House Speaker Nancy Pelosi must either get serious about negotiating with President Donald Trump about border security or get someone else to do it for her, House Minority Whip Steve Scalise said Friday.
"She’s refused to offer anything on the table," the Louisiana Republican told Fox News' "Fox and Friends." "It’s time for that to end. She's got to start negotiating or release everybody else and let someone else negotiate for her since she’s been unable to at least show any willingness."
This week, Pelosi suggested Trump postpone his Jan. 29 State of the Union address until the ongoing government shutdown ends, or submit it in writing. Trump followed that up by postponing a Democratic congressional delegation trip to Belgium, Egypt, and Afghanistan, denying Pelosi and other Democratic leaders the use of a military jet for their travels.
"Hopefully it provides her more opportunity to go and sit down with the president, because President Trump has been clear from the beginning of this," Scalise said of the cancellation. "He’s laid out what the security experts have said it’ll take to keep our country safe and secure the border."
Pelosi has not yet made an official counteroffer to Trump's demand for $5.7 billion for border wall construction, noted Scalise.
Instead, "at every turn, she said no," said Scalise. "She's got to get serious or authorize someone else to negotiate so that we can get this resolved."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.