http://thehill.com/homenews/house/226855-pelosi-gop-doesnt-have-the-votes By Mike Lillis - 12/11/14 03:41 PM EST
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi sent her colleagues a letter Thursday afternoon saying it’s "clear" that House Republicans do not have the votes to pass a $1.1 trillion spending package.
Shortly after coming out against the package in a speech on the House floor, the California Democrat thanked her troops for giving Democrats “leverage” to demand changes.
"This increases our leverage to get two offensive provisions of the bill removed: the bank bailout and big money for campaigns provision," Pelosi wrote, referring to the two Republican amendments that have fueled the Democrats' revolt.
"However you decide to vote in the end, I thank those who continue to give us leverage to improve the bill."
House GOP leaders delayed a vote on the funding package, after Pelosi announced her opposition, going behind closed doors to plan their next move.
Entrenched opposition from the minority Democrats is significant in the "cromnibus" fight because dozens of conservative Republicans are vowing to buck Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and oppose the measure.
GOP leaders had banked on Democrats to bridge the gap, but the policy riders sparked an outcry from the liberals who dominate the caucus. On Thursday, Pelosi joined them in vowing to oppose the package when, or if, it hits the floor.
"This a moral hazard. We're being asked to vote for a moral hazard," Pelosi said, referring to the Dodd-Frank provision that critics say would put taxpayers at risk of another Wall Street bailout.
"It will not have my support," Pelosi said on the House floor.
That position puts Pelosi at rare odds with President Obama, who is supporting the package to fund the government through fiscal 2015 — a division the White House is downplaying.
"The president's respect and affection for Leader Pelosi are no secret," White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Thursday. "That said, it's clear that we have a difference of opinion here."
