The Shutdown Has Brought ‘Chuck And Nancy’ Even Closer As Dems Stay Unified

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (2nd-R), D-CA, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (2nd-L), D-NY, Rep. Steny Hoyer (L), D-MD, and Senator Dick Durbin (R), D-IL, exit the White House after meeting with US president Donald... House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (2nd-R), D-CA, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (2nd-L), D-NY, Rep. Steny Hoyer (L), D-MD, and Senator Dick Durbin (R), D-IL, exit the White House after meeting with US president Donald Trump to discuss the partial government shutdown, January 4, 2019 in Washigton, DC. (Photo by Alex Edelman / AFP) (Photo credit should read ALEX EDELMAN/AFP/Getty Images) MORE LESS
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House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) go way back: the two have socialized and worked together since Pelosi first entered Congress in the late 1980s.

But, as the shutdown has dragged on and Republicans have tried to isolate Schumer as the more pliable leader, the two have fused together even more closely.

According to a Tuesday Washington Post report, they call each other so frequently that they have been relating updates to aides, instead of the usual other way around. Schumer has Pelosi’s number memorized.

A couple of weeks ago, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) reportedly waylaid Schumer to try to strike a bargain: a funding bill for DHS with $1 billion for the administration’s non-wall related immigration projects. Schumer refused to give an answer on the spot, first calling up Pelosi and talking it over with her — the two agreed not to take the deal.

The two have also strategized together in lengthy meetings before White House negotiations, and decided to deliver the rebuttal to President Donald Trump’s Tuesday Oval Office address together.

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