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