The White House on Wednesday jabbed House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi for threatening to blow up a budget deal if she doesn’t get assurances for immigration debate.
“We made clear that the budget deal should be a budget deal and that members of Congress like Nancy Pelosi should not hold our military hostage over a separate issue,” said White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders.
“We laid out what we would like to be in immigration legislation and I think it is something that Nancy Pelosi should support and hopefully she will come onboard, we can get this budget deal done and then we can focus on immigration,” said Mrs. Sanders.
Earlier, Mrs. Pelosi said she would oppose a budget deal unless she gets a commitment from Speaker Paul D. Ryan for a freewheeling consideration of immigration legislation.
Mr. Ryan has said he will only take up a bill that the president would be willing to sign.
Congress is heading for a Thursday deadline for a spending bill to avoid a government shutdown.
Senate leaders announced a two-year spending deal that ups the budget $300 billion, increasing Pentagon spending by $80 billion and domestic spending by $63 billion this year alone.
The deal should clear the way for an immigration debate to start next week in the Senate.
• S.A. Miller can be reached at smiller@washingtontimes.com.
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