Democratic caucus said holding up the relief bill was a “mistake” and made the party look like obstructionists.

“Well, I don’t remember anybody saying that, and they may have,” the speaker snapped back. “But it wasn’t a mistake and I would not — and nobody expects me to — to support something that solidifies injustice in our country.”

In May, House Democrats passed a $3.4 trillion COVID-19 relief bill, which included a $1 trillion bailout for state and local governments.

Pelosi knew that was a nonstarter for Republicans, who didn’t want to fund a blue-state bailout of pension funds and other liabilities that predate and have nothing to do with the pandemic.

Republicans passed their own legislation in the Senate, which replenished the Paycheck Protection Program and continued the enhanced unemployment benefits and other COVID-19 related funding.

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GOP lawmakers wanted to help the people most in need and cap spending at about $1 trillion.

Last month, Congress passed and President Donald Trump signed into law an omnibus spending bill that included $900 billion in COVID-19 relief.

So Pelosi had been playing politics and just didn’t want to give the president a win before November’s election.

CNN’s Wolf Blitzer highlighted this fact in an October interview.

The offer on the table at that time was $1.8 billion, which Pelosi had refused.

Blitzer pressed the speaker on a letter she sent to her Democratic colleagues in the House.

“Let me read a line from the letter you wrote: ‘The President only wants his name on the check to go out before Election Day and for the market to go up,’” he said.

Do you think Leslie Stahl did a good job confronting Pelosi?

“Is that what this is all about, not allowing the president to take credit if there’s a deal that will help millions of Americans right now?” Blitzer asked.

“No, I don’t care about that. He’s not that important. But let me say this with all due respect, with all due respect, and you know we’ve known each other a long time, you really don’t know what you’re talking about,” Pelosi answered.

She then proceeded to explain how Democrats had come down from $3.4 trillion to $2.2 trillion.

Blitzer assured her that he understood that.

“I just want to point out $1.8 trillion, $1.8 trillion is a lot of money,” he said. “The American people need that money ASAP, because they’re suffering right now. And I’m not saying it’s perfect.”

“Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good, as they say,” Blitzer later added.

Pelosi closed the interview on a snarky note, saying, “Thank you for your sensitivity to our constituents’ needs.”

“I am sensitive to them because I see them on the street begging for food, begging for money, Madam Speaker, thank you so much,” he replied.

Pelosi would not allow the CNN host to end the interview on that note.

“Have you fed them? We feed them, we feed them,” she said.

Blitzer responded, “We’ll continue this conversation down the road for sure,” and then CNN cut to commercial.

Pelosi’s “we feed them” remark was revealing, showing that she views taxpayers’ money as her own.

Every now and then, someone in the establishment media actually presses left-wing politicians to account for their actions.

Based on Pelosi’s response, it’s not something she is used to or expects, but it is something the American people deserve and should happen more often.

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Randy DeSoto has written more than 3,000 articles for The Western Journal since he began with the company in 2015. He is a graduate of West Point and Regent University School of Law. He is the author of the book "We Hold These Truths" and screenwriter of the political documentary "I Want Your Money."
Randy DeSoto wrote and was the assistant producer of the documentary film "I Want Your Money" about the perils of Big Government, comparing the presidencies of Ronald Reagan and Barack Obama. Randy is the author of the book "We Hold These Truths," which addresses how leaders have appealed to beliefs found in the Declaration of Independence at defining moments in our nation's history. He has been published in several political sites and newspapers.

Randy graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point with a BS in political science and Regent University School of Law with a juris doctorate.
Birthplace
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Nationality
American
Honors/Awards
Graduated dean's list from West Point
Education
United States Military Academy at West Point, Regent University School of Law
Books Written
We Hold These Truths
Professional Memberships
Virginia and Pennsylvania state bars
Location
Phoenix, Arizona
Languages Spoken
English
Topics of Expertise
Politics, Entertainment, Faith




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