Two key lines in Nancy Pelosi's victory speech were about Reagan and Bush
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) in her first address to the 116th Congress declared the beginning of "a new dawn" but pledged to work across the aisle, citing two past Republican presidents in the process.
Pelosi in her address said Democrats will protect DREAMers, and she made her case by citing former President Ronald Reagan, who said in his last speech as president, "If we ever closed the door to new Americans, our leadership in the world would soon be lost." When Republicans in the chamber didn't clap along with Democrats in response to this line, Pelosi said, "You don't applaud for Ronald Reagan?"
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Pelosi also promised that the 116th Congress will be "transparent, bipartisan and unifying" and that Democrats will "seek to reach across the aisle in this chamber and across the divisions in this great nation." At the same time, she pledged to address income inequality, protect Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security, and work to combat climate change, saying that in the midterm elections, "the American people spoke, and demanded a new dawn." Watch Pelosi's speech below. Brendan Morrow
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