House Speaker Nancy Pelosi held a press conference in Leesburg, Virginia, concluding the annual three-day issues retreat held by House Democrats. The retreat focused on how to accomplish Democratic priorities, such as improving infrastructure and lowering drug prices, and regrouping as a conference amid public ideological divisions.
The retreat, which concluded the Democrats’ first 100 days in the House majority, also offered an opportunity for members and their families to enjoy group activities, and featured a special appearance from celebrities John Legend and Chrissy Teigen. In the press conference, Pelosi and several members of Democratic leadership emphasized their continued to strategy to campaign on issues of health care.
Pelosi’s conference comes after reports that the Trump administration had “floated” a proposal to release immigrant detainees into so-called “sanctuary cities” as the White House eyes stronger and a more hard-lined approach to immigration policies.
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A senior White House official confirmed to CBS News on Friday, “This was just a suggestion that was floated and rejected, which ended any further discussion.” Revelations of the proposal come as the Trump administration is looking to implement even more aggressive immigration policies after replacing top leaders at the Department of Homeland Security, including former DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen.
Pelosi called the proposal a notion which showed that President Trump was not fit to be president of United States. She also said that she was willing to work with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican, on immigration reform.
Pelosi also addressed Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar’s controversial comments on 9/11, saying she had not yet talked to the congresswoman, but added it’s her practice to “call them in before I call them out.”
In an interview with “60 Minutes” correspondent Lesley Stahl which will air in full on Sunday, Pelosi said that she believes there are issues on which Democrats and Republicans can agree.
“There’s always been bipartisan support for Dreamers,” Pelosi said. “Bipartisan support for gun safety, bipartisan support for infrastructure.”
In the “60 Minutes” interview, Pelosi also outlined how she can use her position in spite of gridlock in Congress.
“The power of the speaker is to set the agenda,” Pelosi told Stahl. “We didn’t have a speaker who would bring a gun bill to the floor. We didn’t have a speaker who would bring a Dreamers issue to the floor. We do now. And that’s a very big difference. The power of the speaker is awesome. Awesome.”
