© Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP PhotoHouse Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi
"There's all kinds of ways, I assure you, that leadership exercises its influence - the least of which is a floor speech," said Rep. Luis Gutiérrez (D-Ill.), an unabashed critic of leadership on immigration issues.
Gutiérrez, one of the most vocal members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and who is retiring at the end of this year, has been torching House and Senate Democratic leadership all week over a bipartisan agreement to raise long-term funding levels for defense and domestic programs.
Though Pelosi participated in the negotiations that produced Wednesday's deal, she had the least leverage of all the leaders. That sway diminished even further after Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) enthusiastically endorsed the deal. Pelosi could still rally her caucus to oppose the agreement, but at the very real risk of shutting down the government.
Senate leaders announced the sweeping deal with the expectation that the House and Senate will likely vote on the proposal Thursday, just hours before government funding runs out.
The chances of such opposition yielding a last-minute Dreamers deal were practically nil. And Pelosi's protest succeeded in drawing attention to the plight of the young immigrants facing deportation known as Dreamers, a cause no one disputes she wholeheartedly backs.
The demonstration, some Democrats in her caucus said, was the right thing to do.
"I think it was appropriate for us to do that and take that stand," said Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio), who ran against Pelosi for the caucus' top spot in 2016. "I think this is entirely appropriate for us to at least ask for a vote."
Still, other House Democrats said Pelosi, with her seat at the negotiating table, could and should have done more.
In interviews will [with] nearly a dozen House Democrats, many who requested anonymity to speak candidly, several called the speech an attempt by Pelosi to shore up support with the progressive base angry by congressional inaction on Dreamers. By agreeing to the spending caps deal, Gutiérrez and others argued, Democrats gave up all their leverage to force Republicans into serious negotiations to shield Dreamers from deportation.
Pelosi took to the floor promising to oppose the budget caps deal until Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) agreed to a floor debate and vote on immigration, similar to a deal reached by Senate leaders in January. Several hours later, she yielded the floor without any concession from Ryan. "I'm not sure it was a net positive or a net negative. It was probably neutral," said one Hispanic lawmaker.
Some centrist-minded Democrats said Pelosi's daylong protest could - by calling attention to the failure to provide relief for Dreamers - make it that much harder for vulnerable members to vote for the budget deal.
"This stunt ... had nothing to do with protecting vulnerable members who have to take a difficult vote," said one moderate lawmaker who asked not to be named. "Working out this deal and then saying she's not going to vote for it? Come on. She was at the table."
Pelosi spokesman Drew Hammill defended her eight-hour speech in a statement.
"Sometimes it's worth making it crystal clear to the American people where our Caucus stands. The Leader has received an overwhelming response from our Members and from across the country," Hammill said. "The contrast from today couldn't be clearer: only Speaker Ryan stands in the way of protecting our nation's Dreamers. Anonymous quotes accomplish absolutely nothing."But the frustration coming from both the right and left of the House Democratic Caucus shows the precarious position Pelosi finds herself in.
She's the leader of a 193-member caucus that is sharply divided over the party's ongoing strategy to secure protections for Dreamers after President Donald Trump rescinded the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program in September.
All House Democrats are supportive of Dreamers. But several members, particularly centrists, are wary of using the immigration issue as a campaign cudgel, worried it could derail Democrats' chances of taking back the House.
Pelosi, who has bet her future on winning back the House in November, is acutely aware of the differing sentiments within her caucus. She has tried to bridge the divide for months by pushing for a Dreamers deal while also emphasizing the immigration talks are part of much broader budget negotiations.
Still, Pelosi and Schumer had played hardball on immigration since the fall, refusing to agree to a spending caps deal until Republicans made headway on Dreamer negotiations.
That changed in January, after a three-day government shutdown left Senate Democrats stung and scrambling, suddenly open to the idea of de-linking the funding talks with ongoing DACA negotiations to avoid a repeat budget stalemate. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) also promised an open floor debate and vote on immigration, set to begin next week.
The Senate deal left House Democrats furious - they supported Senate Democrats in the shutdown effort but, in the end, were left with nothing to show for it, including no commitment from House Republicans on immigration.
After rumors started to spread this week about an impending budget caps deal, some members of the House Democratic Caucus threatened rebellion. As Senate leaders were announcing the budget deal Wednesday, Pelosi was already on the House floor, entering Hour 3 of her surprise speech.
The back and forth left some Democrats with whiplash.
"It would helpful if the leadership engages up front and gave us some clue about where we were going, what our goals were," Rep. Scott Peters (D-Calif.) said. "I feel like I'm often in the dark about what's happening. And then this budget is falling out of the sky and you have to decide about a 'yes' vote you feel bad about, and a 'no' vote you feel bad about."Heather Caygle is a Congress reporter for POLITICO. Before coming to POLITICO, Caygle was a congressional reporter for Bloomberg BNA, primarily covering transportation but also dabbling in Hill action on tax reform, agriculture, appropriations and the Postal Service. Her work has also been featured on the WashingtonPost.com and WAMU.
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