Pelosi shows pragmatic streak in border negotiations
WASHINGTON — Republicans have vilified Nancy Pelosi for years as a San Francisco liberal, and now they’re trying to portray her as a captive of resurgent left-wingers in her Democratic Party.
But in her early moves so far as House speaker, Pelosi is displaying her pragmatic streak. She’s set to endorse a split-thedifferences deal on government funding that appears on track to give President Donald Trump at least some barriers on the border, after she had said Trump’s border wall idea was “immoral” and promised he wouldn’t get a penny for it.
And as the Democratic Party’s progressive wing pursues dreams such as “Medicare-for-all” and a “Green New Deal,” Pelosi is keeping her distance.
“We are results-oriented, values-based, and for the boldest common denominator,” Pelosi said Friday. “Everybody has a path to make their case, to see what the options are. I’m wedded to the Affordable Care Act because I think it’s a path to health care for all Americans.”
Pelosi presides over a 235member Democratic majority that includes defiantly liberal lawmakers such as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y.
“There’s a new crop of Democrats that make Pelosi look moderate. I never thought I’d see that day,” said Rep. Greg Walden, R-Ore. “You see this Green New Deal rollout, you see this Medicare-for-all rollout, and you don’t see her buying into those proposals.”
There’s no denying Pelosi’s skills. She was a strong speaker when running the House in 200710, keeping Democrats unified and sometimes running roughshod over Republicans. But some in her caucus started to doubt her after punishing election cycles in 2010, 2014 and 2016.
Pelosi overpowered her doubters, however, in a leadership challenge last fall, emerging stronger than when she started. At age 78, she emerged from her shutdown victory over Trump as a hero in the party and is carrying greater leverage into the ongoing negotiations.
Pelosi’s more measured approach is playing out as talks grind on over border security money. She took a hard line during the recent 35-day partial federal shutdown, refusing to enter into negotiations while the government was shuttered, while dismissing Trump’s dream of a border wall.
“We’re not doing a wall. Does anybody have any doubt about that? We are not doing a wall. So that’s that,” Pelosi said last month.
Those remarks led many Republicans to believe that Pelosi would become an obstacle in the talks.
Instead, Pelosi is intent on pursuing a deal with Republicans on a $350 billion-plus appropriations bill that has been hung up for weeks over Trump’s border wall demands. She still opposes the idea of a wall but has signaled she’s open to vehicle barriers and other steps. She says she’s delegating most of the decision-making to allies on the House Appropriations Committee.
“I trust the appropriators,” Pelosi said. Predictions that she’d be hemmed in by her prior stance aren’t coming to fruition.
“Nobody hems in the speaker, OK?” said Rep. Mike Doyle, D-Pa. “The speaker is quite secure in her position and is someone who doesn’t have to worry about what anyone chatters about.”
Part of that is the difference between making a political point and making a law. Must-pass legislation to fund the government, for example, which requires Trump’s approval, gets treated differently than do upcoming messaging measures on climate change, taxes and health care.
While high-profile liberals such as Ocasio-Cortez, who won a safe seat in New York City, capture the attention of the party’s left wing, Pelosi is more focused on protecting the firstterm members who took over GOP seats in areas won by Trump.
“She’s trying to hold them back from going over the cliff,” said the House’s top Republican, California Rep. Kevin McCarthy. “The party has moved beyond where she has philosophically been. So she is trying to rein that back.”