Pelosi next speaker of the House?
WASHINGTON >> Rep. Nancy Pelosi clinched the votes for a second stint as House speaker Wednesday after agreeing to serve no more than four years in a deal with a group of Democratic rebels; a significant concession to their demands for generational change.
The group of insurgents wanted new blood in the top Democratic ranks and maneuvered for months to deny Pelosi, D-California, the votes she would need to trigger a shake-up. After weeks of behind-the-scenes negotiating, Pelosi backed off her resistance to setting a date for her departure but avoided becoming an immediate lame duck.
“Over the summer, I made it clear that I see myself as a bridge to the next generation of leaders, a recognition of my continuing responsibility to mentor and advance new members into positions of power and responsibility in the House Democratic Caucus,” Pelosi said in a statement.
Almost immediately, seven Democratic holdouts said they would back Pelosi. Their support would be enough to secure the House majority that she needs for her election to speaker on Jan. 3 — 218 votes if all members are present and voting for an individual. According to a Washington Post analysis, that would leave Pelosi with no more 16 Democrats openly opposing her. She could weather as many as 17 defections if all members are voting.
Already the first woman to serve as speaker, Pelosi would cement her place in history by joining a small group of lawmakers who regained the speakership after losing it. She would be the first speaker to do so since Texas Democrat Sam Rayburn took the gavel back in 1955. No other twotime speaker has reclaimed the gavel after more than four years out of power.