House Minority Whip Steve Scalise said Friday that Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s offer to spend just $1 on a border wall is an “insult” to Americans who want to boost border security.
In a discussion on the House floor, Scalise, R-La., said Pelosi indicated last week that $1 is the most she’d ever agree to in negotiations with Trump. But Scalise said that comment seemed to ignore the crisis at the border.
“How could you call this a fabricated crisis, when you see deaths, when you see over 90 percent of the heroin that comes into this country and kills Americans every single day is coming across our southern border?” Scalise asked Hoyer. “That’s not a fabricated crisis. Those are real, serious things that are happening that are bad.”
“The real question is how much money is the other side willing to support to actually secure the border, if the department that’s tasked with keeping our country safe is saying they need $5.7 billion,” he said.
“It’s not $1, and let’s at least recognize that was an insult,” Scalise added. “And so, if it’s not $1, then what is the amount you will support and put on the table to start a real negotiation to solve this crisis.”
Hoyer, D-Md., ignored Scalise’s question about how much money Democrats might support.
“The government of the United States partially has been shut down,” Hoyer replied. “That’s the issue here.”
Hoyer said some Republicans are already starting to vote for Democratic bills to reopen the government, without any wall funding. But Scalise interrupted and said again that the Democratic offer is an insult.
“She said on TV last week she’d support $1,” he said. “That’s an insult, and I have yet to see in any of the meetings I’ve been in her willingness to support more than that.”
Scalise tried again to get Hoyer to say how much funding Democrats might support. “You can’t say you’re for border security and then not agree to more than $1,” he said.
But Hoyer ignored the question again.
“The government is shut down,” Hoyer replied. “There’s no excuse for that.”
[Related: Legal analysts: Trump has the right to declare an emergency and build the wall]
