House Speaker Nancy Pelosi drew sniggers at a press conference for tearing into Republicans with a sarcastic jibe she made over Lindsey Graham’s proposal to outlaw abortions nationwide at 15 weeks of pregnancy.
Ms Pelosi said there was a “conflict within the Republican Party” and some members were in defiance of the bill introduced by Mr Graham on Tuesday.
“There are those in the party who think life begins at the candlelight dinner the night before,” she said in comments that sent some reporters into a fit of laughter.
Ms Pelosi also earned praise on social media for the snarky dig, which has since gone viral.
“FINALLY! And we sure as heck have the best comebacks and one-liners. I laugh every single day. We are awesome!” a Twitter user said.
“This is an outrageous lie. A Republican would never take a woman to a candlelight dinner,” joked another user.
In one tweet, a photo of Ms Pelosi’s sarcastic clapping from 2019 was shared, with the title, “Patron saint of shade”.
Ms Pelosi attacked Mr Graham for comments from August in which he argued that matters of abortion should be decided at the state level.
She speculated the change in stance from tying the issue to states’ rights and now trying to change it at the federal level was “probably at the insistence of the Maga grassroots coming out and saying there should be a federal ban”.
“Women are not happy about this and they’re making their views known. It’s so unfortunate,” Ms Pelosi said, adding: “We are united in our support for women’s right to choose.”
In the first such bill proposed, Mr Graham, a senator from South Carolina, introduced legislation to restrict abortion to 15 weeks in the wake of the US Supreme Court’s decision to revoke a constitutional right to abortion care.
But the reaction to the proposed legislation has been harsh, and the cold reception is not just from the Democrats.
Several Republican senators have not publicly embraced Mr Graham’s bill and instead have tried to avoid speaking about it as abortion has become a top voter concern in this year’s midterm elections, seemingly galvanising their opponents.
The Supreme Court ruling, which allowed for abortion laws to be implemented at the state level, had drawn the praise of Republicans.
And at least one vocal Republican senator has said there was no “appetite” for Mr Graham’s federal-level legislation.
“I don’t think there’s an appetite for a national platform here. My state, today, is working on this. I’m not sure what he’s thinking here. But I don’t think there will be a rallying around that concept,” said Shelley Moore Capito. “I don’t think there’s much of an appetite to go that direction
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said questions about the bill should be directed to him and that most Republican senators “prefer this be handled at the state level”.
