Politics

‘The Problem Is You Need 98% Or 99%’: George Stephanopoulos Presses Pelosi On Democratic Divisions

Screenshot/ABC

Virginia Kruta Associate Editor
Font Size:

ABC anchor George Stephanopoulos pressed House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on divisions within her party during a Sunday morning interview.

Pelosi joined Stephanopoulos for a brief conversation on “This Week,” and although she touted having the support of 95% of her caucus, Stephanopoulos was quick to point out that Democrats had such slim margins in both the House and Senate that they needed 98%-99% in order to get anything passed without support from Republicans. (RELATED: Democrats Have ‘Reached Agreement On A Framework’ For Reconciliation, Schumer Says)

WATCH:

Stephanopoulos began the interview by pointing out just how much was at stake on Capitol Hill going into the next few weeks, noting that in addition to the massive infrastructure and reconciliation bills, Congress also needed to deal with the possibility of raising the debt ceiling in order to continue funding the government.

“You called the next few days a time of intensity for Congress. Have you ever faced a Congress with so much at stake?” Stephanopoulos asked.

“Every time we face a challenge, it’s a stark challenge whether it’s the Affordable Care Act or other legislation we’ve passed in the previous administration,” Pelosi replied.

She went on to say that she was proud of the vision President Joe Biden had put forth in his agenda and the support that Democrats had been able to generate for it thus far.

“This is the vision of the president, and he has said that while he wants to pass the infrastructure bill and we will, that he will not confine his vision for the future to just that bill, that it had to be about Building Back Better, and Building Back Better has the support of over 95% of our caucus. So when you say Democrats divided, no. Overwhelming – I’ve never seen actually over 95% of the caucus just about for anything.”

Pelosi went on to say that there were a few who still disagreed — in particular with the size of the package that had been put forth — but that she respected their opinions and judgment and was working to find common ground.

“We will make progress on it this week,” she added.

“So make progress. Not necessarily pass,” Stephanopoulos pressed. “You said you have support of 95% of Democrats. The problem is you need 98% or 99% to pass the bills.”

He went on to note that several in the House had already threatened to stall the infrastructure bill if the reconciliation package was not agreed upon first — and the reconciliation package faced daunting objections in the Senate from more moderate members like Democratic West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin and Democratic Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema.

“More than 50 members will vote no if you first don’t have agreement on the broader social investment bill. So are you confident these progressive members will vote yes even though she says no?” Stephanopoulos asked.

“Let me just say we’re going to pass the bill this week,” Pelosi said, noting that she had not set a hard date for a vote on infrastructure. “We’ll bring the bill forward tomorrow for consideration, but, you know, I’m never bringing a bill to the floor that doesn’t have the votes.”

PREMIUM ARTICLE: Subscribe To Keep Reading

Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!

Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!

Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!

Sign Up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
BENEFITS READERS PASS PATRIOTS FOUNDERS
Daily and Breaking Newsletters
Daily Caller Shows
Ad Free Experience
Exclusive Articles
Custom Newsletters
Editor Daily Rundown
Behind The Scenes Coverage
Award Winning Documentaries
Patriot War Room
Patriot Live Chat
Exclusive Events
Gold Membership Card
Tucker Mug

What does Founders Club include?

Tucker Mug and Membership Card
Founders

Readers,

Instead of sucking up to the political and corporate powers that dominate America, The Daily Caller is fighting for you — our readers. We humbly ask you to consider joining us in this fight.

Now that millions of readers are rejecting the increasingly biased and even corrupt corporate media and joining us daily, there are powerful forces lined up to stop us: the old guard of the news media hopes to marginalize us; the big corporate ad agencies want to deprive us of revenue and put us out of business; senators threaten to have our reporters arrested for asking simple questions; the big tech platforms want to limit our ability to communicate with you; and the political party establishments feel threatened by our independence.

We don't complain -- we can't stand complainers -- but we do call it how we see it. We have a fight on our hands, and it's intense. We need your help to smash through the big tech, big media and big government blockade.

We're the insurgent outsiders for a reason: our deep-dive investigations hold the powerful to account. Our original videos undermine their narratives on a daily basis. Even our insistence on having fun infuriates them -- because we won’t bend the knee to political correctness.

One reason we stand apart is because we are not afraid to say we love America. We love her with every fiber of our being, and we think she's worth saving from today’s craziness.

Help us save her.

A second reason we stand out is the sheer number of honest responsible reporters we have helped train. We have trained so many solid reporters that they now hold prominent positions at publications across the political spectrum. Hear a rare reasonable voice at a place like CNN? There’s a good chance they were trained at Daily Caller. Same goes for the numerous Daily Caller alumni dominating the news coverage at outlets such as Fox News, Newsmax, Daily Wire and many others.

Simply put, America needs solid reporters fighting to tell the truth or we will never have honest elections or a fair system. We are working tirelessly to make that happen and we are making a difference.

Since 2010, The Daily Caller has grown immensely. We're in the halls of Congress. We're in the Oval Office. And we're in up to 20 million homes every single month. That's 20 million Americans like you who are impossible to ignore.

We can overcome the forces lined up against all of us. This is an important mission but we can’t do it unless you — the everyday Americans forgotten by the establishment — have our back.

Please consider becoming a Daily Caller Patriot today, and help us keep doing work that holds politicians, corporations and other leaders accountable. Help us thumb our noses at political correctness. Help us train a new generation of news reporters who will actually tell the truth. And help us remind Americans everywhere that there are millions of us who remain clear-eyed about our country's greatness.

In return for membership, Daily Caller Patriots will be able to read The Daily Caller without any of the ads that we have long used to support our mission. We know the ads drive you crazy. They drive us crazy too. But we need revenue to keep the fight going. If you join us, we will cut out the ads for you and put every Lincoln-headed cent we earn into amplifying our voice, training even more solid reporters, and giving you the ad-free experience and lightning fast website you deserve.

Patriots will also be eligible for Patriots Only content, newsletters, chats and live events with our reporters and editors. It's simple: welcome us into your lives, and we'll welcome you into ours.

We can save America together.

Become a Daily Caller Patriot today.

Signature

Neil Patel