China has once again reiterated its warnings to the United States, this time in the backdrop of Nancy Pelosi's potential Taiwan visit.

Nancy Pelosi shows support for Taiwan, Beijing warns US of 'serious consequences'

United States President Joe Biden plans to speak with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, by the end of the month at a moment of simmering tensions between the countries over Taiwan. Speaking to the media, Biden appeared to cast doubt on a trip reportedly planned by House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi to visit Taiwan next month.

Biden plans talks with China's Xi soon, casts doubt on Pelosi Taiwan trip

China has warned that it would take "forceful measures" if US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi travels to Taiwan. Earlier, the US approved an arms sale to Taiwan worth over $100 million. Palki Sharma tells you more.

Gravitas: China threatens the US with 'forceful measures'

It would be "very serious" if it enacted a new law to unilaterally change part of a Brexit deal to try to ease trade with Northern Ireland, according to Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin.

Urging the British government to resume talks about the protocol, Martin said that there were issues around the trade rules that should be addressed by “substantive negotiations” between the UK and the European Union.

During an interview with BBC, Martin said "There is no substitute for a substantive series of negotiations between the European Union and the United Kingdom government in respect of solving issues in relation to the protocol."

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/photos/how-the-northern-ireland-protocol-divides-britain-and-the-european-union-487135">Also read |&nbsp;How the Northern Ireland protocol divides Britain and the European Union</a>

Requesting the biggest unionist party (Sinn Fein) to rejoin the executive in Belfast, Martin earlier dismissed accusations that the EU was being inflexible.

After Britain accused the bloc of heavy-handed approach to the movement of goods between England and Northern Ireland, tensions have simmered for months.

But Britain's plan to scrap checks needed to keep an open border with EU-member Ireland have triggered tensions.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/necessity-to-act-uk-pm-johnson-urges-end-to-northern-ireland-deadlock-479283">Also read |&nbsp;'Necessity to act': UK PM Johnson urges end to Northern Ireland deadlock</a>

Following anger on both sides of the Atlantic, Martin is visiting Belfast after Washington warned London its brinkmanship with Europe threatens peace.

Unionists in Northern Ireland have accused Britain of driving a wedge between the province and the rest of the UK and have refused to join a new power-sharing government in Belfast until the issue is resolved, forcing its suspension.

Slamming England's decision about the North Ireland law, Nancy Pelosi, the speaker of the US House of Representatives, said "If the United Kingdom chooses to undermine the Good Friday Accords, the Congress cannot and will not support a bilateral free trade agreement with the UK."

(With inputs from agencies)

Watch WION's live TV here:

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/live-tv/embed?autoplay=1&amp;mute=1&lt;/div">&amp;times;</iframe></div>

&nbsp;
</div>

It would be "very serious" if it enacted a new law to unilaterally change part of a Brexit deal to try to ease trade with Northern Ireland, according to Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin.

It would be "very serious" if it enacted a new law to unilaterally change part of a Brexit deal to try to ease trade with Northern Ireland, according to Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin. Urging the British government to resume talks about the protocol, Martin said that there were issues around the trade rules that should be addressed by “substantive negotiations” between the UK and the European Union. During an interview with BBC, Martin said "There is no substitute for a substantive series of negotiations between the European Union and the United Kingdom government in respect of solving issues in relation to the protocol." Also read | How the Northern Ireland protocol divides Britain and the European Union Requesting the biggest unionist party (Sinn Fein) to rejoin the executive in Belfast, Martin earlier dismissed accusations that the EU was being inflexible. After Britain accused the bloc of heavy-handed approach to the movement of goods between England and Northern Ireland, tensions have simmered for months. But Britain's plan to scrap checks needed to keep an open border with EU-member Ireland have triggered tensions. Also read | 'Necessity to act': UK PM Johnson urges end to Northern Ireland deadlock Following anger on both sides of the Atlantic, Martin is visiting Belfast after Washington warned London its brinkmanship with Europe threatens peace. Unionists in Northern Ireland have accused Britain of driving a wedge between the province and the rest of the UK and have refused to join a new power-sharing government in Belfast until the issue is resolved, forcing its suspension. Slamming England's decision about the North Ireland law, Nancy Pelosi, the speaker of the US House of Representatives, said "If the United Kingdom chooses to undermine the Good Friday Accords, the Congress cannot and will not support a bilateral free trade agreement with the UK." (With inputs from agencies) Watch WION's live TV here:

'We're in a very serious situation': Irish PM Martin warns UK over its North Ireland law

Paul Pelosi, the husband of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, was arrested late Saturday night for allegedly driving under the influence.He was detained in Napa County, California, at 11:44 p.m. on Saturday night and charged with driving under the influence of alcohol and driving with a blood alcohol level of.08 or above.

He could face charges including driving under the influence and driving with a blood alcohol content level of 0.08 or higher, the report said.Pelosi’s bail was set for $5,000 for the two misdemeanors, records showed.

Other information was not readily accessible. Officer Andrew Barclay of the California Highway Patrol said more information would be given later Sunday.

"The Speaker will not be commenting on this private matter that occurred while she was on the East Coast," Drew Hammill, Nancy Pelosi's spokesperson, told The Associated Press.

On Sunday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi gave the graduating address at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island.

TMZ was the first to report on Pelosi's detention.

Since 1963, Paul and Nancy Pelosi have been married.

WATCH WION LIVE HERE

<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/live-tv/embed?autoplay=1&amp;mute=1" width="100%"></iframe>

You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us <a href="https://www.wionews.com/content-contribution-registration-form">here</a>.

Paul Pelosi, the husband of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, was arrested late Saturday night for allegedly driving under the influence.He was detained in Napa County, California, at 11:44 p.

Paul Pelosi, the husband of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, was arrested late Saturday night for allegedly driving under the influence.He was detained in Napa County, California, at 11:44 p.m. on Saturday night and charged with driving under the influence of alcohol and driving with a blood alcohol level of.08 or above. He could face charges including driving under the influence and driving with a blood alcohol content level of 0.08 or higher, the report said.Pelosi’s bail was set for $5,000 for the two misdemeanors, records showed. Other information was not readily accessible. Officer Andrew Barclay of the California Highway Patrol said more information would be given later Sunday. "The Speaker will not be commenting on this private matter that occurred while she was on the East Coast," Drew Hammill, Nancy Pelosi's spokesperson, told The Associated Press. On Sunday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi gave the graduating address at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. TMZ was the first to report on Pelosi's detention. Since 1963, Paul and Nancy Pelosi have been married. WATCH WION LIVE HERE You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.

Paul Pelosi, husband of US House speaker Nancy Pelosi, arrested for drunk driving

The archbishop of San Francisco told US Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi that she is barred from receiving communion over her support for abortion rights, the archdiocese said in a letter released Friday.&nbsp;

Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone said in the letter that he had previously asked Pelosi to "publicly repudiate your advocacy for abortion 'rights' or else refrain from referring to your Catholic faith in public and receiving Holy Communion" -- or face the consequence of being denied access to the rite.

"As you have not publicly repudiated your position on abortion, and continue to refer to your Catholic faith in justifying your position and to receive Holy Communion, that time has now come," the archbishop said.

"I am hereby notifying you that you are not to present yourself for Holy Communion and, should you do so, you are not to be admitted to Holy Communion, until such time as you publicly repudiate your advocacy for the legitimacy of abortion and confess and receive absolution of this grave sin in the sacrament of Penance," he added.

Pelosi, a lifelong Catholic from California, said she would work to pass a law to confirm women's continued right to abortions after the leak of a draft Supreme Court opinion overturning Roe v Wade, the 1973 ruling that guaranteed access to the procedure nationwide.

Pelosi's office made no immediate comment to AFP after the archbishop's letter was made public.

Communion -- the rite in which the faithful ritually consume bread and wine blessed by a priest -- is a central rite in the Catholic Church.

WATCH WION LIVE HERE

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/live-tv/embed?autoplay=1&amp;mute=1" width="100%"></iframe></div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">×</a></div>

&nbsp;

The archbishop of San Francisco told US Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi that she is barred from receiving communion over her support for abortion rights, the archdiocese said in a letter released Friday.

The archbishop of San Francisco told US Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi that she is barred from receiving communion over her support for abortion rights, the archdiocese said in a letter released Friday. Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone said in the letter that he had previously asked Pelosi to "publicly repudiate your advocacy for abortion 'rights' or else refrain from referring to your Catholic faith in public and receiving Holy Communion" -- or face the consequence of being denied access to the rite. "As you have not publicly repudiated your position on abortion, and continue to refer to your Catholic faith in justifying your position and to receive Holy Communion, that time has now come," the archbishop said. "I am hereby notifying you that you are not to present yourself for Holy Communion and, should you do so, you are not to be admitted to Holy Communion, until such time as you publicly repudiate your advocacy for the legitimacy of abortion and confess and receive absolution of this grave sin in the sacrament of Penance," he added. Pelosi, a lifelong Catholic from California, said she would work to pass a law to confirm women's continued right to abortions after the leak of a draft Supreme Court opinion overturning Roe v Wade, the 1973 ruling that guaranteed access to the procedure nationwide. Pelosi's office made no immediate comment to AFP after the archbishop's letter was made public. Communion -- the rite in which the faithful ritually consume bread and wine blessed by a priest -- is a central rite in the Catholic Church. WATCH WION LIVE HERE ×

US archbishop bans Pelosi from communion over abortion rights support

A team of US politicians is heading to Europe to try and calm tensions over the Northern Ireland post-Brexit protocol. The group of nine representatives from both the Democratic and Republican parties kicks off a six-day trip.

US: Nancy Pelosi warns to not alter Northern Ireland deal

Amid the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine, US house speaker Nancy Pelosi embarked on an unannounced trip to Kyiv. She met with Ukraine President Zelensky.

US House speaker Nancy Pelosi meets Ukraine President Zelensky in Kyiv

As Russia continues to pound different cities in Ukraine, US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has made an unannounced visit to Kyiv, media reports said. &nbsp;

Pelosi, who is a California Democrat, is leading a Congressional delegation and met Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelensky.

She was also awarded with the 'Order of Princess Olga' by Zelensky for a “significant personal contribution" to strengthening Ukrainian-American cooperation and "supporting sovereign, independent and democratic Ukraine”, media reports said.&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;

In a statement released on Sunday, Pelosi said, "Our delegation travelled to Kyiv to send an unmistakable and resounding message to the entire world: America stands firmly with Ukraine.” &nbsp;

Also Read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/ukrainian-army-damaged-1000-tanks-200-aircraft-2500-armored-vehicles-of-russian-forces-claims-zelensky-475357" hreflang="en">Ukrainian army damaged 1,000 tanks, 200 aircraft of Russian forces: Zelensky</a>

The visit is crucial as Pelosi is the highest-ranking US leader to visit Ukraine since the invasion began. &nbsp;&nbsp;

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
NEW: US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is in Kyiv to meet Zelenskyy. 
 
Accompanied by Adam Schiff, chair of House intelligence, and Gregory Meeks, chair of House foreign affairs. <a href="https://t.co/jehChzWJra">pic.twitter.com/jehChzWJra</a>
— Raf Sanchez (@rafsanchez) <a href="https://twitter.com/rafsanchez/status/1520645548512264192?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 1, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">×</a></div>

The Ukrainian president's office has also shared a video, where Pelosi and other US legislators can be seen in Kyiv.&nbsp;

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Our Congressional Delegation was honored to meet with <a href="https://twitter.com/ZelenskyyUa?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ZelenskyyUa</a> in Kyiv to salute his leadership and courage, to commend the Ukrainian people for their outstanding defense of Democracy and to say that we are with you until victory is won. <a href="https://t.co/zkc588Qcrv">pic.twitter.com/zkc588Qcrv</a>
— Nancy Pelosi (@SpeakerPelosi) <a href="https://twitter.com/SpeakerPelosi/status/1520672718823297032?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 1, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">×</a></div>

Democratic Representatives, Barbara Lee (California), Jason Crow (Colorado), Gregory Meeks (New York), Jim McGovern (Massachusetts), Adam Schiff (California) and Bill Keating (Massachusetts) are a part of the Congressional delegation. "You all are welcome," Zelenskyy told the delegation. &nbsp;

Watch:&nbsp;Report by a think tank: US &amp; EU import oil from Russia despite attack on Ukraine

<iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/report-by-a-think-tank-us-eu-import-oil-from-russia-despite-attack-on-ukraine-475292/embed" width="560"></iframe>

"We believe that we are visiting you to say thank you for your fight for freedom. We are on a frontier of freedom and your fight is a fight for everyone. Our commitment is to be there for you until the fight is done," Pelosi told Ukraine's president. &nbsp;

The US leaders will later head towards Poland for talks with President Andrzej Duda and other senior officials. "We look forward to thanking our Polish allies for their dedication and humanitarian efforts," Pelosi said.

WATCH WION LIVE HERE

<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/live-tv/embed?autoplay=1&amp;mute=1" width="100%"></iframe>

(With inputs from agencies)&nbsp;

As Russia continues to pound different cities in Ukraine, US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has made an unannounced visit to Kyiv, media reports said. Pelosi, who is a California Democrat, is leading a Congressional delegation and met Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelensky.

As Russia continues to pound different cities in Ukraine, US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has made an unannounced visit to Kyiv, media reports said. Pelosi, who is a California Democrat, is leading a Congressional delegation and met Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelensky. She was also awarded with the 'Order of Princess Olga' by Zelensky for a “significant personal contribution" to strengthening Ukrainian-American cooperation and "supporting sovereign, independent and democratic Ukraine”, media reports said. In a statement released on Sunday, Pelosi said, "Our delegation travelled to Kyiv to send an unmistakable and resounding message to the entire world: America stands firmly with Ukraine.” Also Read | Ukrainian army damaged 1,000 tanks, 200 aircraft of Russian forces: Zelensky The visit is crucial as Pelosi is the highest-ranking US leader to visit Ukraine since the invasion began. NEW: US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is in Kyiv to meet Zelenskyy. Accompanied by Adam Schiff, chair of House intelligence, and Gregory Meeks, chair of House foreign affairs. pic.twitter.com/jehChzWJra — Raf Sanchez (@rafsanchez) May 1, 2022 × The Ukrainian president's office has also shared a video, where Pelosi and other US legislators can be seen in Kyiv. Our Congressional Delegation was honored to meet with @ZelenskyyUa in Kyiv to salute his leadership and courage, to commend the Ukrainian people for their outstanding defense of Democracy and to say that we are with you until victory is won. pic.twitter.com/zkc588Qcrv — Nancy Pelosi (@SpeakerPelosi) May 1, 2022 × Democratic Representatives, Barbara Lee (California), Jason Crow (Colorado), Gregory Meeks (New York), Jim McGovern (Massachusetts), Adam Schiff (California) and Bill Keating (Massachusetts) are a part of the Congressional delegation. "You all are welcome," Zelenskyy told the delegation. Watch: Report by a think tank: US & EU import oil from Russia despite attack on Ukraine "We believe that we are visiting you to say thank you for your fight for freedom. We are on a frontier of freedom and your fight is a fight for everyone. Our commitment is to be there for you until the fight is done," Pelosi told Ukraine's president. The US leaders will later head towards Poland for talks with President Andrzej Duda and other senior officials. "We look forward to thanking our Polish allies for their dedication and humanitarian efforts," Pelosi said. WATCH WION LIVE HERE (With inputs from agencies)

'America stands firmly with Ukraine': US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visits Kyiv, meets President Zelensky

Ratcheting up pressure on Russia, the US Congress on Thursday voted to end normal trade relations with Moscow over the invasion of Ukraine.

Through the legislation, US President Joe Biden can inflict steep hikes on imports such as steel and aluminum products from both Russia and its ally Belarus.

According to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, "Russian President Vladimir Putin must absolutely be held accountable for the detestable, despicable war crimes he is committing against Ukraine: the images we have seen coming out of that country... are just pure evil."

"It reminds us of the worst moments in human history, caused by the evil man, Putin: hundreds of civilians murdered in cold blood."

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/nato-chiefs-comments-after-meet-says-not-here-to-provoke-but-prevent-conflict-469187/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

Hailing the latest actions against Russia, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said, "Putin's aggression and barbaric war crimes have horrified the world and demand a strong response."

It comes after the United States removed Russia's so-called most favoured nation status which requires countries to guarantee regulatory treatment as well as equal tariffs towards one another.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/united-nations-suspends-russia-from-human-rights-body-over-ukraine-469196">Over reports of abuses in Ukraine, UNGA suspends Russia from human rights body</a>

Meanwhile, US Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo told Reuters that "The United States and its allies have a lot more that we can and we will do" to punish Moscow if Russia fails to halt its invasion.

After facing a plethora of sanctions from the West, the Russian economy is going into a ''deep recession'' as per US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

"And what we're seeing is a likely contraction of the Russian economy by about 15 percent," he told NBC News in a statement.

"That is dramatic... We've seen an exodus from Russia of virtually every major company in the world. And Putin, in the space of a matter of weeks, has basically shut down Russia to the world." &nbsp;

Last year, the US had imported crude oil worth $17.5 billion and $30 billion in goods from Russia.

(With inputs from agencies

Ratcheting up pressure on Russia, the US Congress on Thursday voted to end normal trade relations with Moscow over the invasion of Ukraine. Through the legislation, US President Joe Biden can inflict steep hikes on imports such as steel and aluminum products from both Russia and its ally Belarus.

Ratcheting up pressure on Russia, the US Congress on Thursday voted to end normal trade relations with Moscow over the invasion of Ukraine. Through the legislation, US President Joe Biden can inflict steep hikes on imports such as steel and aluminum products from both Russia and its ally Belarus. According to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, "Russian President Vladimir Putin must absolutely be held accountable for the detestable, despicable war crimes he is committing against Ukraine: the images we have seen coming out of that country... are just pure evil." "It reminds us of the worst moments in human history, caused by the evil man, Putin: hundreds of civilians murdered in cold blood." Hailing the latest actions against Russia, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said, "Putin's aggression and barbaric war crimes have horrified the world and demand a strong response." It comes after the United States removed Russia's so-called most favoured nation status which requires countries to guarantee regulatory treatment as well as equal tariffs towards one another. Also read | Over reports of abuses in Ukraine, UNGA suspends Russia from human rights body Meanwhile, US Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo told Reuters that "The United States and its allies have a lot more that we can and we will do" to punish Moscow if Russia fails to halt its invasion. After facing a plethora of sanctions from the West, the Russian economy is going into a ''deep recession'' as per US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. "And what we're seeing is a likely contraction of the Russian economy by about 15 percent," he told NBC News in a statement. "That is dramatic... We've seen an exodus from Russia of virtually every major company in the world. And Putin, in the space of a matter of weeks, has basically shut down Russia to the world." Last year, the US had imported crude oil worth $17.5 billion and $30 billion in goods from Russia. (With inputs from agencies

Ukraine invasion: US Congress votes to end normal trade relations with Russia

Nancy Pelosi, Speaker, House of Representatives of the United States has tested positive for coronavirus. &nbsp;&nbsp;

The 82-year-old leader does not seem to have any symptoms of the disease, her office said on Thursday. &nbsp;

This comes a day after the Democrat leader from California was standing next to US President Joe Biden at an event at the White House. &nbsp;

Also Read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/ketanji-brown-jackson-the-first-black-woman-to-be-us-supreme-court-judge-469180" hreflang="en">Ketanji Brown Jackson: The first Black woman to be US Supreme Court judge</a>

The development is the latest in a series of Covid diagnoses for US government officials in Washington. &nbsp;

In a Twitter post, her deputy chief of staff Drew Hammill said, “After testing negative this week, Speaker Pelosi received a positive test result for COVID-19 and is currently asymptomatic.” &nbsp;&nbsp;

“The Speaker is fully vaccinated and boosted, and is thankful for the robust protection the vaccine has provided. The Speaker will quarantine consistent with CDC guidance, and encourages everyone to get vaccinated, boosted and test regularly,” Hammill added.&nbsp;

Watch |&nbsp;US : North Korea could hold its nuclear weapons test next week&nbsp;

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/us-north-korea-could-hold-its-nuclear-weapons-test-next-week-469045/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>
</div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">×</a></div>

If Biden dies or is incapacitated, Pelosi will be second in line in the order of presidential succession after Vice President Kamala Harris. &nbsp;&nbsp;

Attorney General Merrick Garland and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo had also tested positive for the COVID-19 on Wednesday. &nbsp;&nbsp;

(With inputs from agencies)&nbsp;

Nancy Pelosi, Speaker, House of Representatives of the United States has tested positive for coronavirus. The 82-year-old leader does not seem to have any symptoms of the disease, her office said on Thursday.

Nancy Pelosi, Speaker, House of Representatives of the United States has tested positive for coronavirus. The 82-year-old leader does not seem to have any symptoms of the disease, her office said on Thursday. This comes a day after the Democrat leader from California was standing next to US President Joe Biden at an event at the White House. Also Read | Ketanji Brown Jackson: The first Black woman to be US Supreme Court judge The development is the latest in a series of Covid diagnoses for US government officials in Washington. In a Twitter post, her deputy chief of staff Drew Hammill said, “After testing negative this week, Speaker Pelosi received a positive test result for COVID-19 and is currently asymptomatic.” “The Speaker is fully vaccinated and boosted, and is thankful for the robust protection the vaccine has provided. The Speaker will quarantine consistent with CDC guidance, and encourages everyone to get vaccinated, boosted and test regularly,” Hammill added. Watch | US : North Korea could hold its nuclear weapons test next week × If Biden dies or is incapacitated, Pelosi will be second in line in the order of presidential succession after Vice President Kamala Harris. Attorney General Merrick Garland and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo had also tested positive for the COVID-19 on Wednesday. (With inputs from agencies)

US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi tests positive for COVID-19

US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Tuesday that she plans to run for 19th term in office. The Democratic Party leader said she was determined to stay on to fight existential threats to democracy.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who turns 82 in March, had been expected to step down, with her party bracing for a possible heavy defeat in this year's midterm elections.

Despite dire predictions of a Democratic wipeout in November, Pelosi is likely to win her liberal San Francisco district comfortably -- but she did not reveal whether she intended to keep her leadership role.

"Our democracy is at risk because of the assault on the truth, the assault on the US Capitol and the state-by-state assault on voting rights," Pelosi said in a video announcement.&nbsp;

"This election is crucial. Nothing less is at stake than our democracy. But as we say, we don't agonize, we organize, and that is why I am running for reelection to Congress and respectfully seek your support."

Pelosi, the only female speaker in US history, first took up the gavel in 2007 and returned to the role when the Democrats retook the House in the 2018 midterm elections.

After securing her party's nomination to lead the House in 2020, Pelosi suggested it would be her last term in the job.

The job places her second in line to the presidency behind Vice President Kamala Harris.

"When people ask me, 'What are the three most important issues facing the Congress?' I always say the same thing: our children, our children, our children... That is why I am in Congress, for the children," she said.

(With inputs from agencies)

US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Tuesday that she plans to run for 19th term in office. The Democratic Party leader said she was determined to stay on to fight existential threats to democracy.

US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Tuesday that she plans to run for 19th term in office. The Democratic Party leader said she was determined to stay on to fight existential threats to democracy. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who turns 82 in March, had been expected to step down, with her party bracing for a possible heavy defeat in this year's midterm elections. Despite dire predictions of a Democratic wipeout in November, Pelosi is likely to win her liberal San Francisco district comfortably -- but she did not reveal whether she intended to keep her leadership role. "Our democracy is at risk because of the assault on the truth, the assault on the US Capitol and the state-by-state assault on voting rights," Pelosi said in a video announcement. "This election is crucial. Nothing less is at stake than our democracy. But as we say, we don't agonize, we organize, and that is why I am running for reelection to Congress and respectfully seek your support." Pelosi, the only female speaker in US history, first took up the gavel in 2007 and returned to the role when the Democrats retook the House in the 2018 midterm elections. After securing her party's nomination to lead the House in 2020, Pelosi suggested it would be her last term in the job. The job places her second in line to the presidency behind Vice President Kamala Harris. "When people ask me, 'What are the three most important issues facing the Congress?' I always say the same thing: our children, our children, our children... That is why I am in Congress, for the children," she said. (With inputs from agencies)

US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says will run for reelection

The White House has confirmed that US President Joe Biden will deliver his first State of the Union address on March 1.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi had sent the president a formal invitation to speak to Congress and the American public one year into his term.

After Biden accepted her invitation, Pelosi wrote him a letter saying ''Thank you for your bold vision and patriotic leadership which have guided America out of crisis and into an era of great progress, as we not only recover from the pandemic but Build Back Better!''

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/us-president-bidens-remarks-on-the-first-anniversary-of-capitol-riots-443066/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

The speech has been delayed due to the current explosion of Omicron-fueled coronavirus infections in the US is causing a breakdown in basic functions and services, the latest illustration of how COVID-19 keeps upending life more than two years into the pandemic.

This is the first time in US history that a State of the Union address or annual message will be delivered in March; for most of the past century presidents delivered their annual addresses to Congress in January or February.

The last State of the Union address was delivered by former US President Donald Trump on the eve of his acquittal by the Senate in his first impeachment trial.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/us-ready-to-talk-missiles-and-military-exercises-in-ukraine-with-russia-official-443265" hreflang="en">US ready to talk missiles, military exercises in Ukraine with Russia: Official</a>

Biden first addressed a joint session of Congress in April 2021, about 100 days into his time in the White House, which he used to promote twin infrastructure and domestic spending bills.

An address to Congress in the president's first year is not an official State of the Union address, and Biden's April speech bore little resemblance to one because of strict COVID-19 protocols.

It was marked by limitations on attendance, with no guests allowed, and lawmakers seated on both the floor of the House chamber and the galleries above.

March 1 also marks the start of the congressional election season as Texas will hold primary elections that day for Democrats and Republicans to choose their candidates for the Nov. 8 election.

Addresses by the president to a joint session of Congress are normally filled with pomp and circumstance, but have also become a vehicle for partisan posturing.&nbsp;

In 2020, Pelosi tore up the copy of former President Donald Trump's speech that he handed her as part of the ceremony.

In 2009 Republican Representative Joe Wilson shouted "You lie!" at Obama during a special speech to a joint session of Congress to pitch for the Obamacare healthcare bill.&nbsp;

Wilson was widely condemned for the breach of protocol by both Republicans and Democrats, and apologized publicly to the president. 
&nbsp;

(With inputs from agencies)

The White House has confirmed that US President Joe Biden will deliver his first State of the Union address on March 1. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi had sent the president a formal invitation to speak to Congress and the American public one year into his term.

The White House has confirmed that US President Joe Biden will deliver his first State of the Union address on March 1. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi had sent the president a formal invitation to speak to Congress and the American public one year into his term. After Biden accepted her invitation, Pelosi wrote him a letter saying ''Thank you for your bold vision and patriotic leadership which have guided America out of crisis and into an era of great progress, as we not only recover from the pandemic but Build Back Better!'' The speech has been delayed due to the current explosion of Omicron-fueled coronavirus infections in the US is causing a breakdown in basic functions and services, the latest illustration of how COVID-19 keeps upending life more than two years into the pandemic. This is the first time in US history that a State of the Union address or annual message will be delivered in March; for most of the past century presidents delivered their annual addresses to Congress in January or February. The last State of the Union address was delivered by former US President Donald Trump on the eve of his acquittal by the Senate in his first impeachment trial. Also read | US ready to talk missiles, military exercises in Ukraine with Russia: Official Biden first addressed a joint session of Congress in April 2021, about 100 days into his time in the White House, which he used to promote twin infrastructure and domestic spending bills. An address to Congress in the president's first year is not an official State of the Union address, and Biden's April speech bore little resemblance to one because of strict COVID-19 protocols. It was marked by limitations on attendance, with no guests allowed, and lawmakers seated on both the floor of the House chamber and the galleries above. March 1 also marks the start of the congressional election season as Texas will hold primary elections that day for Democrats and Republicans to choose their candidates for the Nov. 8 election. Addresses by the president to a joint session of Congress are normally filled with pomp and circumstance, but have also become a vehicle for partisan posturing. In 2020, Pelosi tore up the copy of former President Donald Trump's speech that he handed her as part of the ceremony. In 2009 Republican Representative Joe Wilson shouted "You lie!" at Obama during a special speech to a joint session of Congress to pitch for the Obamacare healthcare bill. Wilson was widely condemned for the breach of protocol by both Republicans and Democrats, and apologized publicly to the president. (With inputs from agencies)

White House confirms Joe Biden will deliver first State of the Union address on March 1

Mark Meadows, the former chief of staff for President Donald Trump, filed suit Wednesday against House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol in an attempt to persuade a federal judge to block the committee’s subpoenas.

Meadows’ suit came hours after the committee said it would move forward with a criminal contempt of Congress referral against Meadows after he refused to appear for a scheduled deposition.

His lawsuit, filed in federal court in Washington, accuses the committee of issuing “two overly broad and unduly burdensome subpoenas” against him, including one sent to Verizon for his phone and text data.

“Mr. Meadows faces the harm of both being illegally coerced into violating the Constitution,” his lawsuit contends. It asks a judge to declare the subpoenas “unlawful and unenforceable,” and claims the inquiries violate his constitutional rights to free speech and privacy.

The committee did not immediately announce a date for its vote on the contempt referral against Meadows, which is all but certain to be approved and sent to the full House, where lawmakers are likely to pass it, formally recommending that the Justice Department prosecute Meadows. It would be the third time the committee has moved to hold a recalcitrant witness in criminal contempt.

“The select committee is left with no choice but to advance contempt proceedings and recommend that the body in which Mr. Meadows once served refer him for criminal prosecution,” Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., chair of the committee, wrote to Meadows’ lawyer, George Terwilliger.

In a statement Wednesday night, Thompson and Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., the committee’s vice chair, said that Meadows’ “flawed lawsuit won’t succeed at slowing down the select committee’s investigation or stopping us from getting the information we’re seeking.”

The committee has now interviewed more than 275 witnesses and obtained tens of thousands of documents. Those cooperating include some members of former Vice President Mike Pence’s inner circle, including Marc Short, his former chief of staff. But several high-profile witnesses are stonewalling the panel, in line with a directive from Trump.

Meadows joins Trump in suing the committee to try to block its investigation. The former president is battling in court to prevent the release of documents requested by the committee that he says are subject to executive privilege, although the Biden administration has refused to assert that claim.

Meadows, who has turned over thousands of pages of documents to the committee, informed the panel Tuesday that he was no longer willing to sit for a deposition that had been scheduled for Wednesday, reversing a deal he had reached with the panel just last week to be interviewed by its investigators. The leaders of the committee immediately threatened to charge Meadows, a former congressman from North Carolina, with contempt of Congress if he did not appear.

Thompson said Meadows had provided some useful information to the committee, including a November email that discussed appointing an alternate slate of electors to keep Trump in power and a Jan. 5 message about putting the National Guard on standby.

Meadows also turned over to the committee his text messages with a member of Congress in which the lawmaker acknowledged that a plan to object to President Joe Biden’s victory would be “highly controversial,” to which Meadows responded, “I love it.” And he furnished text exchanges about the need for Trump to issue a public statement Jan. 6 aimed at persuading the mob marauding through the Capitol in his name to stand down.

But Meadows also informed the committee that he had turned in the cellphone he used on Jan. 6 to his service provider and that he was withholding some 1,000 text messages connected with the device, Thompson said, prompting additional questions and the need for more cooperation and a deposition.

“There is no legitimate legal basis for Mr. Meadows to refuse to cooperate with the select committee and answer questions about the documents he produced, the personal devices and accounts he used, the events he wrote about in his newly released book and, among other things, his other public statements,” Thompson wrote.

The committee recently sent a flurry of subpoenas to telecommunications companies seeking the data of dozens of individuals, including Meadows, prompting his lawyer to object to a request he said sought “intensely personal communications” with no relevance to any legitimate investigation.

“The Verizon subpoena seeks Mr. Meadows’ cellphone metadata, despite the fact that he has already provided the select committee with his responsive text messages, emails, and the metadata,” his lawsuit states.

The subpoenas, which follow records preservation demands sent to 35 technology and social media companies in August, do not seek the content of any communications but simply the dates and times of when the calls and messages took place, according to a committee aide.

The House voted in October to recommend that another of Trump’s associates, Steve Bannon, be charged with criminal contempt of Congress for refusing to cooperate with the investigation. A federal grand jury subsequently indicted him on two counts that could carry a total of up to two years behind bars. A judge on Tuesday set a July 18 trial date for Bannon, meaning that the select committee will most likely have to wait the better part of a year, if not longer, for a resolution of his case and any potential cooperation from him.

The committee has also recommended a contempt charge against Jeffrey Clark, a former Justice Department lawyer who participated in Trump’s efforts to invalidate the 2020 election results, for refusing to cooperate with its inquiry. The panel is waiting to complete that referral until it can determine how much information Clark is willing to provide during a deposition scheduled for Dec. 16. Clark has said he will invoke his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.

Another potential witness, John Eastman, a lawyer who wrote a memo that some in both parties have likened to a blueprint for a coup to keep Trump in power, has also indicated that he plans to invoke the Fifth Amendment in response to the committee’s subpoena.

A third witness, political operative Roger Stone, told the committee this week that he, too, planned to invoke his right against self-incrimination in defying a subpoena, declining to sit for an interview or produce documents.

“Given that the select committee’s demand for documents is overbroad, overreaching and far too wide-ranging to be deemed anything other than a fishing expedition, Mr. Stone has a constitutional right to decline to respond,” his lawyer, Grant J. Smith, wrote to the panel.

Mark Meadows, the former chief of staff for President Donald Trump, filed suit Wednesday against House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the House committee investigating the Jan.

Mark Meadows, the former chief of staff for President Donald Trump, filed suit Wednesday against House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol in an attempt to persuade a federal judge to block the committee’s subpoenas. Meadows’ suit came hours after the committee said it would move forward with a criminal contempt of Congress referral against Meadows after he refused to appear for a scheduled deposition. His lawsuit, filed in federal court in Washington, accuses the committee of issuing “two overly broad and unduly burdensome subpoenas” against him, including one sent to Verizon for his phone and text data. “Mr. Meadows faces the harm of both being illegally coerced into violating the Constitution,” his lawsuit contends. It asks a judge to declare the subpoenas “unlawful and unenforceable,” and claims the inquiries violate his constitutional rights to free speech and privacy. The committee did not immediately announce a date for its vote on the contempt referral against Meadows, which is all but certain to be approved and sent to the full House, where lawmakers are likely to pass it, formally recommending that the Justice Department prosecute Meadows. It would be the third time the committee has moved to hold a recalcitrant witness in criminal contempt. “The select committee is left with no choice but to advance contempt proceedings and recommend that the body in which Mr. Meadows once served refer him for criminal prosecution,” Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., chair of the committee, wrote to Meadows’ lawyer, George Terwilliger. In a statement Wednesday night, Thompson and Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., the committee’s vice chair, said that Meadows’ “flawed lawsuit won’t succeed at slowing down the select committee’s investigation or stopping us from getting the information we’re seeking.” The committee has now interviewed more than 275 witnesses and obtained tens of thousands of documents. Those cooperating include some members of former Vice President Mike Pence’s inner circle, including Marc Short, his former chief of staff. But several high-profile witnesses are stonewalling the panel, in line with a directive from Trump. Meadows joins Trump in suing the committee to try to block its investigation. The former president is battling in court to prevent the release of documents requested by the committee that he says are subject to executive privilege, although the Biden administration has refused to assert that claim. Meadows, who has turned over thousands of pages of documents to the committee, informed the panel Tuesday that he was no longer willing to sit for a deposition that had been scheduled for Wednesday, reversing a deal he had reached with the panel just last week to be interviewed by its investigators. The leaders of the committee immediately threatened to charge Meadows, a former congressman from North Carolina, with contempt of Congress if he did not appear. Thompson said Meadows had provided some useful information to the committee, including a November email that discussed appointing an alternate slate of electors to keep Trump in power and a Jan. 5 message about putting the National Guard on standby. Meadows also turned over to the committee his text messages with a member of Congress in which the lawmaker acknowledged that a plan to object to President Joe Biden’s victory would be “highly controversial,” to which Meadows responded, “I love it.” And he furnished text exchanges about the need for Trump to issue a public statement Jan. 6 aimed at persuading the mob marauding through the Capitol in his name to stand down. But Meadows also informed the committee that he had turned in the cellphone he used on Jan. 6 to his service provider and that he was withholding some 1,000 text messages connected with the device, Thompson said, prompting additional questions and the need for more cooperation and a deposition. “There is no legitimate legal basis for Mr. Meadows to refuse to cooperate with the select committee and answer questions about the documents he produced, the personal devices and accounts he used, the events he wrote about in his newly released book and, among other things, his other public statements,” Thompson wrote. The committee recently sent a flurry of subpoenas to telecommunications companies seeking the data of dozens of individuals, including Meadows, prompting his lawyer to object to a request he said sought “intensely personal communications” with no relevance to any legitimate investigation. “The Verizon subpoena seeks Mr. Meadows’ cellphone metadata, despite the fact that he has already provided the select committee with his responsive text messages, emails, and the metadata,” his lawsuit states. The subpoenas, which follow records preservation demands sent to 35 technology and social media companies in August, do not seek the content of any communications but simply the dates and times of when the calls and messages took place, according to a committee aide. The House voted in October to recommend that another of Trump’s associates, Steve Bannon, be charged with criminal contempt of Congress for refusing to cooperate with the investigation. A federal grand jury subsequently indicted him on two counts that could carry a total of up to two years behind bars. A judge on Tuesday set a July 18 trial date for Bannon, meaning that the select committee will most likely have to wait the better part of a year, if not longer, for a resolution of his case and any potential cooperation from him. The committee has also recommended a contempt charge against Jeffrey Clark, a former Justice Department lawyer who participated in Trump’s efforts to invalidate the 2020 election results, for refusing to cooperate with its inquiry. The panel is waiting to complete that referral until it can determine how much information Clark is willing to provide during a deposition scheduled for Dec. 16. Clark has said he will invoke his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. Another potential witness, John Eastman, a lawyer who wrote a memo that some in both parties have likened to a blueprint for a coup to keep Trump in power, has also indicated that he plans to invoke the Fifth Amendment in response to the committee’s subpoena. A third witness, political operative Roger Stone, told the committee this week that he, too, planned to invoke his right against self-incrimination in defying a subpoena, declining to sit for an interview or produce documents. “Given that the select committee’s demand for documents is overbroad, overreaching and far too wide-ranging to be deemed anything other than a fishing expedition, Mr. Stone has a constitutional right to decline to respond,” his lawyer, Grant J. Smith, wrote to the panel.

Meadows sues Pelosi in bid to block Jan. 6 committee subpoena

Over a breakfast of bagels and doughnuts in Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s Capitol office last month, Rep. Stephanie Murphy, D-Fla., and a group of fellow centrist Democrats laid down an ultimatum: There was no way they would vote for President Joe Biden’s sprawling social safety net and climate bill until they saw an official tally of its true cost.

Their declaration torpedoed Pelosi’s plans to finally bring to a close months of feuding among the factions in her party and hold a vote that day to push through the twin pillars of Biden’s domestic agenda, leaving the fate of the ambitious social policy measure and a bipartisan infrastructure package in doubt.

But within days, it was Murphy who helped seal a deal to salvage both, by drawing up a carefully negotiated statement of support for the safety net legislation that persuaded progressives to vote for the infrastructure bill.

It helped lead to a fragile detente between moderates and liberals who had been at odds for months over Biden’s plans and ultimately helped steer both the $1 trillion public-works measure and the $2 trillion social policy bill through a House where Democrats have just a three-vote margin of control.

The larger bill now awaits action in the Senate, where it will probably be changed in ways that necessitate yet another House vote before it can go to Biden for his signature. Final passage of that legislation, coupled with looming votes on a sprawling defense policy bill and raising the limit on the nation’s ability to borrow, could potentially place Murphy in the spotlight once again.

Murphy, 43, who toggles between allying herself with party leaders and vexing them with her objections, has established herself as part of a group of rank-and-file moderate and liberal lawmakers who, empowered by Democrats’ razor-thin majority in the House, can have a major influence.

Their maneuvering on Biden’s social policy bill was not just a break with tradition in the chamber, where Pelosi has presided over a mostly top-down operation, but an early sign of a generational shift underway for a caucus led by octogenarians.

Even if her Orlando-area district is redrawn to more heavily benefit Republicans, Murphy, who ruled out challenging Sen. Marco Rubio, a Republican, in 2022 after it became clear that she would have to first prevail in a challenging primary, could again set her sights on a Senate seat in 2024. A member of the committee investigating what led to the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol, she has also continued to build on a national security portfolio that began with work as a national security specialist at the Pentagon.

She leads the Blue Dog Coalition, a caucus of fiscally conservative Democrats that first came together after the 1994 midterm elections, convinced that their party had lost dozens of seats because it had strayed too far to the left. Before her, every leader of the Blue Dog Coalition was white, and all but one were men; Murphy is the first Vietnamese American woman to serve in the House.

Now in her second consecutive term at the helm of the group, Murphy has worked to slow down the legislation carrying Biden’s sprawling social policy agenda, pushing back on her party leaders’ rush to enact it before the end of the year. Long before a series of off-year election losses rattled the party last month, she pressed to delay a vote on the package until the most politically vulnerable Democrats were comfortable with its components and its price tag — and after the $1 trillion infrastructure measure, which has bipartisan support, had been approved.

Last month's breakfast with Pelosi was the culmination of those efforts. In the hours that followed, Murphy’s office became a de facto command center for centrist holdouts, who darted between closets and offices to field increasingly frustrated calls from activists, Democratic leaders and White House officials.

It was there that lawmakers finalized the painstakingly worded statement that ultimately unlocked the votes needed to send the infrastructure bill to Biden for his signature and set up a vote to pass the social spending bill just before Thanksgiving break.

“It was an incredible moment, because we were able to work directly with one another, even though we had different views, and bridge that divide,” Murphy said in an interview. “This demonstrated that top-down isn’t the only way that you can get things done.”

The shift is notable given that Pelosi, 81, who has led House Democrats for nearly two decades, is known for keeping a tight rein on her fractious caucus, rarely ceding much public control over the process of corralling rank-and-file lawmakers on tricky issues. Several Democrats, triumphant over the outcome, said the shift could be permanent.

“Leadership didn’t initiate it,” Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Wis., a prominent member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, said in an interview about the negotiations that led to the deal. “Leadership didn’t even know what the wording was going to be because we were working on it. We kind of saved it, I think, as individual members who cared about the president’s agenda."

For months, Democratic leaders had played a frantic game of Whac-a-Mole to pacify lawmakers with dueling priorities. Liberals wanted a more generous bill, and moderates, whose main priority was passing the infrastructure measure, wanted to ensure that the social safety net measure would be fully paid for. They doled out promises, tweaked minute details and cobbled together outside data to tally the cost of the social policy package.

By the first week of November, after weeks of fitful negotiations, top Democrats adjourned the House late on Nov. 4 confident that they could win over the half-dozen moderates who were still holding out and pass both bills the next morning.

But when Murphy arrived at Pelosi’s office that day with her centrist allies, they made clear they would not support the social safety net bill without official estimates from the Congressional Budget Office, the nonpartisan scorekeepers on Capitol Hill, demanding information that would require at least a week.

That sent Democratic leaders scrambling to salvage the pair of bills, keeping a procedural vote open for hours as they summoned key players to Pelosi’s suite.

As she fielded calls and pleas to let the bill go through, Murphy received a text message from Rep. Ted Lieu, a liberal Democrat from California: Would she be open to making a commitment of support for the social policy package? She responded that she most likely would, and Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York, the No. 4 Democrat, along with Reps. Josh Gottheimer and Donald Norcross of New Jersey, began working on a statement that soon circulated among Democrats.

A few floors away in the Longworth House Office Building, Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., chair of the Progressive Caucus, gathered her members to figure out whether the group, nearly 100 strong, would be willing to vote for final passage of the infrastructure bill even if the social safety net measure had to wait. Answering a call from Biden, she put her phone on speaker in the middle of the room so he could directly address the dozens of lawmakers assembled there.

Biden asked the caucus point blank to vote for the infrastructure bill. He warned that failure to pass it would tank his entire agenda. And, pressed by liberals in the room, he said he would push for a stronger commitment from the moderates to a vote on the other measure in the coming days.

Once Biden hung up, Rep. Joe Neguse, D-Colo., a member of leadership, reached out to Murphy and the moderate lawmakers to discuss the details of the statement. He was soon heading to Murphy’s office with a few colleagues, including Rep. Jimmy Gomez, D-Calif., who was previously tapped by Pelosi for negotiations; Rep. Mondaire Jones, D-N.Y., a freshman; and Pocan, a former head of the Progressive Caucus who once accused some of the moderates of child abuse during a debate over border aid.

After weeks of polarized meetings where moderates and progressives were hosted separately at the White House, it was one of the few times when the factions had met together.

Lawmakers hunched over a laptop in Murphy’s office to edit what would ultimately be a 123-word statement, debating the semantics, down to the minute differences between terms such as “voting for” and “support.”

They haggled over whether to set a specific date for a vote to reassure progressives that the social policy bill would not be held up for long, settling on the week of Nov. 15.

“We act like we’re enemies and we’re not — we should have been sitting down talking to each other well before this,” said Rep. Kathleen Rice, D-N.Y., a close friend of Murphy's. “It came to both of us saying that.”

Pelosi, who had staked her personal reputation on passage of both pieces of legislation, kept tabs on the talks from afar, filling lawmakers’ voice mailboxes with stern messages exhorting them to get in line behind the infrastructure bill and plucking updates from loyalists as they ducked in and out of private meetings.

The shuttle diplomacy gained urgency as the day wore on. At one point, Rep. Sara Jacobs, D-Calif., a freshman, took off her shoes to run through the marble hallways, ferrying messages between leaders and representatives huddling in the Longworth building across the street.

Ultimately, the joint statement — issued from personal Twitter accounts — was enough to secure the votes needed to pass the infrastructure bill the next morning and the social policy measure before Thanksgiving.

For the lawmakers who helped broker the deal — several of whom are widely seen as likely candidates to lead the party in years to come — it was a validation of their ability to bridge internal divides, and a reminder that sometimes the best solutions come from the bottom up.

“Going forward,” Rice said, “it’s going to be hard for rank-and-file members not to be heard.”

Over a breakfast of bagels and doughnuts in Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s Capitol office last month, Rep. Stephanie Murphy, D-Fla., and a group of fellow centrist Democrats laid down an ultimatum: There was no way they would vote for President Joe Biden’s sprawling social safety net and climate bill until they saw an official tally of its true cost.

Over a breakfast of bagels and doughnuts in Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s Capitol office last month, Rep. Stephanie Murphy, D-Fla., and a group of fellow centrist Democrats laid down an ultimatum: There was no way they would vote for President Joe Biden’s sprawling social safety net and climate bill until they saw an official tally of its true cost. Their declaration torpedoed Pelosi’s plans to finally bring to a close months of feuding among the factions in her party and hold a vote that day to push through the twin pillars of Biden’s domestic agenda, leaving the fate of the ambitious social policy measure and a bipartisan infrastructure package in doubt. But within days, it was Murphy who helped seal a deal to salvage both, by drawing up a carefully negotiated statement of support for the safety net legislation that persuaded progressives to vote for the infrastructure bill. It helped lead to a fragile detente between moderates and liberals who had been at odds for months over Biden’s plans and ultimately helped steer both the $1 trillion public-works measure and the $2 trillion social policy bill through a House where Democrats have just a three-vote margin of control. The larger bill now awaits action in the Senate, where it will probably be changed in ways that necessitate yet another House vote before it can go to Biden for his signature. Final passage of that legislation, coupled with looming votes on a sprawling defense policy bill and raising the limit on the nation’s ability to borrow, could potentially place Murphy in the spotlight once again. Murphy, 43, who toggles between allying herself with party leaders and vexing them with her objections, has established herself as part of a group of rank-and-file moderate and liberal lawmakers who, empowered by Democrats’ razor-thin majority in the House, can have a major influence. Their maneuvering on Biden’s social policy bill was not just a break with tradition in the chamber, where Pelosi has presided over a mostly top-down operation, but an early sign of a generational shift underway for a caucus led by octogenarians. Even if her Orlando-area district is redrawn to more heavily benefit Republicans, Murphy, who ruled out challenging Sen. Marco Rubio, a Republican, in 2022 after it became clear that she would have to first prevail in a challenging primary, could again set her sights on a Senate seat in 2024. A member of the committee investigating what led to the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol, she has also continued to build on a national security portfolio that began with work as a national security specialist at the Pentagon. She leads the Blue Dog Coalition, a caucus of fiscally conservative Democrats that first came together after the 1994 midterm elections, convinced that their party had lost dozens of seats because it had strayed too far to the left. Before her, every leader of the Blue Dog Coalition was white, and all but one were men; Murphy is the first Vietnamese American woman to serve in the House. Now in her second consecutive term at the helm of the group, Murphy has worked to slow down the legislation carrying Biden’s sprawling social policy agenda, pushing back on her party leaders’ rush to enact it before the end of the year. Long before a series of off-year election losses rattled the party last month, she pressed to delay a vote on the package until the most politically vulnerable Democrats were comfortable with its components and its price tag — and after the $1 trillion infrastructure measure, which has bipartisan support, had been approved. Last month's breakfast with Pelosi was the culmination of those efforts. In the hours that followed, Murphy’s office became a de facto command center for centrist holdouts, who darted between closets and offices to field increasingly frustrated calls from activists, Democratic leaders and White House officials. It was there that lawmakers finalized the painstakingly worded statement that ultimately unlocked the votes needed to send the infrastructure bill to Biden for his signature and set up a vote to pass the social spending bill just before Thanksgiving break. “It was an incredible moment, because we were able to work directly with one another, even though we had different views, and bridge that divide,” Murphy said in an interview. “This demonstrated that top-down isn’t the only way that you can get things done.” The shift is notable given that Pelosi, 81, who has led House Democrats for nearly two decades, is known for keeping a tight rein on her fractious caucus, rarely ceding much public control over the process of corralling rank-and-file lawmakers on tricky issues. Several Democrats, triumphant over the outcome, said the shift could be permanent. “Leadership didn’t initiate it,” Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Wis., a prominent member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, said in an interview about the negotiations that led to the deal. “Leadership didn’t even know what the wording was going to be because we were working on it. We kind of saved it, I think, as individual members who cared about the president’s agenda." For months, Democratic leaders had played a frantic game of Whac-a-Mole to pacify lawmakers with dueling priorities. Liberals wanted a more generous bill, and moderates, whose main priority was passing the infrastructure measure, wanted to ensure that the social safety net measure would be fully paid for. They doled out promises, tweaked minute details and cobbled together outside data to tally the cost of the social policy package. By the first week of November, after weeks of fitful negotiations, top Democrats adjourned the House late on Nov. 4 confident that they could win over the half-dozen moderates who were still holding out and pass both bills the next morning. But when Murphy arrived at Pelosi’s office that day with her centrist allies, they made clear they would not support the social safety net bill without official estimates from the Congressional Budget Office, the nonpartisan scorekeepers on Capitol Hill, demanding information that would require at least a week. That sent Democratic leaders scrambling to salvage the pair of bills, keeping a procedural vote open for hours as they summoned key players to Pelosi’s suite. As she fielded calls and pleas to let the bill go through, Murphy received a text message from Rep. Ted Lieu, a liberal Democrat from California: Would she be open to making a commitment of support for the social policy package? She responded that she most likely would, and Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York, the No. 4 Democrat, along with Reps. Josh Gottheimer and Donald Norcross of New Jersey, began working on a statement that soon circulated among Democrats. A few floors away in the Longworth House Office Building, Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., chair of the Progressive Caucus, gathered her members to figure out whether the group, nearly 100 strong, would be willing to vote for final passage of the infrastructure bill even if the social safety net measure had to wait. Answering a call from Biden, she put her phone on speaker in the middle of the room so he could directly address the dozens of lawmakers assembled there. Biden asked the caucus point blank to vote for the infrastructure bill. He warned that failure to pass it would tank his entire agenda. And, pressed by liberals in the room, he said he would push for a stronger commitment from the moderates to a vote on the other measure in the coming days. Once Biden hung up, Rep. Joe Neguse, D-Colo., a member of leadership, reached out to Murphy and the moderate lawmakers to discuss the details of the statement. He was soon heading to Murphy’s office with a few colleagues, including Rep. Jimmy Gomez, D-Calif., who was previously tapped by Pelosi for negotiations; Rep. Mondaire Jones, D-N.Y., a freshman; and Pocan, a former head of the Progressive Caucus who once accused some of the moderates of child abuse during a debate over border aid. After weeks of polarized meetings where moderates and progressives were hosted separately at the White House, it was one of the few times when the factions had met together. Lawmakers hunched over a laptop in Murphy’s office to edit what would ultimately be a 123-word statement, debating the semantics, down to the minute differences between terms such as “voting for” and “support.” They haggled over whether to set a specific date for a vote to reassure progressives that the social policy bill would not be held up for long, settling on the week of Nov. 15. “We act like we’re enemies and we’re not — we should have been sitting down talking to each other well before this,” said Rep. Kathleen Rice, D-N.Y., a close friend of Murphy's. “It came to both of us saying that.” Pelosi, who had staked her personal reputation on passage of both pieces of legislation, kept tabs on the talks from afar, filling lawmakers’ voice mailboxes with stern messages exhorting them to get in line behind the infrastructure bill and plucking updates from loyalists as they ducked in and out of private meetings. The shuttle diplomacy gained urgency as the day wore on. At one point, Rep. Sara Jacobs, D-Calif., a freshman, took off her shoes to run through the marble hallways, ferrying messages between leaders and representatives huddling in the Longworth building across the street. Ultimately, the joint statement — issued from personal Twitter accounts — was enough to secure the votes needed to pass the infrastructure bill the next morning and the social policy measure before Thanksgiving. For the lawmakers who helped broker the deal — several of whom are widely seen as likely candidates to lead the party in years to come — it was a validation of their ability to bridge internal divides, and a reminder that sometimes the best solutions come from the bottom up. “Going forward,” Rice said, “it’s going to be hard for rank-and-file members not to be heard.”

How Stephanie Murphy, a holdout on Biden's agenda, helped salvage it

On a Wednesday night in September, while President Joe Biden backslapped in the Republican dugout during the annual congressional baseball game, Speaker Nancy Pelosi sat nearby, sober-faced and wagging her finger while speaking into her cellphone, toiling to salvage her party’s top legislative priority as it teetered on the brink of collapse.

On the other end of the line was Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., a crucial swing vote on Biden’s sweeping social policy bill, and Pelosi, seated in the VIP section behind the dugout at Nationals Park, was trying to persuade him to embrace $2.1 trillion in spending and climate change provisions she considered essential for the legislation.

In a moment captured by C-SPAN cameras that went viral, Pelosi appeared to grow agitated as Manchin, according to sources apprised of the call, told her that he could not accept more than $1.5 trillion — and was prepared to provide a document clearly laying out his parameters for the package, bench marks that House Democrats had been clamoring to see.

The call reflected how Pelosi’s pivotal role in shepherding Biden’s agenda on Capitol Hill has reached far beyond the House that is her primary responsibility and into the Senate, where she has engaged in quiet and little-noticed talks with key lawmakers who have the power to kill the package or propel it into law.

Her efforts — fraught with challenges and littered with near-death experiences for the bill — finally paid off Friday with House passage of the $2.2 trillion social policy and climate change package.

Along the way, Pelosi, who is known for delivering legislative victories in tough circumstances, was forced repeatedly to pull back from a floor showdown on the bill as she labored to unite the feuding liberal and moderate factions in her caucus. A crucial but less-seen part of her task was sounding out and cajoling a pair of Democratic holdouts in the Senate, Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, who were opposed to major elements of Biden’s plan and had the power to upend whatever delicate deal Pelosi was able to strike.

It was only after her call with Manchin at the baseball game that Pelosi discovered that the West Virginian’s demands were contained in a sort of makeshift contract he had delivered to Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. and the majority leader, in late July. The document, which was signed by both men, had been kept secret — including from her — for months.

“I would have liked to have known that,” Pelosi said Friday, recounting how she felt blindsided. “However, it was what it was.”

Manchin’s insistence on holding down the cost of the package threw a wrench into Pelosi’s plan to quickly advance the monumental social policy bill, sending it instead through a series of tortuous twists and turns until Friday morning, when she finally managed to pass it.

She is still not done, with the Senate now getting a chance to reshape the measure in the hope of eventually sending it back for final House approval and Biden’s signature. Manchin is still demanding major changes, such as the jettisoning of a new four-week paid family and medical leave program that Pelosi has made a top priority.

But in the weeks since their call, Manchin has privately expressed an openness to embracing a costlier plan than the one he initially insisted upon, and the speaker now says she is confident that the measure approved by the House will reemerge from the Senate mostly intact.

“They may want to hone or sharpen this or that, and that’s a negotiation,” Pelosi said of the Senate. “But 90-some percent of that bill is what it is.”

Initial approval of the legislation in the House was a considerable achievement in itself, considering unanimous Republican opposition and the deep Democratic divisions over the package. And it came despite whispers in the corridors of the Capitol that lawmakers no longer feared Pelosi as much as they had in the past, since she is believed to be nearing the end of her tenure.

In the end, as she did with the financial bailout in 2008, the Obama-era stimulus plan in 2009 and the Affordable Care Act in 2010, among others, Pelosi found a way to win when it appeared she could lose. This time, she did so with a bill that contains history-making initiatives for the environment and substantial health care, child care, family leave and educational programs that she and her Democratic colleagues have sought for decades.

Pelosi, 81, acknowledged Friday that it was a legacy piece of legislation, even if she was not willing to entertain questions about her own future.

“We must pass it, and then we have to see it for me to have an almost religious experience of appreciating what it is,” Pelosi said in her Capitol office, not long after the vote to approve the bill, which was delayed until Friday morning by an angry eight-hour stemwinder from Rep. Kevin McCarthy of California, the Republican leader. “But it’s a big deal.”

While her main responsibility was wrangling the House, Pelosi devoted considerable time to Manchin and Sinema, both of whom hold the power to scuttle the deal in the evenly divided Senate if they balk.

Pelosi has ties to both. She has bonded with Manchin, who like Pelosi grew up in a political family, over their shared Italian heritage and Catholicism and her work on health and pension benefits for coal miners, represented in her office by a statue of a miner gifted to her by Manchin.

When Pelosi wanted to send a message to Manchin about voting rights this year, she had it delivered on a literal silver platter given to her by Robert C. Byrd, the former Senate leader from West Virginia whom Manchin often cites as a guiding star. The tray, which is warmly inscribed in appreciation for Pelosi’s fundraising work on delivering a Democratic Senate majority in 1987, was a reminder for Manchin of the speaker’s past relationship with his predecessor.

“I thought he should see it,” Pelosi said with a chuckle.

Pelosi knew Sinema as an activist in Arizona even before she was elected to the House, where they developed a mutual respect and rapport. It was warning signs from Sinema in late September that led Pelosi to begin the delicate task of separating the social policy bill from a bipartisan infrastructure measure that had already passed the Senate with Sinema as a main author.

Progressives were adamant that they would only back the public works bill after they were assured that Senate Democrats, notably Manchin and Sinema, were committed to voting for the social policy bill — an assurance that did not, and still does not, exist.

With the deadline for a vote approaching, Pelosi opened a back channel to Sinema through former Rep. Joe Kennedy III, a friend of Sinema’s who entered the House with her in 2013.

He reported back that Sinema was ready to abandon the social spending bill entirely if she did not quickly see the House developing a path forward on the public works measure. In response, Pelosi sent a letter to her colleagues Sept. 26 saying the House would take up the infrastructure bill the next day, a plan that drew vehement opposition from progressives and led to a stalemate for weeks.

As for Manchin, Pelosi intensified her outreach to him following a Sept. 16 video conference call she had with Biden and Schumer. The three Democrats, who have been friends and colleagues for decades, deepened their bond during the talks, ribbing and encouraging each other in their vastly varying styles.

During that particular call, according to people with direct knowledge of it, Biden told the two congressional leaders that he had been encouraged by his discussions with Sinema and Manchin, though they agreed it might be to their benefit to have Pelosi talk to Manchin as well.

“I’m with ya,” Biden told Pelosi and Schumer of their plans.

“Put an F-word in front of that,” Schumer said enthusiastically.

“Now that you’ve resorted to that language, I’m going to thank you, Mr. President,” retorted the speaker, who frowns on profanity.

“Nancy does not allow me to curse,” Schumer responded. “I try to curb my foul mouth in front of her, with some degree of success.”

“Every time I look at Nancy, I think of myself as some altar boy,” said the president.

When she went back to Manchin, he had a reassuring message.

“There is a place we can come together,” he told Pelosi, according to people with knowledge of the conversation. “I feel quite certain. I always want to make a deal.”

As attention now pivots to the Senate, Pelosi said Manchin should embrace the reductions he had already won in the social spending plan rather than pursue additional ones.

“Take pride in what you have already done,” she said she had advised Manchin, then quickly pivoted to the argument she has been making to Democrats who wanted a more generous bill: “It’s still a gigantic number.”

In reaching for such an ambitious measure, Republican critics charge that Pelosi is placing Democrats in political peril — “marching them right off a cliff,” in the words of Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., the minority leader — as she prepares to leave Congress. Pelosi dismissed the criticism, but refused to address her own plans.

“The first to ask is the last to know,” she warned.

Pelosi credits Biden with the vision and persistence to pursue the social safety net and climate legislation, and he gave her and her colleagues credit of their own when he called Friday to congratulate her after the vote.

He ended the conversation with what has become a routine expression of his regard for Pelosi, according to people with knowledge of the exchange.

“All right, love you,” Biden told her.

“Love you, too,” Pelosi responded.

On a Wednesday night in September, while President Joe Biden backslapped in the Republican dugout during the annual congressional baseball game, Speaker Nancy Pelosi sat nearby, sober-faced and wagging her finger while speaking into her cellphone, toiling to salvage her party’s top legislative priority as it teetered on the brink of collapse.

On a Wednesday night in September, while President Joe Biden backslapped in the Republican dugout during the annual congressional baseball game, Speaker Nancy Pelosi sat nearby, sober-faced and wagging her finger while speaking into her cellphone, toiling to salvage her party’s top legislative priority as it teetered on the brink of collapse. On the other end of the line was Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., a crucial swing vote on Biden’s sweeping social policy bill, and Pelosi, seated in the VIP section behind the dugout at Nationals Park, was trying to persuade him to embrace $2.1 trillion in spending and climate change provisions she considered essential for the legislation. In a moment captured by C-SPAN cameras that went viral, Pelosi appeared to grow agitated as Manchin, according to sources apprised of the call, told her that he could not accept more than $1.5 trillion — and was prepared to provide a document clearly laying out his parameters for the package, bench marks that House Democrats had been clamoring to see. The call reflected how Pelosi’s pivotal role in shepherding Biden’s agenda on Capitol Hill has reached far beyond the House that is her primary responsibility and into the Senate, where she has engaged in quiet and little-noticed talks with key lawmakers who have the power to kill the package or propel it into law. Her efforts — fraught with challenges and littered with near-death experiences for the bill — finally paid off Friday with House passage of the $2.2 trillion social policy and climate change package. Along the way, Pelosi, who is known for delivering legislative victories in tough circumstances, was forced repeatedly to pull back from a floor showdown on the bill as she labored to unite the feuding liberal and moderate factions in her caucus. A crucial but less-seen part of her task was sounding out and cajoling a pair of Democratic holdouts in the Senate, Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, who were opposed to major elements of Biden’s plan and had the power to upend whatever delicate deal Pelosi was able to strike. It was only after her call with Manchin at the baseball game that Pelosi discovered that the West Virginian’s demands were contained in a sort of makeshift contract he had delivered to Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. and the majority leader, in late July. The document, which was signed by both men, had been kept secret — including from her — for months. “I would have liked to have known that,” Pelosi said Friday, recounting how she felt blindsided. “However, it was what it was.” Manchin’s insistence on holding down the cost of the package threw a wrench into Pelosi’s plan to quickly advance the monumental social policy bill, sending it instead through a series of tortuous twists and turns until Friday morning, when she finally managed to pass it. She is still not done, with the Senate now getting a chance to reshape the measure in the hope of eventually sending it back for final House approval and Biden’s signature. Manchin is still demanding major changes, such as the jettisoning of a new four-week paid family and medical leave program that Pelosi has made a top priority. But in the weeks since their call, Manchin has privately expressed an openness to embracing a costlier plan than the one he initially insisted upon, and the speaker now says she is confident that the measure approved by the House will reemerge from the Senate mostly intact. “They may want to hone or sharpen this or that, and that’s a negotiation,” Pelosi said of the Senate. “But 90-some percent of that bill is what it is.” Initial approval of the legislation in the House was a considerable achievement in itself, considering unanimous Republican opposition and the deep Democratic divisions over the package. And it came despite whispers in the corridors of the Capitol that lawmakers no longer feared Pelosi as much as they had in the past, since she is believed to be nearing the end of her tenure. In the end, as she did with the financial bailout in 2008, the Obama-era stimulus plan in 2009 and the Affordable Care Act in 2010, among others, Pelosi found a way to win when it appeared she could lose. This time, she did so with a bill that contains history-making initiatives for the environment and substantial health care, child care, family leave and educational programs that she and her Democratic colleagues have sought for decades. Pelosi, 81, acknowledged Friday that it was a legacy piece of legislation, even if she was not willing to entertain questions about her own future. “We must pass it, and then we have to see it for me to have an almost religious experience of appreciating what it is,” Pelosi said in her Capitol office, not long after the vote to approve the bill, which was delayed until Friday morning by an angry eight-hour stemwinder from Rep. Kevin McCarthy of California, the Republican leader. “But it’s a big deal.” While her main responsibility was wrangling the House, Pelosi devoted considerable time to Manchin and Sinema, both of whom hold the power to scuttle the deal in the evenly divided Senate if they balk. Pelosi has ties to both. She has bonded with Manchin, who like Pelosi grew up in a political family, over their shared Italian heritage and Catholicism and her work on health and pension benefits for coal miners, represented in her office by a statue of a miner gifted to her by Manchin. When Pelosi wanted to send a message to Manchin about voting rights this year, she had it delivered on a literal silver platter given to her by Robert C. Byrd, the former Senate leader from West Virginia whom Manchin often cites as a guiding star. The tray, which is warmly inscribed in appreciation for Pelosi’s fundraising work on delivering a Democratic Senate majority in 1987, was a reminder for Manchin of the speaker’s past relationship with his predecessor. “I thought he should see it,” Pelosi said with a chuckle. Pelosi knew Sinema as an activist in Arizona even before she was elected to the House, where they developed a mutual respect and rapport. It was warning signs from Sinema in late September that led Pelosi to begin the delicate task of separating the social policy bill from a bipartisan infrastructure measure that had already passed the Senate with Sinema as a main author. Progressives were adamant that they would only back the public works bill after they were assured that Senate Democrats, notably Manchin and Sinema, were committed to voting for the social policy bill — an assurance that did not, and still does not, exist. With the deadline for a vote approaching, Pelosi opened a back channel to Sinema through former Rep. Joe Kennedy III, a friend of Sinema’s who entered the House with her in 2013. He reported back that Sinema was ready to abandon the social spending bill entirely if she did not quickly see the House developing a path forward on the public works measure. In response, Pelosi sent a letter to her colleagues Sept. 26 saying the House would take up the infrastructure bill the next day, a plan that drew vehement opposition from progressives and led to a stalemate for weeks. As for Manchin, Pelosi intensified her outreach to him following a Sept. 16 video conference call she had with Biden and Schumer. The three Democrats, who have been friends and colleagues for decades, deepened their bond during the talks, ribbing and encouraging each other in their vastly varying styles. During that particular call, according to people with direct knowledge of it, Biden told the two congressional leaders that he had been encouraged by his discussions with Sinema and Manchin, though they agreed it might be to their benefit to have Pelosi talk to Manchin as well. “I’m with ya,” Biden told Pelosi and Schumer of their plans. “Put an F-word in front of that,” Schumer said enthusiastically. “Now that you’ve resorted to that language, I’m going to thank you, Mr. President,” retorted the speaker, who frowns on profanity. “Nancy does not allow me to curse,” Schumer responded. “I try to curb my foul mouth in front of her, with some degree of success.” “Every time I look at Nancy, I think of myself as some altar boy,” said the president. When she went back to Manchin, he had a reassuring message. “There is a place we can come together,” he told Pelosi, according to people with knowledge of the conversation. “I feel quite certain. I always want to make a deal.” As attention now pivots to the Senate, Pelosi said Manchin should embrace the reductions he had already won in the social spending plan rather than pursue additional ones. “Take pride in what you have already done,” she said she had advised Manchin, then quickly pivoted to the argument she has been making to Democrats who wanted a more generous bill: “It’s still a gigantic number.” In reaching for such an ambitious measure, Republican critics charge that Pelosi is placing Democrats in political peril — “marching them right off a cliff,” in the words of Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., the minority leader — as she prepares to leave Congress. Pelosi dismissed the criticism, but refused to address her own plans. “The first to ask is the last to know,” she warned. Pelosi credits Biden with the vision and persistence to pursue the social safety net and climate legislation, and he gave her and her colleagues credit of their own when he called Friday to congratulate her after the vote. He ended the conversation with what has become a routine expression of his regard for Pelosi, according to people with knowledge of the exchange. “All right, love you,” Biden told her. “Love you, too,” Pelosi responded.

In the House and the Senate, Nancy Pelosi Gets Democrats to Play ball

After months of fierce political wrangling, House speaker Nancy Pelosi said Sunday that she expects agreement on a huge social spending package and a vote on a major infrastructure package this week, adding, "We're almost there."

US President Joe Biden had been intent on securing passage of the two packages -- which Democrats see as vital to their political hopes in midterm elections next year -- before he leaves for a climate summit in Glasgow that opens October 31.&nbsp;

Asked on CNN's "State of the Union" whether the agreement on the spending package and votes on infrastructure could come next week, Pelosi replied, "That's the plan."

And on the spending package specifically, which has divided progressive and moderate Democrats, she said: "I think we're pretty much there now... We're almost there. It's just the language of it."

Pelosi's comments came as Biden was to meet at his home in Delaware with Joe Manchin, one of the two Senate Democrats whose resistance to the president's big Build Back Better social program had proved a major stumbling block.&nbsp;

Biden himself had expressed optimism on Thursday during a televised town-hall appearance, saying, "I do think I'll get a deal."

Biden said his feuding Democratic party was "down to four or five issues" but "I think we can get there."

Democrats have razor-thin majorities in both houses of Congress. However, internal divisions are preventing passage of a $1.2 trillion infrastructure revamp and the huge separate social spending bill that Biden says will transform finances and fairness for ordinary Americans.

With pressure growing on the party not to come away empty-handed, Biden has stepped up efforts to broker a truce between more conservative members like Manchin and the left-leaning progressive wing.

He originally pushed for $3.5 trillion in spending on the social support bill -- including an array of benefits for students, families and the elderly -- but the latest figure under consideration is about $2 trillion.

Pelosi told CNN on Sunday that "we have 90 percent of the bill agreed to and written, we just have some of the last decisions to be made.&nbsp;

"It is less than was projected to begin with but it is still bigger than anything we have ever done in terms of addressing the needs of American families."

After months of fierce political wrangling, House speaker Nancy Pelosi said Sunday that she expects agreement on a huge social spending package and a vote on a major infrastructure package this week, adding, "We're almost there.

After months of fierce political wrangling, House speaker Nancy Pelosi said Sunday that she expects agreement on a huge social spending package and a vote on a major infrastructure package this week, adding, "We're almost there." US President Joe Biden had been intent on securing passage of the two packages -- which Democrats see as vital to their political hopes in midterm elections next year -- before he leaves for a climate summit in Glasgow that opens October 31. Asked on CNN's "State of the Union" whether the agreement on the spending package and votes on infrastructure could come next week, Pelosi replied, "That's the plan." And on the spending package specifically, which has divided progressive and moderate Democrats, she said: "I think we're pretty much there now... We're almost there. It's just the language of it." Pelosi's comments came as Biden was to meet at his home in Delaware with Joe Manchin, one of the two Senate Democrats whose resistance to the president's big Build Back Better social program had proved a major stumbling block. Biden himself had expressed optimism on Thursday during a televised town-hall appearance, saying, "I do think I'll get a deal." Biden said his feuding Democratic party was "down to four or five issues" but "I think we can get there." Democrats have razor-thin majorities in both houses of Congress. However, internal divisions are preventing passage of a $1.2 trillion infrastructure revamp and the huge separate social spending bill that Biden says will transform finances and fairness for ordinary Americans. With pressure growing on the party not to come away empty-handed, Biden has stepped up efforts to broker a truce between more conservative members like Manchin and the left-leaning progressive wing. He originally pushed for $3.5 trillion in spending on the social support bill -- including an array of benefits for students, families and the elderly -- but the latest figure under consideration is about $2 trillion. Pelosi told CNN on Sunday that "we have 90 percent of the bill agreed to and written, we just have some of the last decisions to be made. "It is less than was projected to begin with but it is still bigger than anything we have ever done in terms of addressing the needs of American families."

Pelosi says 'we're almost there' on huge US legislative bills

After accepting an award in Lisbon, US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said that she thinks a lot about what she would be doing if she "ruled the world". &nbsp;

The remark came on Monday after the California Democrat accepted the Women For Peace and Security Award at the 67th annual Session of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly in Lisbon, Portugal. &nbsp;

Also Read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/israel-uae-ministers-in-us-as-biden-seeks-to-expand-normalisation-420266">Israel, UAE ministers in US as Biden seeks to expand normalisation&nbsp;</a>

Pelosi said, “When people ask me, ‘If you ruled the world, what one thing would you do?’ — I think about that a lot. It would be to prioritise the education of women and girls ... It would make the biggest difference not only in their lives, their families, their communities but to the world.” &nbsp;

“Because we truly do believe that when women succeed, America succeeds — or any country succeeds. But globally, we all succeed,” the leader said. &nbsp;

Also Read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/texas-governor-bars-all-covid-19-vaccine-mandates-in-state-rips-biden-for-bullying-420106" hreflang="en">Texas governor bars all COVID-19 vaccine mandates in state, rips Biden for 'bullying'</a>

The speaker looks to display the award at her office in the US Capitol. &nbsp;

Pelosi added, "I will display with great pride in the Speaker's Office in the Capitol as a constant reminder and inspiration of the work that you do and the importance of parliaments in the work of security, the economy, governance — the issues that brought us here today." &nbsp; &nbsp;

(With inputs from agencies)&nbsp;

After accepting an award in Lisbon, US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said that she thinks a lot about what she would be doing if she "ruled the world". The remark came on Monday after the California Democrat accepted the Women For Peace and Security Award at the 67th annual Session of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly in Lisbon, Portugal.

After accepting an award in Lisbon, US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said that she thinks a lot about what she would be doing if she "ruled the world". The remark came on Monday after the California Democrat accepted the Women For Peace and Security Award at the 67th annual Session of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly in Lisbon, Portugal. Also Read: Israel, UAE ministers in US as Biden seeks to expand normalisation Pelosi said, “When people ask me, ‘If you ruled the world, what one thing would you do?’ — I think about that a lot. It would be to prioritise the education of women and girls ... It would make the biggest difference not only in their lives, their families, their communities but to the world.” “Because we truly do believe that when women succeed, America succeeds — or any country succeeds. But globally, we all succeed,” the leader said. Also Read: Texas governor bars all COVID-19 vaccine mandates in state, rips Biden for 'bullying' The speaker looks to display the award at her office in the US Capitol. Pelosi added, "I will display with great pride in the Speaker's Office in the Capitol as a constant reminder and inspiration of the work that you do and the importance of parliaments in the work of security, the economy, governance — the issues that brought us here today." (With inputs from agencies)

US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi thinks ‘a lot’ about what to do if she 'ruled the world'

Slips of the tongue seems to have become a common affair in US President Joe Biden’s administration. After Biden himself made the gaffe some time ago, now its House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s turn. &nbsp;&nbsp;

On Tuesday, Pelosi misspoke, while calling for the passage of Barack Obama’s agenda instead of Biden’s.&nbsp;

Watch:&nbsp;

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/pentagon-leaders-to-testify-on-us-pullout-from-afghanistan-416640/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>
</div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">×</a></div>

The leader called on the Congress to “keep government open” and work to “address the full Obama agenda of building back better.” &nbsp;

Pelosi has argued that the Congress has a “moral imperative” to pass “the Biden Build Back Better Act,” in a Tuesday "Dear Colleague" letter by writing, “We must and will move forward to keep government open and to lift the debt ceiling.” &nbsp;

Also Read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/us-senators-seek-probe-into-pakistans-role-in-talibans-afghan-victory-416821" hreflang="en">US senators seek probe into Pakistan's role in Taliban’s Afghan victory</a>

Pelosi wrote, “As I write this to you, negotiations are being led by President Biden to advance his vision. The President takes a pride in his agenda, which is shared overwhelmingly by House and Senate Democrats, which creates jobs, gives tax cuts for the middle class, lowers costs for health care and is paid by making the wealthiest few and big corporations pay their fair share.” &nbsp;

Also Read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/liberals-dig-in-against-infrastructure-bill-as-party-divisions-persist-416842" hreflang="en">Liberals dig in against infrastructure bill as party divisions persist</a>

Meanwhile, Biden seems to have been gaffe-prone. The 78-year-old appeared to mistake Syria for Libya at a news conference after G7 summit in the UK some months ago. He appeared to make the mistake twice. &nbsp;

During a meeting with governors, US President Joe Biden unintentionally revealed a note from his staff informing him that he had something on his face after a yellow mark was noticed on his chin. &nbsp;

(With inputs from agencies)&nbsp;

Slips of the tongue seems to have become a common affair in US President Joe Biden’s administration. After Biden himself made the gaffe some time ago, now its House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s turn.

Slips of the tongue seems to have become a common affair in US President Joe Biden’s administration. After Biden himself made the gaffe some time ago, now its House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s turn. On Tuesday, Pelosi misspoke, while calling for the passage of Barack Obama’s agenda instead of Biden’s. Watch: × The leader called on the Congress to “keep government open” and work to “address the full Obama agenda of building back better.” Pelosi has argued that the Congress has a “moral imperative” to pass “the Biden Build Back Better Act,” in a Tuesday "Dear Colleague" letter by writing, “We must and will move forward to keep government open and to lift the debt ceiling.” Also Read: US senators seek probe into Pakistan's role in Taliban’s Afghan victory Pelosi wrote, “As I write this to you, negotiations are being led by President Biden to advance his vision. The President takes a pride in his agenda, which is shared overwhelmingly by House and Senate Democrats, which creates jobs, gives tax cuts for the middle class, lowers costs for health care and is paid by making the wealthiest few and big corporations pay their fair share.” Also Read: Liberals dig in against infrastructure bill as party divisions persist Meanwhile, Biden seems to have been gaffe-prone. The 78-year-old appeared to mistake Syria for Libya at a news conference after G7 summit in the UK some months ago. He appeared to make the mistake twice. During a meeting with governors, US President Joe Biden unintentionally revealed a note from his staff informing him that he had something on his face after a yellow mark was noticed on his chin. (With inputs from agencies)

Gaffe-prone US leaders do it again: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi mistakes Obama for Biden

Business groups and some Senate Republicans — working at cross-purposes with Republican leaders in the House — have mounted an all-out drive to secure GOP votes for a bipartisan infrastructure bill before a final vote Thursday.

Although the measure is the product of a compromise among moderates in both parties, House Republican leaders are leaning on their members to reject the $1 trillion infrastructure bill by disparaging its contents and arguing that it will only pave the way for Democrats to push through their far larger climate change and social policy bill.

Their opposition has ratcheted up pressure on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who has the more progressive members of her Democratic caucus threatening to withhold their support for the infrastructure package until Congress acts on that broader bill. If Republicans unite in opposition, Pelosi can afford to lose as few as three Democrats on the bill.

But some Republican senators who helped write the bill, along with influential business groups that support it — including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Business Roundtable — have started a countereffort to try to persuade House Republicans to back the legislation.

“It’s a good bill; it’s right there for the country, so I’m encouraging Republicans to support it,” said Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, and one of the bill’s negotiators, who said he was working the phones hard. “There’ll be some that have told me they will, but they’re under a lot of pressure.”

How the conflicting pressure campaigns play out could determine the fate of the infrastructure bill. On Tuesday, liberal Democrats accused Pelosi of a betrayal for abandoning her promise that the House would not take up the infrastructure bill until after the Senate secured passage of the larger measure.

While Democratic leaders are working hard to secure as many of those liberal votes as possible, they know defections will have to be made up by House Republicans.

“I’d say the bill is likely to pass, but it’s going to be a squeaker,” Neil Bradley, an executive vice president and chief policy officer for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, who once worked for House Republican leadership, said Tuesday.

Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., who runs his party’s vote-pressuring operation in the House, is closely tracking which Republicans intend to vote for the infrastructure bill.

“We’re working to keep that number as low as we possibly can,” he said.

A few House Republicans who are members of the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus have announced their support for the measure, including Reps. Tom Reed of New York, Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania and Don Bacon of Nebraska. On Monday, Rep. Don Young of Alaska, the longest-serving member of the House, announced his support with an impassioned speech on the House floor.

But so far, such declarations are few. On Wednesday, Third Way, a centrist Democratic group with corporate backing, released a testy letter its president had written to 26 Republican “Problem Solvers” — only one of whom, Bacon, has indicated he is a “yes” vote — demanding they live up to their name.

“You have run for office and raised campaign funds on the promise that you are there to solve the nation’s problems and put country over party,” wrote Third Way’s president, Jonathan Cowan. “Anything other than declaring your support now and voting for the bill, in turn, would signal clearly to your constituents that you support nothing more than faux bipartisanship.”

Moderate Democrats say other supporters may surface — maybe as many as 20 Republican votes — if Pelosi can win over enough liberals to keep it close. But with a Thursday vote looming, time is running out.

Rep. Peter Meijer, a freshman Republican from Michigan and one of the “Problem Solvers” who received the letter, said he had heard from Republicans on both sides of the issue, and, “the consensus is: better both fail.”

President Joe Biden "saddling infrastructure with this $3.5 trillion albatross around its neck was a poison pill for those of us who wanted a bipartisan solution,” he said.

The infrastructure bill is an unusual phenomenon in a starkly polarized Congress: a truly bipartisan and significant bill, hammered out by Democrats and Republicans before it passed the Senate last month with 69 votes, 19 of them Republican, including that of the minority leader, Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky.

With $550 billion in new federal spending, the measure would provide $65 billion to expand high-speed internet access; $110 billion for roads, bridges and other projects; $25 billion for airports; and the most funding for Amtrak since the passenger rail service was founded in 1971. It would also renew and revamp existing infrastructure and transportation programs set to expire Friday.

But because House Democratic leaders have at least verbally packaged it with a larger, $3.5 trillion climate change and social policy bill, it has been caught up in the politics of that measure — and broader Republican efforts to thwart Biden’s agenda.

Scalise put it in the loftiest of terms Tuesday: “This week, we’re going to see an epic battle play out between free-market capitalism and big-government socialism. That’s what’s at stake.”

With Democrats publicly feuding over Biden’s agenda, senior Republicans have little interest in having their rank and file bail Pelosi out of her predicament.

“The legislative crisis that’s before her is one of her own creation that she needs the progressives to bail her out of,” said Rep. Jason Smith of Missouri, the ranking Republican on the House Budget Committee.

Supporters of the infrastructure bill are trying to stay cleareyed about the bill’s merits, not the broader politics.

“It’s true people have been rhetorically linking the two, but really they aren’t,” Bradley said. “If that vote passes, the bill goes to the president for his signature.”

And they argue that House Republicans are making the wrong political calculation about the infrastructure measure. GOP leaders have warned that the bill is a Trojan horse whose passage would only increase the chances of Democrats passing the more costly plan that Biden calls his Build Back Better agenda, which is packed with expansions of social safety net programs, initiatives to combat climate change and tax increases on corporations and the wealthy.

“I just think it’s not accurate,” Portman said.

Instead, some proponents of the infrastructure measure see its passage as a potential setback for the bigger plan. They argue that the enactment of the infrastructure bill could sap progressives of their leverage to dictate the terms of the more ambitious and costly piece of their agenda.

Joshua Bolten, a former White House chief of staff for George W. Bush who is president of the Business Roundtable, said the chief executives’ organization was pushing for the bill’s passage, running radio and social media ads in Republican districts and pressing for meetings with lawmakers.

“This is a really good bill. It’s urgently needed. It will have a dramatic effect on the productivity of U.S. economy. It’s investment really well spent,” he said Tuesday. “Pass it now and have the fight over the other bill later.”

Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, said he had lobbied every member of his state’s delegation to support the measure.

“I can’t predict where they will end up, but I’m certainly encouraging people to consider the merits of the bill as opposed to worrying about what outside observers have to say,” he said.

In this case, House Republican leaders appear to be heeding pressure from conservative groups, which have disparaged the infrastructure bill as bloated with spending that goes far beyond its stated purpose. And they predict that moderate Democrats who have pressed for its passage will be angered enough by its demise that they will exact revenge by bringing down the social policy bill.

“This is a desperate administration looking for a win to distract Americans from the Biden-caused crises, both home and abroad, while opening the floodgates to trillions more in spending to come,” said Rep. Beth Van Duyne, R-Texas.

Business groups and some Senate Republicans — working at cross-purposes with Republican leaders in the House — have mounted an all-out drive to secure GOP votes for a bipartisan infrastructure bill before a final vote Thursday.

Business groups and some Senate Republicans — working at cross-purposes with Republican leaders in the House — have mounted an all-out drive to secure GOP votes for a bipartisan infrastructure bill before a final vote Thursday. Although the measure is the product of a compromise among moderates in both parties, House Republican leaders are leaning on their members to reject the $1 trillion infrastructure bill by disparaging its contents and arguing that it will only pave the way for Democrats to push through their far larger climate change and social policy bill. Their opposition has ratcheted up pressure on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who has the more progressive members of her Democratic caucus threatening to withhold their support for the infrastructure package until Congress acts on that broader bill. If Republicans unite in opposition, Pelosi can afford to lose as few as three Democrats on the bill. But some Republican senators who helped write the bill, along with influential business groups that support it — including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Business Roundtable — have started a countereffort to try to persuade House Republicans to back the legislation. “It’s a good bill; it’s right there for the country, so I’m encouraging Republicans to support it,” said Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, and one of the bill’s negotiators, who said he was working the phones hard. “There’ll be some that have told me they will, but they’re under a lot of pressure.” How the conflicting pressure campaigns play out could determine the fate of the infrastructure bill. On Tuesday, liberal Democrats accused Pelosi of a betrayal for abandoning her promise that the House would not take up the infrastructure bill until after the Senate secured passage of the larger measure. While Democratic leaders are working hard to secure as many of those liberal votes as possible, they know defections will have to be made up by House Republicans. “I’d say the bill is likely to pass, but it’s going to be a squeaker,” Neil Bradley, an executive vice president and chief policy officer for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, who once worked for House Republican leadership, said Tuesday. Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., who runs his party’s vote-pressuring operation in the House, is closely tracking which Republicans intend to vote for the infrastructure bill. “We’re working to keep that number as low as we possibly can,” he said. A few House Republicans who are members of the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus have announced their support for the measure, including Reps. Tom Reed of New York, Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania and Don Bacon of Nebraska. On Monday, Rep. Don Young of Alaska, the longest-serving member of the House, announced his support with an impassioned speech on the House floor. But so far, such declarations are few. On Wednesday, Third Way, a centrist Democratic group with corporate backing, released a testy letter its president had written to 26 Republican “Problem Solvers” — only one of whom, Bacon, has indicated he is a “yes” vote — demanding they live up to their name. “You have run for office and raised campaign funds on the promise that you are there to solve the nation’s problems and put country over party,” wrote Third Way’s president, Jonathan Cowan. “Anything other than declaring your support now and voting for the bill, in turn, would signal clearly to your constituents that you support nothing more than faux bipartisanship.” Moderate Democrats say other supporters may surface — maybe as many as 20 Republican votes — if Pelosi can win over enough liberals to keep it close. But with a Thursday vote looming, time is running out. Rep. Peter Meijer, a freshman Republican from Michigan and one of the “Problem Solvers” who received the letter, said he had heard from Republicans on both sides of the issue, and, “the consensus is: better both fail.” President Joe Biden "saddling infrastructure with this $3.5 trillion albatross around its neck was a poison pill for those of us who wanted a bipartisan solution,” he said. The infrastructure bill is an unusual phenomenon in a starkly polarized Congress: a truly bipartisan and significant bill, hammered out by Democrats and Republicans before it passed the Senate last month with 69 votes, 19 of them Republican, including that of the minority leader, Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky. With $550 billion in new federal spending, the measure would provide $65 billion to expand high-speed internet access; $110 billion for roads, bridges and other projects; $25 billion for airports; and the most funding for Amtrak since the passenger rail service was founded in 1971. It would also renew and revamp existing infrastructure and transportation programs set to expire Friday. But because House Democratic leaders have at least verbally packaged it with a larger, $3.5 trillion climate change and social policy bill, it has been caught up in the politics of that measure — and broader Republican efforts to thwart Biden’s agenda. Scalise put it in the loftiest of terms Tuesday: “This week, we’re going to see an epic battle play out between free-market capitalism and big-government socialism. That’s what’s at stake.” With Democrats publicly feuding over Biden’s agenda, senior Republicans have little interest in having their rank and file bail Pelosi out of her predicament. “The legislative crisis that’s before her is one of her own creation that she needs the progressives to bail her out of,” said Rep. Jason Smith of Missouri, the ranking Republican on the House Budget Committee. Supporters of the infrastructure bill are trying to stay cleareyed about the bill’s merits, not the broader politics. “It’s true people have been rhetorically linking the two, but really they aren’t,” Bradley said. “If that vote passes, the bill goes to the president for his signature.” And they argue that House Republicans are making the wrong political calculation about the infrastructure measure. GOP leaders have warned that the bill is a Trojan horse whose passage would only increase the chances of Democrats passing the more costly plan that Biden calls his Build Back Better agenda, which is packed with expansions of social safety net programs, initiatives to combat climate change and tax increases on corporations and the wealthy. “I just think it’s not accurate,” Portman said. Instead, some proponents of the infrastructure measure see its passage as a potential setback for the bigger plan. They argue that the enactment of the infrastructure bill could sap progressives of their leverage to dictate the terms of the more ambitious and costly piece of their agenda. Joshua Bolten, a former White House chief of staff for George W. Bush who is president of the Business Roundtable, said the chief executives’ organization was pushing for the bill’s passage, running radio and social media ads in Republican districts and pressing for meetings with lawmakers. “This is a really good bill. It’s urgently needed. It will have a dramatic effect on the productivity of U.S. economy. It’s investment really well spent,” he said Tuesday. “Pass it now and have the fight over the other bill later.” Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, said he had lobbied every member of his state’s delegation to support the measure. “I can’t predict where they will end up, but I’m certainly encouraging people to consider the merits of the bill as opposed to worrying about what outside observers have to say,” he said. In this case, House Republican leaders appear to be heeding pressure from conservative groups, which have disparaged the infrastructure bill as bloated with spending that goes far beyond its stated purpose. And they predict that moderate Democrats who have pressed for its passage will be angered enough by its demise that they will exact revenge by bringing down the social policy bill. “This is a desperate administration looking for a win to distract Americans from the Biden-caused crises, both home and abroad, while opening the floodgates to trillions more in spending to come,” said Rep. Beth Van Duyne, R-Texas.

Republicans at odds over infrastructure bill as vote approaches

Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California said Sunday night that the House would vote on a bipartisan $1 trillion infrastructure bill Thursday, giving Democrats more time to reach a consensus on President Joe Biden’s sprawling domestic policy package.

The vote will come hours before government funding — as well as key transportation programs addressed in the infrastructure bill — is scheduled to lapse Oct. 1, leaving lawmakers with a narrow margin for error.

Pelosi had committed last month to holding a vote on the legislation by Monday, after a group of centrist Democrats threatened to vote against a budget blueprint needed to push through the party’s signature $3.5 trillion social policy and climate change bill unless they were promised a quick vote on the infrastructure measure, which the Senate passed last month.

But progressive lawmakers have vowed not to support the infrastructure bill until Congress acts on the $3.5 trillion plan to provide vast new investments in education, health, child care, paid leave and climate programs. That package has yet to be completed.

Pelosi’s announcement that the House would aim to pass the infrastructure bill later in the week reflected the difficulty of the task that Democratic leaders face as they feverishly try to knit together a compromise to move forward with Biden’s agenda.

“I’m never bringing a bill to the floor that doesn’t have the votes,” Pelosi said of the infrastructure bill on “This Week” on ABC on Sunday.

Biden and members of his Cabinet huddled with lawmakers over the weekend in a bid to push the two bills over the finish line, according to a White House official familiar with the discussions.

With a razor-thin majority, Pelosi can lose only three votes for the social policy plan, and Senate Democrats hope to push it through using the fast-track budget process known as reconciliation to shield it from a filibuster. House Republicans have urged their members to oppose the $1 trillion infrastructure package, so more than a few defections can sink that bill.

Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash. and the chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, pledged again Sunday that liberal lawmakers would not support the infrastructure bill unless it was accompanied by action on the $3.5 trillion plan.

“The speaker is an incredibly good vote counter, and she knows exactly where her caucus stands, and we’ve been really clear on that,” Jayapal said on CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday. “The votes aren’t there.”

But Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J. and one of the lead centrists in the House negotiating with Pelosi, suggested that progressives had issued an empty threat.

“It’s a key part of the president’s agenda,” Gottheimer said on “State of the Union.” “I just don’t buy at the end of the day that folks will vote against it.”

In the Senate on Monday, Democrats will also take up consideration of an emergency spending package needed to avert a government shutdown. Republicans, objecting because it contains legislation that would lift the limit on the federal government’s ability to borrow, are expected to block the measure in a procedural vote. The bill passed the House with only Democratic votes.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California said Sunday night that the House would vote on a bipartisan $1 trillion infrastructure bill Thursday, giving Democrats more time to reach a consensus on President Joe Biden’s sprawling domestic policy package.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California said Sunday night that the House would vote on a bipartisan $1 trillion infrastructure bill Thursday, giving Democrats more time to reach a consensus on President Joe Biden’s sprawling domestic policy package. The vote will come hours before government funding — as well as key transportation programs addressed in the infrastructure bill — is scheduled to lapse Oct. 1, leaving lawmakers with a narrow margin for error. Pelosi had committed last month to holding a vote on the legislation by Monday, after a group of centrist Democrats threatened to vote against a budget blueprint needed to push through the party’s signature $3.5 trillion social policy and climate change bill unless they were promised a quick vote on the infrastructure measure, which the Senate passed last month. But progressive lawmakers have vowed not to support the infrastructure bill until Congress acts on the $3.5 trillion plan to provide vast new investments in education, health, child care, paid leave and climate programs. That package has yet to be completed. Pelosi’s announcement that the House would aim to pass the infrastructure bill later in the week reflected the difficulty of the task that Democratic leaders face as they feverishly try to knit together a compromise to move forward with Biden’s agenda. “I’m never bringing a bill to the floor that doesn’t have the votes,” Pelosi said of the infrastructure bill on “This Week” on ABC on Sunday. Biden and members of his Cabinet huddled with lawmakers over the weekend in a bid to push the two bills over the finish line, according to a White House official familiar with the discussions. With a razor-thin majority, Pelosi can lose only three votes for the social policy plan, and Senate Democrats hope to push it through using the fast-track budget process known as reconciliation to shield it from a filibuster. House Republicans have urged their members to oppose the $1 trillion infrastructure package, so more than a few defections can sink that bill. Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash. and the chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, pledged again Sunday that liberal lawmakers would not support the infrastructure bill unless it was accompanied by action on the $3.5 trillion plan. “The speaker is an incredibly good vote counter, and she knows exactly where her caucus stands, and we’ve been really clear on that,” Jayapal said on CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday. “The votes aren’t there.” But Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J. and one of the lead centrists in the House negotiating with Pelosi, suggested that progressives had issued an empty threat. “It’s a key part of the president’s agenda,” Gottheimer said on “State of the Union.” “I just don’t buy at the end of the day that folks will vote against it.” In the Senate on Monday, Democrats will also take up consideration of an emergency spending package needed to avert a government shutdown. Republicans, objecting because it contains legislation that would lift the limit on the federal government’s ability to borrow, are expected to block the measure in a procedural vote. The bill passed the House with only Democratic votes.

Pelosi announces vote on $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill

As Washington gears for a right-right rally, the House speaker of the US Congress, Nancy Pelosi, has compared the January 06 Capitol riot to the heinous 9/11 terrorism attack.<o:p></o:p>

Pro-Trump supporters are readying to march outside the Capitol building to raise their voices in support of people who had attacked the high-security area on January 06. The far-right demonstrators will be taking to the streets to protest the arrest of the people who destroyed the Capitol building and the idea of democracy in the US in January 2021.<o:p></o:p>

To avoid repetition of the deadly attack, this time the US Capitol Police are better prepared to handle any form in violent or non-violent attacks.

<o:p>Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/fire-breaks-out-in-building-near-capitol-building-before-far-right-rally-413580">Fire breaks out in building near Capitol building before far-right rally</a></o:p>

This time the Capitol Police has installed new security fencing all around the Capitol building to keep protestors away from the high-security area.&nbsp;In addition to this, new and improved surveillance cameras have also been set up in the area to keep an eye on every little detail during and around the protest.<o:p></o:p>

"What we're concerned about, I think more than anything, is the possibility of counter-demonstrators making it to this demonstration and there being violence between those two groups," Capitol Police Chief Tom Manger told reporters.<o:p></o:p>

Termed as 'Justice for J6', this rally is being organised by a non-profit organisation, Look Ahead America. The organisation is controlled by a former analyst of the Republican Party, Matt Braynard.<o:p></o:p>

Meanwhile, Pelosi, a strong Trump critic, has likened the January 06 riot to the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center.

<o:p><a href="https://www.wionews.com/videos/kabul-airstrike-us-military-admits-it-killed-10-civilians-and-targeted-wrong-vehicle-413911">WATCH |</a></o:p>

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/kabul-airstrike-us-military-admits-it-killed-10-civilians-and-targeted-wrong-vehicle-413911/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

Pelosi justified her statement by saying that while the 9/11 terrorism attack on the World Trade Center was an attack on US from outside, the January 06 attack (promoted by Donald Trump) was an assault on the US democracy from within the country.<o:p></o:p>

It "was an assault on Congress, constitution and our democracy. How we deal with it is really the measure of the strength of our democracy,"&nbsp;Pelosi said.<o:p></o:p>

She also urged Republicans to mend their ways and request their followers to stop violent attacks on the country. <o:p></o:p>

"I would say to my Republican friends – and I do have some – take back your party, the Republican party. The Grand Old Party has made tremendous contributions to our country founded by Lincoln. Don’t let your party be hijacked by a cult – essentially, that is what is happening," Pelosi said. "This is not conservative. This is radical rightwing, off the spectrum, anti-governance and if you are anti-governance it is very difficult to govern."<o:p></o:p>

As Washington gears for a right-right rally, the House speaker of the US Congress, Nancy Pelosi, has compared the January 06 Capitol riot to the heinous 9/11 terrorism attack.

As Washington gears for a right-right rally, the House speaker of the US Congress, Nancy Pelosi, has compared the January 06 Capitol riot to the heinous 9/11 terrorism attack. Pro-Trump supporters are readying to march outside the Capitol building to raise their voices in support of people who had attacked the high-security area on January 06. The far-right demonstrators will be taking to the streets to protest the arrest of the people who destroyed the Capitol building and the idea of democracy in the US in January 2021. To avoid repetition of the deadly attack, this time the US Capitol Police are better prepared to handle any form in violent or non-violent attacks. Also read | Fire breaks out in building near Capitol building before far-right rally This time the Capitol Police has installed new security fencing all around the Capitol building to keep protestors away from the high-security area. In addition to this, new and improved surveillance cameras have also been set up in the area to keep an eye on every little detail during and around the protest. "What we're concerned about, I think more than anything, is the possibility of counter-demonstrators making it to this demonstration and there being violence between those two groups," Capitol Police Chief Tom Manger told reporters. Termed as 'Justice for J6', this rally is being organised by a non-profit organisation, Look Ahead America. The organisation is controlled by a former analyst of the Republican Party, Matt Braynard. Meanwhile, Pelosi, a strong Trump critic, has likened the January 06 riot to the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center. WATCH | Pelosi justified her statement by saying that while the 9/11 terrorism attack on the World Trade Center was an attack on US from outside, the January 06 attack (promoted by Donald Trump) was an assault on the US democracy from within the country. It "was an assault on Congress, constitution and our democracy. How we deal with it is really the measure of the strength of our democracy," Pelosi said. She also urged Republicans to mend their ways and request their followers to stop violent attacks on the country. "I would say to my Republican friends – and I do have some – take back your party, the Republican party. The Grand Old Party has made tremendous contributions to our country founded by Lincoln. Don’t let your party be hijacked by a cult – essentially, that is what is happening," Pelosi said. "This is not conservative. This is radical rightwing, off the spectrum, anti-governance and if you are anti-governance it is very difficult to govern."

Nancy Pelosi compares Capitol riot to 9/11 attack; US police ready for 'Justice for J6' rally

A top Republican leader has been criticised for hinting that he would hit the speaker Nancy Pelosi in the head with a gavel.

Republican minority leader Kevin McCarthy got into a verbal spat after Pelosi called McCarthy a “moron” after he opposed mask mandates to stop the widespread coronavirus pandemic.

After that, at a fundraising dinner on Saturday night, McCarthy showed a positive attitude that his party will be taking control of the House in mid-term elections next year.

However, he didn’t just stop at that. He proceeded to ‘joke’ that if he becomes a speaker, it would be difficult to control his urge to hit Pelosi on the head with the gavel.

"It will be hard not to hit her with it but I will bang it down,"&nbsp;McCarthy was quoted by a Washington Post reporter.

This comment by McCarthy angered several people on Twitter who did not appreciate his statement that adds oil to the fire of violence against women.

"Don’t you think America has had enough political violence? You should never be encouraging or threatening or joking about causing violence to anyone, including the Speaker of the House. You need to apologize for your statement, or resign,"&nbsp;tweeted Ted Lieu, member of Congress.

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Dear <a href="https://twitter.com/GOPLeader?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@GOPLeader</a> McCarthy: Don’t you think America has had enough political violence? You should never be encouraging or threatening or joking about causing violence to anyone, including the Speaker of the House. You need to apologize for your statement, or resign. <a href="https://t.co/jdP2bcmr5c">https://t.co/jdP2bcmr5c</a>
— Ted Lieu (@tedlieu) <a href="https://twitter.com/tedlieu/status/1421665150336081924?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 1, 2021</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">×</a></div>

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
It’s really disgusting that no Republican has the testicular fortitude to condemn Kevin McCarthy’s joke of violent attacks on Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
— David Weissman (@davidmweissman) <a href="https://twitter.com/davidmweissman/status/1421664886510268422?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 1, 2021</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">×</a></div>

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
America has suffered enough violence around politics. <a href="https://twitter.com/GOPLeader?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@GOPLeader</a> McCarthy is now a would-be assailant of <a href="https://twitter.com/SpeakerPelosi?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SpeakerPelosi</a>. He needs to resign. <a href="https://t.co/6wvdwlG75Y">https://t.co/6wvdwlG75Y</a>
— Rep. Eric Swalwell (@RepSwalwell) <a href="https://twitter.com/RepSwalwell/status/1421646883710193669?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 1, 2021</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">×</a></div>

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Who else thinks Kevin McCarthy must resign for “joking” about assaulting Speaker Pelosi?
— Scott Dworkin (@funder) <a href="https://twitter.com/funder/status/1421820845807345664?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 1, 2021</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">×</a></div>

&nbsp;

A top Republican leader has been criticised for hinting that he would hit the speaker Nancy Pelosi in the head with a gavel. Republican minority leader Kevin McCarthy got into a verbal spat after Pelosi called McCarthy a “moron” after he opposed mask mandates to stop the widespread coronavirus pandemic.

A top Republican leader has been criticised for hinting that he would hit the speaker Nancy Pelosi in the head with a gavel. Republican minority leader Kevin McCarthy got into a verbal spat after Pelosi called McCarthy a “moron” after he opposed mask mandates to stop the widespread coronavirus pandemic. After that, at a fundraising dinner on Saturday night, McCarthy showed a positive attitude that his party will be taking control of the House in mid-term elections next year. However, he didn’t just stop at that. He proceeded to ‘joke’ that if he becomes a speaker, it would be difficult to control his urge to hit Pelosi on the head with the gavel. "It will be hard not to hit her with it but I will bang it down," McCarthy was quoted by a Washington Post reporter. This comment by McCarthy angered several people on Twitter who did not appreciate his statement that adds oil to the fire of violence against women. "Don’t you think America has had enough political violence? You should never be encouraging or threatening or joking about causing violence to anyone, including the Speaker of the House. You need to apologize for your statement, or resign," tweeted Ted Lieu, member of Congress. Dear @GOPLeader McCarthy: Don’t you think America has had enough political violence? You should never be encouraging or threatening or joking about causing violence to anyone, including the Speaker of the House. You need to apologize for your statement, or resign. https://t.co/jdP2bcmr5c — Ted Lieu (@tedlieu) August 1, 2021 × It’s really disgusting that no Republican has the testicular fortitude to condemn Kevin McCarthy’s joke of violent attacks on Speaker Nancy Pelosi. — David Weissman (@davidmweissman) August 1, 2021 × America has suffered enough violence around politics. @GOPLeader McCarthy is now a would-be assailant of @SpeakerPelosi. He needs to resign. https://t.co/6wvdwlG75Y — Rep. Eric Swalwell (@RepSwalwell) August 1, 2021 × Who else thinks Kevin McCarthy must resign for “joking” about assaulting Speaker Pelosi? — Scott Dworkin (@funder) August 1, 2021 ×

Twitter slams Kevin McCarthy for saying he would hit Nancy Pelosi with gavel

A spokesperson for Nancy Pelosi has tested positive for <a href="https://www.wionews.com/topics/coronavirus">Covid</a> even after getting fully vaccinated against the deadly virus.

"Yesterday, a fully-vaccinated senior spokesperson in the Speaker’s Press Office tested positive for COVID after contact with members of the Texas state legislature last week," Drew Hammill, a top aide to Pelosi said in a statement.

The aide tested positive after meeting the members of the&nbsp;Texas&nbsp;Legislature.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/us-stocks-plunge-as-delta-variant-spreads-in-us-los-angeles-worst-hit-399098" hreflang="en">US stocks plunge as Delta variant spreads in US; Los Angeles worst-hit</a>

However, Pelosi’s office confirmed that the House Speaker has had no recent contact with the aide who tested positive, and she is therefore out of danger of getting infected. Her office is still taking all necessary precautions.

"This individual has had no contact with the Speaker since exposure. The entire Press Office is working remotely today with the exception of individuals who have had no exposure to the individual or have had a recent negative test. &nbsp;Our office will continue to follow the guidance of the Office of Attending Physician closely," Hammill said.

Local reports by Axios have also claimed that another White House staffer has tested positive for coronavirus after attending the same rooftop reception with the Pelosi staffer last Wednesday night. This staffer, too, was fully vaccinated against the virus, as per the reports.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/rise-of-covid-19-cases-among-unvaccinated-population-concerning-us-surgeon-general-398946" hreflang="en">Rise of COVID-19 cases among unvaccinated population concerning: US Surgeon General</a>

"We know that there will be breakthrough cases, but as this instance shows, cases in vaccinated individuals are typically mild," a White House official told the local channel, Fox News. "The White House is prepared for breakthrough cases with regular testing. This is another reminder of the efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccines against severe illness or hospitalization. We wish our colleague a speedy recovery."

This news has come a few days after the Vice President, <a href="https://www.wionews.com/topics/kamala-harris">Kamala Harris</a>, tested negative after she had close contact with members of the Texas delegation who got infected by the virus immediately after the meeting.

A spokesperson for Nancy Pelosi has tested positive for Covid even after getting fully vaccinated against the deadly virus. "Yesterday, a fully-vaccinated senior spokesperson in the Speaker’s Press Office tested positive for COVID after contact with members of the Texas state legislature last week," Drew Hammill, a top aide to Pelosi said in a statement.

A spokesperson for Nancy Pelosi has tested positive for Covid even after getting fully vaccinated against the deadly virus. "Yesterday, a fully-vaccinated senior spokesperson in the Speaker’s Press Office tested positive for COVID after contact with members of the Texas state legislature last week," Drew Hammill, a top aide to Pelosi said in a statement. The aide tested positive after meeting the members of the Texas Legislature. Also read | US stocks plunge as Delta variant spreads in US; Los Angeles worst-hit However, Pelosi’s office confirmed that the House Speaker has had no recent contact with the aide who tested positive, and she is therefore out of danger of getting infected. Her office is still taking all necessary precautions. "This individual has had no contact with the Speaker since exposure. The entire Press Office is working remotely today with the exception of individuals who have had no exposure to the individual or have had a recent negative test. Our office will continue to follow the guidance of the Office of Attending Physician closely," Hammill said. Local reports by Axios have also claimed that another White House staffer has tested positive for coronavirus after attending the same rooftop reception with the Pelosi staffer last Wednesday night. This staffer, too, was fully vaccinated against the virus, as per the reports. Also read | Rise of COVID-19 cases among unvaccinated population concerning: US Surgeon General "We know that there will be breakthrough cases, but as this instance shows, cases in vaccinated individuals are typically mild," a White House official told the local channel, Fox News. "The White House is prepared for breakthrough cases with regular testing. This is another reminder of the efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccines against severe illness or hospitalization. We wish our colleague a speedy recovery." This news has come a few days after the Vice President, Kamala Harris, tested negative after she had close contact with members of the Texas delegation who got infected by the virus immediately after the meeting.

Nancy Pelosi's aide and White House staffer test positive for Covid, despite getting fully vaccinated

House Speaker Nancy&nbsp;Pelosi&nbsp;on Thursday appointed a fierce critic of Donald Trump from within his party to a select committee investigating the January 6 US Capitol insurrection, in a move challenging other Republicans to join the fact-finding probe.

Congresswoman Liz Cheney, recently booted from Republican leadership because she refused to tone down her public criticism of Trump, said she was honored to have been picked to serve on the panel.

"What happened on January 6th can never happen again," Cheney said in a statement, referring to the deadly riot that occurred when a pro-Trump mob broke through police lines, threatened lawmakers and ransacked parts of the Capitol.

"Those who are responsible for the attack need to be held accountable and this select committee will fulfill that responsibility in&nbsp;a professional, expeditious and non-partisan manner," she said.

Cheney was one of two Republicans who voted Wednesday to establish the panel, complete with subpoena power, weeks after Senate Republicans blocked an independent and bipartisan 9/11-style national commission.

The House's top Republican Kevin McCarthy said it was "shocking" and "unprecedented" for Cheney to accept the committee post from the Democratic speaker.&nbsp;

But he insisted he had not threatened her with removal from her standard committee assignments.

McCarthy also warned that the process had become too politicized.

Pelosi&nbsp;assigned Bennie Thompson to head the select committee, one of seven Democrats she named to the 13-member panel.&nbsp;

It was not clear whether McCarthy would name any Republicans.

"We had hoped that they would choose them expeditiously," the speaker said.

Pelosi's office said the committee will investigate the facts and causes of the "terrorist mob attack" on the Capitol, and will report its finding and recommendations for preventing future attacks.

Republicans who oppose the panel have pointed to the more than 500 people arrested for their part in the unrest, and said those court cases will help shed sufficient light on what happened.

Pelosi&nbsp;and Thompson said they could not provide a timeline for the committee's final report, but it could be completed in 2022, the year of closely watched midterm elections.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Thursday appointed a fierce critic of Donald Trump from within his party to a select committee investigating the January 6 US Capitol insurrection, in a move challenging other Republicans to join the fact-finding probe.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Thursday appointed a fierce critic of Donald Trump from within his party to a select committee investigating the January 6 US Capitol insurrection, in a move challenging other Republicans to join the fact-finding probe. Congresswoman Liz Cheney, recently booted from Republican leadership because she refused to tone down her public criticism of Trump, said she was honored to have been picked to serve on the panel. "What happened on January 6th can never happen again," Cheney said in a statement, referring to the deadly riot that occurred when a pro-Trump mob broke through police lines, threatened lawmakers and ransacked parts of the Capitol. "Those who are responsible for the attack need to be held accountable and this select committee will fulfill that responsibility in a professional, expeditious and non-partisan manner," she said. Cheney was one of two Republicans who voted Wednesday to establish the panel, complete with subpoena power, weeks after Senate Republicans blocked an independent and bipartisan 9/11-style national commission. The House's top Republican Kevin McCarthy said it was "shocking" and "unprecedented" for Cheney to accept the committee post from the Democratic speaker. But he insisted he had not threatened her with removal from her standard committee assignments. McCarthy also warned that the process had become too politicized. Pelosi assigned Bennie Thompson to head the select committee, one of seven Democrats she named to the 13-member panel. It was not clear whether McCarthy would name any Republicans. "We had hoped that they would choose them expeditiously," the speaker said. Pelosi's office said the committee will investigate the facts and causes of the "terrorist mob attack" on the Capitol, and will report its finding and recommendations for preventing future attacks. Republicans who oppose the panel have pointed to the more than 500 people arrested for their part in the unrest, and said those court cases will help shed sufficient light on what happened. Pelosi and Thompson said they could not provide a timeline for the committee's final report, but it could be completed in 2022, the year of closely watched midterm elections.

Pelosi picks Republican Trump critic for Jan 6 panel

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani met US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi ahead of meeting President Joe Biden. Biden’s first meeting as president with Ghani will focus on Washington’s support for Afghanistan after troops withdrawal.

Afghan President Ghani met US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi

Unvaccinated Republican lawmakers pose a danger to other members of Congress and staff, US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Thursday as she attacked the "selfishness" of colleagues who refuse to protect against Covid-19.

The top congressional Democrat's criticism of opponents as a health "dangerment" comes as a debate swells over Capitol Hill mask mandates, which Republicans have demanded be lifted as the Biden administration eases its guidance on face coverings.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/fauci-expects-covid-19-vaccines-for-kids-in-late-2021-sees-need-for-booster-shot-386496" hreflang="en">Fauci expects COVID-19 vaccines for kids in late 2021, sees need for booster shot</a>

"It is unfortunate that a large number of people in the Congress have refused to be vaccinated... or have been vaccinated and don't want to admit it," Pelosi said, noting that Congress's attending physician intends to keep the mask rule in place until all lawmakers get the jab.

"We have a responsibility to make sure that the House of Representatives chamber is not a petri dish because of the selfishness of some not to be vaccinated," Pelosi said.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/two-astrazeneca-shots-could-be-85-90-effective-uk-data-suggests-386500" hreflang="en">Two AstraZeneca shots could be 85-90% effective, UK data suggests</a>

The biting remarks come days after CNN released a survey of lawmakers that showed a 100 per cent vaccination rate among Democrats in the Senate and House of Representatives, but dramatically lower numbers for Republicans.

Of the House Republicans, just 95 of the conference's 212 members — or 44.8 per cent — told the network they are vaccinated.&nbsp;

An exasperated Pelosi told reporters that committee meetings and other gatherings in Congress will not be able to return to maskless normality until all lawmakers are vaccinated.

"What is this, the honor system... as to whether somebody's been vaccinated?" she said. "Do you want them breathing in your face on the strength of their honor?"

Pelosi has clashed over masks with the chamber's top Republican Kevin McCarthy, who introduced a resolution that would allow lawmakers to be maskless on the House floor.

House Democrats killed the measure.

Some lawmakers have grown openly defiant. Republican Brian Mast said Tuesday he was fined $500 for refusing to wear a mask on the House floor.

Pelosi announced such punishments for mask violations in January.

"This is nothing more than political theatre," House Republican Ralph Norman tweeted Thursday. "All over the Capitol complex, staff and members are maskless. It is time for @SpeakerPelosi to drop the charade."

A recent Morning Consult poll found that unvaccinated Americans are about twice as likely as vaccinated people to say they are comfortable not wearing masks while doing activities like attending a work conference.

Unvaccinated Republican lawmakers pose a danger to other members of Congress and staff, US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Thursday as she attacked the "selfishness" of colleagues who refuse to protect against Covid-19.

Unvaccinated Republican lawmakers pose a danger to other members of Congress and staff, US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Thursday as she attacked the "selfishness" of colleagues who refuse to protect against Covid-19. The top congressional Democrat's criticism of opponents as a health "dangerment" comes as a debate swells over Capitol Hill mask mandates, which Republicans have demanded be lifted as the Biden administration eases its guidance on face coverings. Also read | Fauci expects COVID-19 vaccines for kids in late 2021, sees need for booster shot "It is unfortunate that a large number of people in the Congress have refused to be vaccinated... or have been vaccinated and don't want to admit it," Pelosi said, noting that Congress's attending physician intends to keep the mask rule in place until all lawmakers get the jab. "We have a responsibility to make sure that the House of Representatives chamber is not a petri dish because of the selfishness of some not to be vaccinated," Pelosi said. Also read | Two AstraZeneca shots could be 85-90% effective, UK data suggests The biting remarks come days after CNN released a survey of lawmakers that showed a 100 per cent vaccination rate among Democrats in the Senate and House of Representatives, but dramatically lower numbers for Republicans. Of the House Republicans, just 95 of the conference's 212 members — or 44.8 per cent — told the network they are vaccinated. An exasperated Pelosi told reporters that committee meetings and other gatherings in Congress will not be able to return to maskless normality until all lawmakers are vaccinated. "What is this, the honor system... as to whether somebody's been vaccinated?" she said. "Do you want them breathing in your face on the strength of their honor?" Pelosi has clashed over masks with the chamber's top Republican Kevin McCarthy, who introduced a resolution that would allow lawmakers to be maskless on the House floor. House Democrats killed the measure. Some lawmakers have grown openly defiant. Republican Brian Mast said Tuesday he was fined $500 for refusing to wear a mask on the House floor. Pelosi announced such punishments for mask violations in January. "This is nothing more than political theatre," House Republican Ralph Norman tweeted Thursday. "All over the Capitol complex, staff and members are maskless. It is time for @SpeakerPelosi to drop the charade." A recent Morning Consult poll found that unvaccinated Americans are about twice as likely as vaccinated people to say they are comfortable not wearing masks while doing activities like attending a work conference.

Unvaccinated US lawmakers a danger to Congress, Pelosi says

The panel will be a 10-member commission that was approved with a vote of 252 to 175 in the House of Representatives on Wednesday.

US House appoints 10-member commission on Capitol riots

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called Tuesday for a diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Beijing Olympics, citing human rights abuses by China's government.

Nancy Pelosi calls for diplomatic boycott of 2022 Beijing Olympics

China on Wednesday branded US House Speaker Nancy&nbsp;Pelosi&nbsp;"full of lies" after she called for a diplomatic boycott of&nbsp;next year's Beijing Winter Olympics, on human rights grounds.

The run-up to the Games, set for February 2022, is being dominated by recriminations over widespread allegations of abuse of China's Uyghur Muslims and other minorities, which the United States has labelled a "genocide".

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/nancy-pelosi-calls-for-diplomatic-boycott-of-2022-beijing-olympics-385941/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

US&nbsp;lawmakers have been increasingly vocal about an Olympic boycott or venue change, and have lashed out at American corporations, arguing their silence about what the State Department has deemed a genocide of Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities in China was abetting the Chinese government.

Pelosi, a Democrat, told a bipartisan congressional hearing on the issue that heads of state around the world should shun the Games, scheduled for February.

"What I propose - and join those who are proposing - is a diplomatic boycott,"&nbsp;Pelosi&nbsp;said, in which "lead countries of the world withhold their attendance at the Olympics."

Her comments provoked a fierce response from China, which denies mistreating the Uyghur minority and has said the internment camps where a huge number of them are held are vocational training centres designed to counter extremism.

"Some US individuals' remarks are full of lies and disinformation," foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said.

"US politicians should stop using the Olympic movement to play despicable political games" or "use the so-called human rights issue as a pretext to smear and slander China."

An independent United Nations panel said in 2018 it had received credible reports that at least 1 million Uyghurs and other Muslims had been held in camps in China's Xinjiang region. Beijing describes them as vocational training centers to stamp out extremism, and strongly rejects accusations of abuse and genocide.

The United States led a boycott of the 1980 Moscow Olympics over the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, with the Soviet bloc snubbing the Summer Games in Los Angeles four years later in retaliation.

(With inputs from agencies)

China on Wednesday branded US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi "full of lies" after she called for a diplomatic boycott of next year's Beijing Winter Olympics, on human rights grounds.

China on Wednesday branded US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi "full of lies" after she called for a diplomatic boycott of next year's Beijing Winter Olympics, on human rights grounds. The run-up to the Games, set for February 2022, is being dominated by recriminations over widespread allegations of abuse of China's Uyghur Muslims and other minorities, which the United States has labelled a "genocide". US lawmakers have been increasingly vocal about an Olympic boycott or venue change, and have lashed out at American corporations, arguing their silence about what the State Department has deemed a genocide of Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities in China was abetting the Chinese government. Pelosi, a Democrat, told a bipartisan congressional hearing on the issue that heads of state around the world should shun the Games, scheduled for February. "What I propose - and join those who are proposing - is a diplomatic boycott," Pelosi said, in which "lead countries of the world withhold their attendance at the Olympics." Her comments provoked a fierce response from China, which denies mistreating the Uyghur minority and has said the internment camps where a huge number of them are held are vocational training centres designed to counter extremism. "Some US individuals' remarks are full of lies and disinformation," foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said. "US politicians should stop using the Olympic movement to play despicable political games" or "use the so-called human rights issue as a pretext to smear and slander China." An independent United Nations panel said in 2018 it had received credible reports that at least 1 million Uyghurs and other Muslims had been held in camps in China's Xinjiang region. Beijing describes them as vocational training centers to stamp out extremism, and strongly rejects accusations of abuse and genocide. The United States led a boycott of the 1980 Moscow Olympics over the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, with the Soviet bloc snubbing the Summer Games in Los Angeles four years later in retaliation. (With inputs from agencies)

'Full of lies': China slams Pelosi's Winter Olympics boycott comment

President Joe Biden's address to Congress broke a historic glass ceiling on Wednesday, as two women - Vice President Kamala Harris and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi - sat behind the president for the first time in U.S. history.

The seating arrangement carried a symbolic meaning for the advancement of U.S. women in recent decades since Harris and Pelosi stand first and second in the presidential line of succession, respectively.

Harris, the first woman and the first Black and Asian person to serve as vice president, sat to Biden's right. Pelosi, who became the first woman speaker of the House of Representatives in 2007, sat to his left.

The two women are playing a vital role in the early days of the Biden presidency, with Harris as a close adviser and tie-breaker in an evenly divided Senate and Pelosi helping to marshal the president's legislative agenda through Congress.

Biden spoke to a joint session of the House and Senate with attendance restricted to enforce social distancing amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Harris arrived ahead of Biden and Pelosi affectionately took the vice president's hand as she reached the dais before quickly switching to a pandemic-appropriate elbow bump.

"Madam Speaker, Madam Vice President," Biden said as he addressed the crowd. "No president has ever said those words from this podium, no president has ever said those words. And it's about time!"

President Joe Biden's address to Congress broke a historic glass ceiling on Wednesday, as two women - Vice President Kamala Harris and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi - sat behind the president for the first time in U.

President Joe Biden's address to Congress broke a historic glass ceiling on Wednesday, as two women - Vice President Kamala Harris and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi - sat behind the president for the first time in U.S. history. The seating arrangement carried a symbolic meaning for the advancement of U.S. women in recent decades since Harris and Pelosi stand first and second in the presidential line of succession, respectively. Harris, the first woman and the first Black and Asian person to serve as vice president, sat to Biden's right. Pelosi, who became the first woman speaker of the House of Representatives in 2007, sat to his left. The two women are playing a vital role in the early days of the Biden presidency, with Harris as a close adviser and tie-breaker in an evenly divided Senate and Pelosi helping to marshal the president's legislative agenda through Congress. Biden spoke to a joint session of the House and Senate with attendance restricted to enforce social distancing amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Harris arrived ahead of Biden and Pelosi affectionately took the vice president's hand as she reached the dais before quickly switching to a pandemic-appropriate elbow bump. "Madam Speaker, Madam Vice President," Biden said as he addressed the crowd. "No president has ever said those words from this podium, no president has ever said those words. And it's about time!"

'It's about time:' In historic first, two powerful women flank US president

nancy-pelosi

Nancy Pelosi, News on Nancy Pelosi, stories on Nancy Pelosi, articles on Nancy Pelosi, Nancy Pelosi stories at Wion, Nancy Pelosi news, Nancy Pelosi latest news

nancy pelosi