Democratic rebels trying to change the rules on Pelosi

A group of Democrats in the House are trying to change party rules to demand 218 Democratic votes alone for their presidential candidate, a blow to minority leader Nancy Pelosi.

The group, led by representatives Ed Perlmutter (D-Colo.) And Kathleen Rice (D-N.Y.), Among others, wants to impose a vote on a change in the rules of the democratic caucus. They circulated a letter – signed by a group of anti-Pelosi members – to adopt an amendment to the existing democratic rules to require "an affirmative vote of 218 (or a lower number equal to all members of the entire Bedroom). .. at a democratic caucus for the caucus to appoint someone for the position of president and bind the democratic caucus as a whole.

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Under current democratic rules, only a majority in the party caucus to win the election as a designated speaker. That person still needs 218 votes in the House – or a majority of the members present and voting – to become a speaker.

"It's no secret that our caucus needs new leadership. But more than that, I think we should have a process that fosters consensus, gives each member the floor and offers potential leadership candidates a real opportunity to argue in front of their colleagues, "Rice said in a statement. "This is precisely what the proposed rule change proposes to do."

Perlmutter-Rice's proposal would create a much greater hurdle for Pelosi or anyone in the Democratic Caucus – where voting is secret – to become the nominee. That would allow the anti-Pelosi democrats to try to knock him out of the House in public, which is a much tougher vote for them.

The proposal will not pass and the Democrats may not even be able to vote, according to lawmakers and Democratic advisers. But it will fuel the debate about whether Pelosi can speak if the Democrats win the House on election day, a very real possibility at this point.

The Atlantic has first reported the proposal.

The anti-Pelosi sentiment among Democratic candidates and ruling leaders has recently cooled since the Democrats' prospects for Nov. 6 improved, and most members and officials believe it will come back if Democrats win the majority.

However, there is a core of lawmakers who want a change of leadership, arguing that Pelosi and other senior Democrats have been in power for too long. In 2002, Pelosi took the lead of the Democratic Party. More than 60 members voted for Ohio representative Tim Ryan when he challenged Pelosi after the 2016 election. A number of these members still want new leadership.

Perlmutter recently held a meeting in his office to discuss the proposal, according to Democratic sources.

"Ed is one of the many members who have sent this letter to the caucus chair to better align the rules of the democratic caucus with those of the House and make sure the caucus is ready to take office on the 3rd. January 2019, "said Ashley Verville. , Spokesman of Perlmutter, in a statement.

The Pelosi office declined to comment.

But several high-ranking Democrats rejected the proposed changes as "poorly planned" and they predicted that Pelosi could easily defeat him if he had to vote.

"It's not a good thing to do 50 days after the elections," said a Democratic aide. "This is not the time to have this discussion."