Pelosi to vote yes, but won’t urge other Dems to follow her on debt ceiling
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Monday afternoon that she will “absolutely” vote for the debt-limit compromise but isn’t urging other Democrats to take her lead.
Pelosi told told ABC’s Diane Sawyer that while the deal is probably a “Satan sandwich with Satan fries on the side,” she’ll vote for the deal with Tuesday’s default deadline looming.
During a long meeting with House Democrats earlier Monday, several lawmakers said Pelosi told them to vote their conscience while reminding them about the what could happen if the United States were to default on its debt obligations.
{mosads}Pelosi had previously been silent on how she would vote on the package worked out Sunday night by the White House and congressional leaders.
The California Democrat has wanted to raise the debt ceiling, but preferred that a “clean” bill go through without any strings attached.
Several members of the House Progressive Caucus, including Reps. Keith Ellison (Minn.), Barbara Lee (Calif.) and Lynn Woolsey (Calif.), told reporters they are opposed to the agreement. They have argued that President Obama should invoke the 14th Amendment to raise the debt ceiling.
After the announcement of the deal on Sunday, Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.), chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, called the agreement “a sugar-coated satan sandwich” on Twitter.
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