Nancy Pelosi doesn't want to talk about Kevin McCarthy's floor speech right now

Friday is Build Back Better day, dang it, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) wants to spend Democrats' time in the sun talking about the important things — not, for example, Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy's (R-Calif.) 8.5-hour Thursday night floor speech, which pushed the vote on President Biden's social safety net package to Friday morning.

When asked during a post-vote press conference how she feels now that McCarthy has beaten her record for longest floor speech, Pelosi quickly dismissed the question. She said she "barely noticed" McCarthy had bested her, and that "that's not what we're here to talk about. This is about serious business here."

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Brigid Kennedy

Brigid Kennedy worked at The Week from 2021 to 2023 as a staff writer, junior editor and then story editor, with an interest in U.S. politics, the economy and the music industry.