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Nancy Pelosi cancels posh Capitol dinner amid Covid-19 spike after getting called out for 'hypocritical' move

The news of the dinner's cancellation came from Pelosi's Chief of Staff Drew Hammill though a Friday night tweet, after Pelosi and House Minority Speaker Kevin McCarthy were slammed online

Nancy Pelosi had to cancel a lavish dinner for new members at the United States Capitol building after she and House Minority Speaker Kevin McCarthy were met with severe backlash on social media in the wake of a new spike in Covic-19 cases in the country. The Friday night dinner was canceled after backlash throughout the day calling Pelosi "hypocritical" after she herself dubbed the virus a "health emergency" during a press conference.

The news of the dinner's cancellation came from Pelosi's Chief of Staff Drew Hammill through a Friday night tweet. "Our office strictly follows the guidance of the Office of Attending Physician, including for this dinner," Hammill tweeted before 6 pm. "To be a further model for the nation, this event has been modified to allow Members-elect to pick up their meals to go in a socially-distanced manner."

He also followed up with another tweet about an hour and a half later, noting: "Members-elect are now picking up their boxed meals and departing the Capitol. There is no group dinner. Members-elect are in DC already for orientation."

The cancellation came after NBC news correspondent Leigh Ann Caldwell tweeted about the dinner, writing: "House Dem and GOP leaders are holding respective dinners for new members. .@SpeakerPelosi told me it’s safe. 'It’s very spaced', she said and there is enhanced ventilation and the Capitol physician signed off."

Soon after, Twitter blasted Pelosi and McCarthy for the soiree. "Please cancel these in-person dinners, @SpeakerPelosi & @kevinomccarthy to keep everyone safe from #covid19 - yourselves, your new members, servers, the Capitol police and all of their families and contacts. And, to show public health leadership," tweeted Chelsea Clinton, daughter of former President Bill Clinton. 

President Donald Trump's niece Mary Trump also called for cancellation, tweeting: "I'm re-watching Battlestar Galactica (because mood). Wear a fracking mask and, if you're @SpeakerPelosi, cancel the fracking House dinner." Another tweeted: "This is incredibly stupid on a good day but just terrible messaging when the country is sliding further into catastrophe every day."

One user wrote: "Not only is this a bad idea, but it is also hypocritical. Need we remember how many super spreader events originated in the WH with dozens of ppl getting Covid-19? We ALL have to adapt and adjust to current conditions, even if that means skipping traditions right now." Other tweets called the dinner "irresponsible and risky" and said it "sets a terrible example."

Pelosi's dinner comes after a record-breaking spike of Covid-19 cases on Friday, November 13, where more than 153,000 new cases were recorded in the country, with at least 66,000 hospitalized for the same. At a news conference on the same day, she herself preached the dangers of the virus calling it a "red alert".

"As Leader Schumer and I discussed yesterday, this is an emergency of the highest magnitude, and yet, our Republican colleagues want to focus elsewhere, instead of recognizing this is a health emergency, which science is giving us a path to crush," Pelosi said.

She followed it up noting: "More than 67,000 Americans are hospitalized with Covid-19, a new record, threatening, overwhelming our hospitals, and our hospitals in our rural areas, too," the House speaker said. Over 10 million people have been infected. Two hundred and forty thousand Americans have died because of this pandemic. There's no time to waste. We must save lives and livelihoods, and yet, Republicans in Congress continue their tactics of delay, distort and deny, which has led to deaths."