Pelosi detractor says he’ll back her bid for speaker
WASHINGTON — Rep. Nancy Pelosi appears to be having some success shrinking the ranks of Democratic lawmakers opposing her bid to serve a second stint as speaker of the House.
Rep. Brian Higgins of western New York announced Wednesday he will now support Pelosi after earlier signing on to a letter opposing her bid.
One day earlier, Marcia Fudge of Ohio announced she would back Pelosi. Fudge had flirted with the idea of running for the position herself.
Pelosi still has a challenge ahead to secure 218 votes, but she is getting closer to that threshold.
In Higgins’ case, he said he had several productive discussions with Pelosi and other party leaders. He said they will work with him to expand Medicare as an option for those between the ages of 50 and 65. He also said one of the people he hoped would run for speaker, Rep. Karen Bass, D-calif., told him she would be focusing on her bid to lead the Congressional Black Caucus.
Higgins said Wednesday he had taken a “principled stand” in opposing Pelosi.
“A principled stand, however, often requires a pragmatic outlook in order to meet with success,” he said.
Pelosi also got a boost Wednesday from Alexandria Ocasio-cortez of New York, the youngest woman elected to Congress. She said all the challenges to Pelosi are coming from people to her right, which would make the party “even more conservative and bent toward corporate interests.”
“So long as Leader Pelosi remains the most progressive candidate for Speaker, she can count on my support,” Ocasio-cortez tweeted.