‘You don’t have an understanding’: Pelosi spars with Chris Wallace on stalled congressional coronavirus relief

“Because there’s no deal at all, cities and states won’t get any money. There’s no money for the post office. There’s no money for hospitals. There’s no money for state boards of election,” Wallace began. “You knew that the president was threatening to take this executive action. I understand that you weren’t going to get everything you wanted and didn’t get everything you wanted, but should you have cut a deal?”

“Well, clearly, you don’t have an understanding of what is happening here, both in the weakness of the president’s executive orders, which don’t give the money and enhanced benefit, but puts a complicated formula there, which will take a while, if at all, to accomplish, to put money in the pockets of the American people,” Pelosi fired back.

Along with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, Pelosi released a statement criticizing President Trump’s recent executive orders to provide unemployment relief, protect renters from evictions, and defer some payments on some student loans, calling them “unworkable, weak and narrow policy announcements to slash the unemployment benefits that millions desperately need and endanger seniors’ Social Security and Medicare.”

However, White House chief of staff Mark Meadows said Democrats “turned their backs” on U.S. workers, businesses, and schools by failing to negotiate with administration officials on the relief package. “Pelosi and Schumer had multiple chances to act. They chose to play politics and say ‘NO.'” Meadows tweeted.