Pelosi: ‘It Would Have Been Better’ if Dems Voted on Infrastructure Bill Ahead of VA Election
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is facing questions about whether or not House Democrats hurt Terry McAuliffe’s chances in Virginia’s gubernatorial election. During a press conference on Thursday, CNN’s Manu Raju…
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is facing questions about whether or not House Democrats hurt Terry McAuliffe’s chances in Virginia’s gubernatorial election.
During a press conference on Thursday, CNN’s Manu Raju asked, “Do you believe the House Democrats are in any way partially responsible for what happened Tuesday?”
“Any sign of progress is always for the public when they understand what it is, and I think they understand infrastructure pretty well,” Pelosi responded.
She added, “It would have been better if we had” held a vote on the bill.
However, she said, “I don’t know, because I haven’t seen the data perhaps you have. I think there were other issues at work in that election. And it remains not for me to make an observation unsubstantiated by data, and science, and facts. I’m very scientific about elections.”
“But it was not a good night,” Pelosi admitted.
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On Tuesday, Glenn Youngkin defeated his Democratic opponent, Terry McAuliffe, and became the first Republican to win a statewide election in Virginia since 2009, as IJR reported.
On Oct. 28, Pelosi pushed to hold a vote on the infrastructure bill but was forced to delay the vote after progressives balked.
Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) told reporters on Wednesday, “Congressional Dems hurt Terry McAuliffe. I mean, I’m going to be blunt. It’s humbling to say it.”
“But if we had been able to deliver infrastructure reconciliation in mid-October, he could have universal pre-K, affordable child care, infrastructure, creating jobs,” he continued.
He also denied that voters were rejecting Democrats’ agenda, claiming, “they would love, absolutely love like pre-K and childcare, are you kidding me that’s exactly what suburban parents are hungry for, especially after a tough pandemic.”
President Joe Biden also told reporters he believes the bill should have passed before Election Day, but added, “I’m not sure that I would have been able to change” the outcome.