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House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., Would be elected Speaker of the House after Democrats won the House of Commons in the midterm elections on Tuesday.
J. Scott Applewhite / AP
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J. Scott Applewhite / AP
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., Would be elected Speaker of the House after Democrats won the House of Commons in the midterm elections on Tuesday.
J. Scott Applewhite / AP
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi told CNN this week she's "100 percent confident" she'll be the next speaker of the House.
A group of 10 House Democrats is plotting to block Pelosi from returning to the speakership. The group, which includes Pelosi critics like Reps. Seth Moulton of Massachusetts, Tim Ryan of Ohio, and Kathleen Rice of New York among others, held its first meeting on Wednesday night, according to congressional sources.
"If we're asking for members, many of them who said they are not going to vote for Nancy Pelosi – 15 to 20 of them – if the first thing we ask them to vote, they're going to be in a lot of trouble in their re-election, "Ryan told NPR. "And I just do not think that's fair to them."
The would-be insurrection has a major problem: It does not yet have a candidate to oppose Pelosi in a head-to-head contest. Without an alternative, the group is rather focused on building a public case that would make it easier for the audience.
The group 's immediate next step is to gather signatures from current and incoming representatives. Their goal is to make the letter public next week, the Congress returns to Washington, and the new members arrive for orientation.
To be elected speaker of the House of the House of Representatives in the House of Representatives in the Senate. While Pelosi is likely to have the support of the majority of the Democratic caucus, if enough Democrats voted against her on the House floor, she would be blocked from winning the speakership. Pelosi became the first female speaker of the House in 2007 after the House in the 2006 midterm elections. She stayed at the top of the House Democratic leader when her party lost control in 2010 and has easily fended off the challenges for the post since then.
The more seats Democrats win in the 2018 contest, the easier it would be for Pelosi to lock up the votes it needs to regain the gavel. Democrats have picked up 30 Republican-held seats so far. Several more Democrats are leading races that are too close to call in California, New Jersey and elsewhere. Several of the people involved in the oust-Pelosi effort have conceded that the larger the incoming democratic class is, the less leverage they have to force pelosi out.
"Pelosi Leader is confident in his support among Members and Members-elect," Pelosi spokesperson Drew Hammill said in a statement. "Democrats do not let the Republicans choose their leaders." The election proved that GOP attacks on Pelosi simply do not work.
Pelosi and her allies have long argued that no other Democrat has the legislative, fundraising and organizational skills she would bring to the speakership. She raised millions of dollars for Democratic candidates in the 2018 election cycle, including Democrats who were wary of publicly committing to voting for her.
In the days since the election at least half a dozen Democrats have publicly reaffirmed their support for Pelosi's leadership, including newly elected members David Trone of Maryland and Longtime supporters like Illinois' Jan Schakowsky.
Schakowsky told NPR that there will be other opportunities to show leadership next year. She stressed that "in this chaotic time with the White House and the things that the president is doing, we have someone who has the experience, the know-how, a steady hand, has been in the room where it happens before. I think Nancy Pelosi is the one – really the only one – that knows the scene and will be able to navigate these very rough waters. "
NPR's Kelsey Snell and Deirdre Walsh contributed to this story.
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