Pelosi says Trump doesn’t get shutdown’s effect on workers: ‘He thinks maybe they could just ask their father for more money’
Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) took a dig at President Trump on Wednesday after a brief meeting that Trump described as a “total waste of time.”
Speaking to reporters outside the White House, Pelosi said Trump did not understand the financial insecurities of many federal workers who are expected to miss paychecks due to the ongoing partial government shutdown.
“Many federal workers will not be receiving their paychecks, and what that means in their lives is tragic … the president seems to be insensitive to that,” Pelosi said. “He thinks maybe they could just ask their father for more money. But they can’t.”
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says President Trump doesn’t understand financial insecurity that federal workers face during the shutdown: “He thinks maybe they could just ask their father for more money. But they can’t” pic.twitter.com/PwcUykCXrp
— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) January 9, 2019
“If you don’t understand financial insecurity, then you would have a policy that takes pride in saying ‘I’m going to keep government shut down for months or years unless you totally agree to my position,’ ” she added.
{mosads}Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) met with Trump on Wednesday, the 19th day of the partial government shutdown.
Trump, after the meeting, tweeted that he had walked out of the meeting after Pelosi and Schumer said they would not support funding for his proposed border wall “or steel barrier” in a funding bill.
“I asked what is going to happen in 30 days if I quickly open things up, are you going to approve Border Security which includes a Wall or Steel Barrier?” Trump tweeted. “Nancy said, NO. I said bye-bye, nothing else works!”
Schumer claimed that Trump slammed the table and “just walked out of the meeting” after not getting his demands. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) denied that Trump slammed the table and said the president brought pieces of candy to those who attended the meeting in the Situation Room.
The brief meeting comes one day after Trump addressed the nation from the Oval Office in a prime-time speech that reaffirmed his position on the wall. He has also threatened to declare a national emergency at the U.S.-Mexico border to direct construction on the wall, a potential move that has raised questions over its legality among members of both parties.
The partial government shutdown began on Dec. 22 amid an impasse between lawmakers and the White House over Trump’s demand for $5.7 billion in funding for his proposed border wall.
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