Pelosi Treats Democrats to Swanky Outing While Government Is Shut Down
With the federal government shut down for the weekend and all non-essential personnel furloughed, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi took House Democrats out to dinner Saturday night at a high-priced restaurant in Washington, D.C.
“PELOSI hosting a dinner for all House Dems tonight at aqua al 2…..” Politico reporter Jake Sherman tweeted, referring to the upscale Acqua Al 2 restaurant — located a five-minute walk from the Capitol Building.
The Democrat leader of the House is apparently a big fan of the Italian restaurant. In 2015, Politico reported that she spent $27,000 there during the 2014 midterm election cycle.
But many on Twitter, including White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, took Pelosi to task for appearing to celebrate at a high-end restaurant while other Americans were forced to go without pay during the shutdown.
“Nancy Pelosi is ‘very proud’ Democrats shut the government down over illegal immigration and is taking Democrats out tonight to celebrate,” Sanders tweeted.
“Nice message to send to the brave men & women of our military and border patrol forced to work without pay during the #DemocraticShutdown.”
Members of House Speaker Paul Ryan’s communications team also took the opportunity to call out what they saw as hypocrisy from their boss’s Democrat counterpart.
“The person who said recently that a couple thousand $$ in Americans’ pockets was mere ‘crumbs’ is now taking the entire D caucus to a very nice restaurant on Capitol Hill,” said Ryan’s press secretary, AshLee Strong.
“Surely Leader Pelosi isn’t taking her grandstanding caucus to an extremely nice dinner while the government is shut down and most of its employees are furloughed. Right?” added Molly Edwards, the speaker’s deputy press secretary.
According to the restaurant’s menu, most entrees cost between $18 and $39, not including appetizers, drinks and dessert.
But as one of the richest members of Congress, it’s likely Pelosi can afford it. Though her exact net worth is difficult to ascertain, she reported between $43.4 million and $202 million in assets on her 2015 financial disclosure statements, according to National Review.
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