The Speaker, while speaking with the news outlet Politico, predicted that after the 35-day shutdown – the longest in US history – Republican leaders would not be willing to repeat this experience, insisting that “it’s not going to happen.”
“I have a club that I started, it’s called the ‘Too Hot to Handle Club.’ And this is a too-hot-to-handle issue,” Pelosi said.
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She said she believes that a House-Senate panel negotiating on border security will come to an agreement before the deadline. Pelosi also indicated that she would support any deal that these talks would produce.
“When [Trump] makes an assault on Mr. Schiff and congressional responsibility for oversight, he is making an assault on the Constitution of the United States, the separation of powers, co-equal branches of government,” she added. “We honor the institution in which we serve, the Congress of the United States. I hope he would honor it, too.”
The shutdown was caused by the Democrats’ refusal to approve Trump’s demand of $5.7 billion in spending on southern border security, which included building a barrier. The US President agreed to reopen the government and sign temporary budget funding for government agencies through February 15.