Some Democrats do not want Nancy Pelosi to be the president. But they have no alternative



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On the same day, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi sent personalized letters to all members of her caucus, current and future, "respectfully asking" their support for her candidacy for the position of President, a small group Democratic lawmakers held a teleconference for this candidacy did not become a reality.

But if the calculations can support Pelosi's critics at the moment, politics is playing against them. A big problem shouting: they have no alternative yet. And they come up against a political brain that has just led Democrats to a majority in the House for the first time in ten years.

<p class = "canvas-atom web-text Mb (1.0em) Mb (0) – sm Mt (0.8em) – sm" type = "text" content = "In total, nine current legislators have explicitly said that they would oppose Pelosi's candidacy for the presidency of the House in January: representatives Tim Ryan – a possible presidential candidate of 2020 who challenged him unsuccessfully in 2016 – Seth Moulton, Kathleen Rice, Ed Perlmutter, Kurt Schrader, Filemon Vela, Marcia Fudge, Bill Foster and Brian Higgins A tenth representative, Albio Sires, was initially in the fray, but he announced on Friday that he supported Pelosi. "data-reactid =" 24 "> In total, nine lawmakers today explicitly stated that they would oppose Pelosi's candidacy for the presidency of the House in January: representatives Tim Ryan – a possible presidential candidate for Seth Moulton, Kathleen Rice, Ed Perlmutter, Kurt Schrader, Filemon Vela Jr., Marcia Fudge, Bill Foster and Brian Higgins, a tenth Rep. Albio Sires, had initially been in the fray, but he announced Friday that he supported Pelosi.

At least nine incoming lawmakers also said they would not vote for it, while a handful of others have launched calls for new leadership. Although these members represent only a fraction of the caucus as a whole, they point to a potential computational problem for Pelosi.

Elections of democratic leaders are expected to take place at the end of the month. To overcome this obstacle, Pelosi simply needs to get a majority of his vote in caucus. But to become a speaker, Pelosi must collect 218 votes in the House after the swearing in of the new Congress next January. And that's where some critics say she has a problem.

<p class = "canvas-atom canvas-text Mb (1.0em) Mb (0) – sm Mt (0.8em) – sm" type = "text" content = "In the current state of affairs, the democrats are projected to hold 229 seats, 13 races are still too close to call, but the voting site fivethirtyeight postulates that Democrats could win ten of them. If the Democrats get a total of 239 seats and there are no more defectors, Pelosi will cross the threshold of the floor. "Data-reactid =" 27 "> At the moment, Democrats are expected to hold 229 seats, 13 races are coming in. The FiveThirtyEight polling site says Democrats could win 10. If Democrats get a total of of 239 seats and that there are no more defectors, Pelosi will cross the course.

But the calculation remains difficult and leaves little room for any change. Lawmakers who oppose her candidacy nominate their new members who share the same views, telling them that if they oppose her, they will receive support from this faction, despite the inevitable promises of committee and fundraisers that will come from leadership, according to someone familiar with the conversations.

<p class = "canvas-atom canvas-text Mb (1.0em) Mb (0) – sm Mt (0.8em) – sm" type = "text" content = "Read more: Nancy Pelosi does not care what you think of her. And she's not going anywhere."data-reactid =" 29 ">Read more: Nancy Pelosi does not care what you think of her. And she's not going anywhere.

Of course, these numbers are changing until races are decided. Some legislative mechanisms may protect new members who have promised to vote against Pelosi, for example, by preventing them from being physically present at the vote, which would lower the threshold for the total number they need.

It is also unlikely that Pelosi – famous for her ability to count votes – prides her confidence if she is not sure she will cross the threshold. Pelosi herself also called the new members. She told CNN's Chris Cuomo on Thursday that she was "100%" and would be the next speaker.

"Chief Pelosi has confidence in his support among elected members and members," Pelosi Deputy Chief of Staff Drew Hammill said in a statement. "Democrats do not let Republicans choose their leaders. The elections proved that GOP attacks on Pelosi just did not work. "

Pelosi's dissatisfaction stems mainly from the desire for new, younger leaders – Pelosi's two deputy representatives, Steny Hoyer and James Clyburn, have also reached the age of seventy – a feeling compounded by the fact that many young members feel that advancement, according to conversations with Democrat aides. And of course, she is a flagship for Republicans, who used it frequently in attack ads during the election campaign of this cycle to elicit their own support.

But if mathematical calculation is a real thing, the anti-Pelosi faction has a bigger problem to overcome, in addition to its own political negotiation skills: it has no challenger. None of the ten legislators who oppose her opposed her. Ryan, who did it two years ago, said he did not intend to do it again. Moulton either. And lawmakers their colleagues considered the most likely to take away on the ground – chiefly, the representative Hakeem Jeffries and chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, Ben Ray Lujan – have already announced their candidacy for D & D. Other management positions.

Pelosi seemed to ignore the possibility of a challenger. "It does not matter," she told Cuomo when she was asked about it. "I had a candidate each time."

The group is expected to circulate a letter next week with all caucus members, current and future, who do not have support. A Democratic assistant said that a challenger would appear in an organic way so it became clear that Pelosi would not be able to reach the required threshold. Representative Steny Hoyer, the current minority whip, who is running as her greatest MP in the majority, said that he would run as a speaker if Pelosi did not have the right to vote, but Hoyer said that he did not anticipate this scenario.

But lawmakers who support it say that experienced leadership is exactly what is needed to guide the Democrats in what will surely be a tumultuous congress filled with inevitable battles with a Senate and a White House controlled by Republicans.

"There is no learning curve on this one. From the first day, we need someone very experienced, "said representative Adriano Espaillat, who is himself a candidate for a lower management position and announced his support for Pelosi on Thursday. Espaillat said he was "open" to supporting other candidates (even if there were none) but finally decided that Pelosi was the right person.

"We can not afford someone to learn while the well-being of Americans is at stake every day," he said.

<p class = "canvas-atom canvas-text Mb (1.0em) Mb (0) – sm Mt (0.8em) – sm" type = "text" content = "With Philip Elliott in Washington"data-reactid =" 42 ">With Philip Elliott in Washington

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