Nancy Pelosi on Coronavirus Response: 'We Need a General'

When House Speaker Nancy Pelosi hopped on the phone to talk with KQED Monday morning, she seemed to be in a reflective mood.

When asked how she and her family were doing, the 80-year-old San Francisco Democrat said her large Italian-American family is “keeping our distance,” adding that, “it is particularly challenging in this holy week, which means a great deal to all of us because it is a special time, a glorious time for our faith.”

Pelosi is a devout Catholic who regularly attends church and takes her faith seriously, especially as it relates to social justice, the poor and the “do unto others” part.

Asked for her thoughts about the COVID-19 pandemic, Pelosi said, “…sadness prevails. And it is a time when we would have three hours of reflection and contemplation to take us to the glorious moment of resurrection on Easter Sunday. And hopefully … there is a hope at the end, ‘the hope of the resurrection,’ as we say in mass, at the end of this tunnel. We have to believe that.”

Back in Washington, Pelosi’s plate has been incredibly full. Having just negotiated a $2 trillion coronavirus relief package signed by President Donald Trump last month, the speaker sounded almost surprised at what she had accomplished with the bill.

“I’m very proud of what we did get in there,” she said. “We got something they [Republicans] never thought they’d vote for in terms of an expansion of unemployment insurance to $600 per week … 49 Republican senators voted against that, but we prevailed … getting money into the pockets of the American people in a way that relieves the pain.”

Not resting on her laurels, Pelosi noted she’d just spoken with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin about having stimulus checks sent out electronically so they arrive more quickly.

Pelosi said she was trying to be “diplomatic rather than political” in this time of national crisis.

“The executive branch has been delinquent and slow-in-coming with a central command,” she said. “The president says we need a central command on how to increase the supply chain and identify the supply chain and then to allocate resources on an as-needed basis and not on the political basis [of] somebody who’s made nice on the phone with the president, but somebody else who didn’t, because the frustration level is high in their areas,” she added.

The speaker was referring to comments President Trump recently made during a White House briefing that governors “should be appreciative” of the federal assistance they’re getting.

Asked whether there was a role for Congress in helping states get the supplies they need, Pelosi pointed the finger back at the White House.

“Let’s just go into the fact that we need a person who’s a general or somebody who knows how to manage, to acquire, quartermaster, logistics management of it all to get this to where it is needed, when it is needed and then move on to other places… this is sorely needed immediately.”

Pelosi said she’d soon be appointing a bipartisan coronavirus committee to make sure money in the $2 trillion federal package is spent wisely. She dismissed criticism by the president that it was just another partisan witch hunt.

“So we have to look at who might want to profiteer … who may want to price gouge,” Pelosi said. “It’s not really about looking at the administration. It’s looking at how the private sector might try to exploit the money that is there in this bill and any future legislation.”

Pelosi is holding a tele-town hall for San Francisco residents Monday night and will take questions from constituents.