Paul Pelosi faces ‘long recovery process’ after hammer attack
Cindy Sheehan, left, and Debbie Wasserman Schultz, both Democratic lawmakers, say it is urgent to pass legislation that would give health care protections to victims of the coronavirus. “We are here today to tell the American people that we need you to step up, we need you to stand up. We can do this. Together, we can do this,” Sheehan said.
In the days after a woman killed six congressional staffers by launching a drive-by shooting in a Washington, D.C., Capitol Hill office space, the word “recovery” was often bandied about. Some politicians even seemed ready to start taking the coronavirus crisis lightly.
But that was not the case for Nancy Pelosi, the House speaker and chief Democratic policy and legislative strategist, or Debbie Wasserman Schultz, the former chief strategist to three Democratic presidential candidates who resigned last month amid criticism over her handling of the scandal.
Now both Democratic lawmakers, who face a long recovery process that includes weeks of physical therapy, have pledged to take the virus seriously and to continue fighting for workers and workers’ rights. In a wide-ranging interview with The Washington Post, they were unafraid to address controversial remarks and questions raised about the coronavirus, and about their own handling of it.
As the number of confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus in the U.S. rises, they said, the country’s leaders have been too quick to dismiss the threat and to move quickly away from the hard work of containing the virus. They said Democrats were also reluctant to move too quickly on legislation.
“I fear some over-reaction to everything,” Pelosi said. “And I think that the American people want us to be rational and not overreact, but just as rational in the face of a disease.”
Pelosi took the lead in responding to the shooting, quickly traveling to the scene and calling on Congress to pass a $1 billion emergency fund to support workers in industries hit hard by the virus, such as restaurants and the medical field. She sent Congress a bill to fund President Trump’s request for 50 billion dollars in funds to support health care systems, which are expected to face tremendous challenges.
“I’m proud to be your spokesperson,” Pelosi told the
