But the California Democrat is also taking a huge risk during the coronavirus aid talks as she remains almost entirely unyielding in her demands — even as negotiations drag on and millions of out-of-work Americans lose their federal aid. Both she and Republicans risk overplaying their hands and ending up with a stalemate that leads to retribution from angry voters in November.

For Pelosi, the situation couldn’t be clearer: She and Republicans approach the negotiations, like most things in Washington, with two opposing value systems. Pelosi is right and the GOP, as she says often, is wrong. So far, the vast majority of her caucus — even centrists who opposed her for the speakership last January — stands behind her. Such unity only increases her leverage in bargaining with a Senate GOP that is divided on the next aid package.

Pelosi’s advisers are confident that if there is no deal, President Donald Trump and Republicans will be blamed, after weeks of GOP lawmakers publicly decrying what they described as overly generous benefits for the unemployed.