House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi told fellow Democrats on Thursday that they ought to move past their objections on the budget deal and give it a thumbs up during a floor vote.
Specifically, she admitted the deal was bad for Democrats — but that they should “embrace the suck,” Politico reported.
“We need to get this off the table so we can go forward,” she said during a closed caucus meeting reported to Politico by a source.
The budget deal — forged by Rep. Paul Ryan, Wisconsin Republican, and Sen. Patty Murray, Washington Democrat — has sparked fire from conservative and liberal camps alike. But, Mrs. Pelosi reminded, Republicans aren’t likely to be able to gather enough votes to pass the deal, and that means Democrats will have to step forward and take a side.
She said that Democrats’ side ought to be to pass the measure, especially since it contains funding for unemployment benefits that are supposed to expire at the end of the month — sparking ire among some of the party’s key constituencies.
It’s not worth righting Republicans on this deal, she said, Politico reported. She also told Democrats who were hesitant to vote for the budget measure because it didn’t contain enough unemployment benefit funding that they could bring it up at a later date, and that if they acted quickly, they could turn the political tide to their favor by branding Republicans with a “do-nothing GOP message,” she said, Politico reported.
SEE ALSO: All-out war breaks out in GOP over budget pact
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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