Tag: Speaker Pelosi

Behind the targeting of Nancy Pelosi by the Capitol insurrectionists

AlterNet logo

Among the various forms of violence on display during the U.S. Capitol insurrection, one has been largely overlooked: misogyny, or hatred toward women. Yet behaviors and symbols of white male power were striking and persistent features of the riots.

Members of the overwhelmingly male crowds defending a president well-known for his sexist attacks, embraced male supremacist ideologies, wore military gearand bared their chests in shows of masculine bravado. They even destroyed display cabinets holding historical books on women in politics.

Actions targeting House Speaker Nancy Pelosi give the clearest illustration. Members of the mob broke into her office and vandalized it. Items like mail, signs and even her lectern proved to be particularly popular trophies – symbolizing an attack on Democrats and the House Speaker, but also against one of the most powerful women in American politics. Continue reading.

Arkansas man who posed in Pelosi’s office and West Virginia delegate among those charged in Capitol breach

Washington Post logo

The U.S. Justice Department and FBI announced charges Friday against a freshman West Virginia lawmaker, an Arkansas man who told the media he posed for photos on a desk in House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office and an Alabama man whose truck allegedly carried 11 molotov cocktails and a semiautomatic rifle to this week’s U.S. Capitol riots.

The cases come as authorities in Washington continue working to identify members of the mob who stormed the Capitol — many of whom posted images of themselves on social media amid the mayhem.

A nationwide dragnet involving hundreds of prosecutors and agents from all 56 FBI field offices is involved in the effort, which “has the highest priority” of the DOJ, said Kenneth C. Kohl, a top official in the federal prosecutor’s office in Washington. Continue reading.

Mob fallout: Pelosi calls for Capitol Police chief to be fired; House SAA to resign

Members of Congress praise rank and file but say probe is necessary

Top Capitol Hill law enforcement figures on Thursday started feeling repercussions for their failure to contain the Capitol against a pro-Trump mob that occupied the complex and prevented the counting of Electoral College votes. 

Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Thursday called for the firing of Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund and said House Sergeant-at-Arms Paul D. Irving would be resigning.

“I am calling for the resignation of the chief of the Capitol Police, Mr. Sund, and I have received notice from Mr. Irving that he will be submitting his resignation,” the California Democrat said at a news conference. Sund sent out a release on Thursday defending his department in the wake of the disruption of government, but Pelosi was not impressed. “Mr. Sund, he hasn’t even called us since this happened.” Continue reading.

Pelosi bullish on COVID-19 relief: ‘We cannot leave without it’

The Hill logo

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) expressed optimism Friday that the parties will come together to secure a coronavirus relief package before Congress leaves Washington for the winter holidays.

Addressing reporters in the Capitol, the Speaker said party negotiators still have a number of disagreements to iron out to win such an agreement, but indicated the sides are making steady progress and all but guaranteed that a bipartisan deal will be sealed in the coming days.

“We’ll take the time we need and we must get it done,” Pelosi said. “We cannot leave without it.” Continue reading.

Finger-pointing picks up in COVID-19 relief fight

The Hill logo

The blame game is heating up as it becomes increasingly clear there will be no new COVID-19 relief deal before the elections.

Even as party leaders inch closer to a deal on another huge package, both sides are girding for the near-certain prospect that it won’t be enacted before Election Day. 

In a barrage of rhetorical broadsides, both parties are jabbing across the aisle, accusing the other of blocking the compromise that might otherwise bring emergency health and economic relief to millions of Americans before Nov. 3.  Continue reading.

Why is Pelosi suddenly talking about the 25th Amendment?

Speaker backs Raskin bill to set up nonpartisan commission to determine a president’s fitness, says it’s not about Trump

Why would Speaker Nancy Pelosi unveil legislation less than one month before Election Day to establish a commission under the 25th Amendment to determine the president’s fitness for holding office?

That’s the question many in Washington are asking Friday after Pelosi held a news conference with Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin, a constitutional scholar and member of the House Democratic leadership team, to back his bill setting up a Commission on Presidential Capacity to Discharge the Powers and Duties of the Office.

Democrats say they’re simply setting up a process authorized by the Constitution that should’ve been codified long ago but is especially needed now because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Republicans think Pelosi is continuing the effort she started with impeachment to try to oust President Donald Trump. And others suggest Pelosi is signaling that Trump, who tested positive for COVID-19 last week, is unfit to hold office. Continue reading.

Democrats unveil bill creating panel to gauge president’s ‘capacity’

The Hill logo

House Democrats on Friday unveiled legislation creating a panel to gauge a president’s capacity to perform the job — and potentially remove the commander in chief from office in cases of decided debility.

The commission would be permanent, applying to future administrations, but it’s a clear shot at President Trump, whose treatments for the coronavirus have raised questions about their effects on his mental acuity.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), a sharp critic of the president, has fueled those questions in the the days since Trump returned to the White House after three nights in the hospital, floating the idea that Trump’s drug regimen — which includes a steroid linked to mood swings — might be affecting his decisionmaking. Continue reading.

Donald Trump Jr. baselessly accuses Pelosi of having ‘substance issues’ during bizarre Fox interview

AlterNet logo

Donald Trump Jr. claimed House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has “substance issues” as he fired back at her for her latest criticism of his father, President Donald Trump. 

During an appearance on Fox News, Trump Jr. was asked to weigh in on Pelosi’s criticism of the president’s decision to abruptly and unilaterally end negotiations for the next stimulus bill. More specifically, the president’s son was asked about his reaction to Pelosi raising concerns about whether or not Trump is mentally capable of making such critical decisions since he is said to be on antiviral medications and steroids due to complications of coronavirus.

According to Trump Jr., Pelosi has “her own substance issues” although he offered no specific details about the allegation. He continued by echoing more baseless claims repeatedly perpetuated by his father. Continue reading.

House approves $2.2T COVID-19 relief bill as White House talks stall

The Hill logo

House Democrats on Thursday approved a massive, $2.2 trillion package of coronavirus relief, lending political cover to party centrists in tough races while putting fresh pressure on Senate Republicans to move another round of emergency aid before the coming elections.

The vote arrived only after last-ditch negotiations between Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Thursday failed to yield a bipartisan agreement — and it sent a signal that the prospects for such a deal before Nov. 3 have dimmed considerably.

The bill was approved by a tally of 214 to 207, but to secure passage, Pelosi and her leadership team had to stave off a late revolt from a surprisingly large number of centrists who were furious that Pelosi had staged a vote on a bill with no chance of becoming law. Continue reading.

Pelosi seeks to put pressure on GOP in COVID-19 relief battle

The Hill logo

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Tuesday sought to heighten the pressure on Republicans to move a new round of coronavirus relief, announcing that the House will return to the Capitol next month to vote on another aid package if a bipartisan agreement is struck before the elections. 

Pelosi stopped short of promising a House vote on a new emergency stimulus proposal before the chamber recesses at the end of September — a tactic endorsed by a growing number of moderate Democrats concerned about the political optics of leaving Washington without acting to address the health and economic fallout of the deadly pandemic.  

Although the House passed the $3.4 trillion HEROES Act in May — a bill ignored by Senate Republicans — conditions on the ground have changed significantly in the four months since then, as the coronavirus death toll approaches 200,000, schools struggle to reopen, and tens of millions of workers remain unemployed. A growing chorus of centrist lawmakers are wary of returning to their districts just weeks before the elections with nothing new to show.  Continue reading.