House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said she is willing to accept significant compromises with Republicans on must-past legislation needed to keep federal agencies open past Thursday, saying Democrats have no appetite to threaten another government shutdown.
Republicans “have the majority, they have the votes,” the California Democrat told reporters Friday. “If they have 218 votes to go forward with this, so be it.
“So we stand ready to accept something that may not be what we have written, but we’re not the majority, and that’s what I keep reminding my members.”
Pelosi said she is concerned that Republicans will try to stuff the massive funding measure with “destructive riders,” such as measures aimed at challenging the District of Columbia’s home rule. But with the threat of a government shutdown essentially off the table, she said Democrats must accept they have limited tools to push back as the Republican majority drafts the funding bill.
“We’ve all agreed on a top line [dollar] number, so that’s not for debate. But how that money is divided up is interesting to see,” she said. “Let’s look at the full package. I’m not saying any one of them is a deal-breaker, but I’m saying these are an array of concerns.”
When asked if such a conciliatory strategy hurts her party’s image and makes it more difficult for Democrats to differentiate themselves from Republicans, Pelosi said her party must take responsibility for ensuring there isn’t a repeat of last year’s 16-day partial government shutdown.
“That shouldn’t even be something that is in the mix,” she said. “I don’t know that our members would say we should let them shut down government again.
“Everyone knows it’s harmful to our economy … so we’ve got to find our common ground.”
