House Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) on Sunday blasted Republicans as "legislative arsonists" for their plan to shut down the government unless President Barack Obama's health care reform law is defunded.

In an interview with CNN's Candy Crowley, the California Democrat explained that the "anti-government ideology is making a mess of what's going on in Congress now."

"Republicans put legislation on the floor that was intended to shut down government," she said. "For them, that's a victory because they're anti-government ideologues who dominate the Republican Party."

"They want to defund Obamacare," Crowley pointed out.

"No, they want to shut down the government," Pelosi insisted. "The effect of putting the Affordable Care Act on the bill is shutting down government. They know that."

"I call them legislative arsonists," she added. "They're there to burn down what we should be building up in terms of investments in education and scientific research and all that it is that making our country great and competitive. I don't paint them all with the same brush, and I certainly don't paint the Speaker with that brush."

"But enough of them in their caucus to shut down government, that would be a victory for them."