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House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi trumpeted her party’s successes in the negotiations over the $1.3 trillion omnibus spending bill in a statement released late Wednesday.
While Democrats had not managed to secure a solution for the so-called “Dreamers” — a major demand of the progressive activist base of the party — she boasted that she had funded many Democratic spending priorities.
Crucially, she said, Democrats had prevented Trump from building his wall, restricting new spending on border security to secondary fencing.
Pelosi’s full statement follows:
“Democrats fought with great integrity, strength and unity to secure vital middle class priorities in the omnibus spending bill. We are grateful to Ranking Member Nita Lowey, our appropriators and staff for delivering progress on critical priorities, while successfully removing many dangerous poison pills.
“Thanks to the leadership of Democrats, the omnibus proposal contains bold investments in our veterans, the NIH, community health centers, and families fighting opioid addiction. These job-creating, life-saving investments stand in sharp contrast to the Trump Budget.
“Democrats won explicit language restricting border construction to the same see-through fencing that was already authorized under current law. The bill does not allow any increase in deportation officers or detention beds. We are disappointed that we did not reach agreement on Dreamer protections that were worthy of these patriotic young people. We will continue to ask the Speaker to give us a vote to protect Dreamers and honor our values.
“House Democratic Members will now assess the whole package and weigh its equities. Again, we thank our appropriators, their staff and the House and Senate Leadership staff for their commitment to getting the job done.”
Pelosi’s claims on the border wall contradict President Trump’s claim yesterday that Republicans had won “$1.6 Billion to start Wall on Southern Border, rest will be forthcoming.”
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News. He was named to Forward’s 50 “most influential” Jews in 2017. He is the co-author of How Trump Won: The Inside Story of a Revolution, which is available from Regnery. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
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