Pelosi says 'large number' of Dems wanted her to shut down gov. to stop GOP filling court vacancy

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Thursday that she rejected calls from fellow Democrats outside of the chamber who wanted her to shut down the federal government over the Senate GOP's handling of the Supreme Court vacancy. 

"I have the privilege of being a leader in the most diverse party in every possible way including opinion. A large number of people outside, not in the House, but outside wanted me to shut down government because of what they're doing on Justice Ginsburg. Shut down government? I'm not a big believer in shutting down government," she said at a press conference.

"But when the West is on fire and the South is battered by storms and the whole country is suffering from a downturn in the economy and the people we need so that we can do our jobs – public employees – we're going to shut them down? No, I don't think so," she also said.

The House on Tuesday night passed a stopgap spending measure, known as a continuing resolution, to keep the federal government fully running from Oct. 1 to Dec. 11. 

President Trump and fellow Republicans are trying to fill the Supreme Court seat of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who died last week. Democrats and others argue that the winner of the 2020 presidential election, just weeks away, should put forth the nominee. 

Pelosi said Thursday that the "beautiful diversity" of her party is that "we are not a rubber stamp."

"We have all kinds of opinions in the party," said the California Democrat, adding that she was "proud" of the House's bipartisan passage of the resolution earlier this week to keep government running.