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."
She also said she "didn't even pay attention to the speech," per The Recount. "I don't even listen to most of the speeches on the other side because they're not fraught with meaning or fact." Looks like McCarthy's Hallmark Channel diatribe failed to get under the speaker's skin.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
On a more serious note, Pelosi of course also used the press conference to herald the bill's advancement, exclaiming, "Today, we have the honor of participating in passing legislation for people to build back better."
"We'll be telling our children and grandchildren that we were here this day," she added.
-
What have Trump’s Mar-a-Lago summits achieved?Today’s big question Zelenskyy and Netanyahu meet the president in his Palm Beach ‘Winter White House’
-
The most anticipated movies of 2026The Week Recommends If the trailers are anything to go by, film buffs are in for a treat
-
The biggest viral moments of 2025In the Spotlight From the Coldplay concert kiss cam to a celebrity space mission, these are some of the craziest, and most unexpected, things to happen this year
-
Bari Weiss’ ‘60 Minutes’ scandal is about more than one reportIN THE SPOTLIGHT By blocking an approved segment on a controversial prison holding US deportees in El Salvador, the editor-in-chief of CBS News has become the main story
-
CBS pulls ‘60 Minutes’ report on Trump deporteesSpeed Read An investigation into the deportations of Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador’s notorious prison was scrapped
-
Trump administration posts sliver of Epstein filesSpeed Read Many of the Justice Department documents were heavily redacted, though new photos of both Donald Trump and Bill Clinton emerged
-
Trump HHS moves to end care for trans youthSpeed Read The administration is making sweeping proposals that would eliminate gender-affirming care for Americans under age 18
-
Jack Smith tells House of ‘proof’ of Trump’s crimesSpeed Read President Donald Trump ‘engaged in a criminal scheme to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election,’ hoarded classified documents and ‘repeatedly tried to obstruct justice’
-
House GOP revolt forces vote on ACA subsidiesSpeed Read The new health care bill would lower some costs but not extend expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies
-
Hegseth rejects release of full boat strike footageSpeed Read There are calls to release video of the military killing two survivors of a Sept. 2 missile strike on an alleged drug trafficking boat
-
Trump vows naval blockade of most Venezuelan oilSpeed Read The announcement further escalates pressure on President Nicolás Maduro
