House

Pelosi: GOP has turned House into ‘puppet show’

Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is seen in the House Chamber for the final vote on the The Lower Energy Costs Act at the Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, March 30, 2023.

Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) accused Republicans of turning the House of Representatives “into a puppet show” during debate for a resolution to censure Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) Wednesday.

House Republicans are expected to vote to censure Schiff for his handling of investigations into former President Trump. The first attempt to censure the California Democrat failed last week, when 20 Republicans joined Democrats to block the resolution. 

A revised version of the resolution, however, cleared a procedural hurdle Wednesday, when Republicans rejected Democrats’ motion to table the resolution on party lines, 218-208. A final vote on the measure is teed up for later Wednesday. 

“Today we are on the floor of the House, where the other side has turned this body, this chamber – where slavery was abolished, where Medicare and social security and everything were instituted – they’ve turned it into a puppet show. A puppet show,” Pelosi said on the floor of the House during debate Wednesday. 

“And you know what?” Pelosi added. “The puppeteer, Donald Trump, is shining a light on the strings. You look miserable.” 

Pelosi, former House Speaker, has long championed Schiff and has endorsed Schiff’s bid for the competitive Senate seat in California.

On the floor of the House, Pelosi called Schiff “one of the greatest members” of the body. 

“The only advantage to all of this is that instead of reversing what we did on the [Inflation Reduction Act] to save the planet, or reverse what we did to reduce the cost of prescription drugs, you’re wasting time,” Pelosi said.