Hell of a lead image on @nytimes app right now pic.twitter.com/PHBQdPVvNh
— Irin Carmon (@irin) January 28, 2019
As she left her table at a Washington restaurant Friday night, the staff cheered and applauded Nancy Pelosi. What a week she had had. Said a waitress in near tears,"We need someone who will fight for us." The Speaker carried a small white paper bag, I know not what was in it.
— Elizabeth Drew (@ElizabethDrewOH) January 26, 2019
Gonna be a long week (cuz they’re *all* long weeks, now) so let’s eeeease into it. From the Washington Post, “‘Pelosi does not mess around’”:
Nancy Pelosi’s first showdown with President Trump began with him publicly questioning her political viability. It ended with the House speaker winning an unmitigated victory and reviving her reputation as a legislative savant.
Trump’s capitulation — agreeing to reopen the federal government after a 35-day standoff without funding for a U.S.-Mexico border wall — generated rave reviews for Pelosi from fellow Democrats and grudging respect from Republicans who watched as she kept an unruly party caucus united in the face of GOP divide-and-conquer tactics.
Pelosi (D-Calif.) emerges from the shutdown as a stronger leader of her party — and more popular with the public, by early measures — as Democrats eye aggressive efforts to counter Trump’s agenda through ambitious legislation and tough oversight. That suggests the shutdown might have been a strategic misstep for Trump, in addition to a tactical error…
When the two met in the Oval Office on Dec. 11 Trump suggested she was constrained by the fact she had not yet been formally elected speaker: “Nancy’s in a situation where it’s not easy for her to talk right now.”
Pelosi shot back: “Mr. President, please don’t characterize the strength that I bring to this meeting.”
In retrospect, the remark was more a warning than a retort…
Monday Morning Open Thread: Yes, Madam SpeakerPost + Comments (177)