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House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) urges Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to pass the $ 2,000 stimulus checks to Americans at his weekly press conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, United States, December 30, 2020.
Leah Millis | Reuters
On Sunday, the House re-elected Nancy Pelosi as president, extending the Democrat’s second stint as head of the chamber.
Pelosi, the only woman to hold the speaker post, will hold the post for a fourth term. The 80-year-old reclaimed the hammer in 2019 after eight years of Republican control. Minority leader Kevin McCarthy of California will lead the GOP for a second term.
Pelosi received 216 votes, while McCarthy received 209. Five Democrats did not support Pelosi. Three voted “present,” one supported Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, DN.Y., and one supported Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill.
The California Democrat leads a slimmer majority after the GOP overturned at least 10 seats in the 2020 election. His party entered Sunday with about 222 members, four more than the 218 needed for a majority in the Plenary House.
Pelosi and President-elect Joe Biden will push to address issues such as coronavirus relief, healthcare and infrastructure at the new Congress. Tuesday’s run-off election in Georgia, which will decide whether Republicans occupy the Senate, will determine how much the duo can accomplish.
Before delivering remarks in the House on Sunday, Pelosi lifted the president’s gavel to applause from Democrats. She cited the end of the coronavirus pandemic as “our most urgent priority”.
“And we will defeat him,” she said.
Pelosi and Biden said they will push for another round of pandemic aid in the coming weeks. They described the $ 900 billion package signed last month as a down payment. Pelosi on Sunday called for help from state and local governments, a move that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., Opposed.
She added that the House should work with Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris to “seek justice – economic justice, health justice, racial justice, environmental and climate justice.”
Pelosi insisted that losing her party’s seats would not reduce her influence and force her to change her strategy. She said the election of Biden, who takes office on Jan.20, gives Democrats more power for the next two years.
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