USA TODAY International Edition
‘ Toughest test yet’
The House: Why Pelosi faces difficult road ahead
WASHINGTON – House Speaker Nancy Pelosi won the gavel again Sunday as the House elected her to guide members through the start of a post- Trump Washington, marking the beginning of what is expected to be the last term of the trailblazer’s historic career at the U. S. Capitol.
The full chamber started voting on the speaker around noon, a process that took several hours due to COVID- 19 and social distancing efforts. While Pelosi was widely expected to win the speakership again, two problems clouded the vote: Democratic defections and complications due to COVID- 19.
Democratic losses in November left the party with a 222- 211 majority, with one race still undecided and one vacancy to be filled after Rep.- elect Luke Letlow, R- La., died of COVID- 19 last week. A majority of members present was required, meaning Pelosi needed nearly every member of the new razorthin majority to back her — a feat she accomplished even with five defections in her party. Democrats on the House floor broke out in applause after Pelosi secured a majority of votes required to hand her the speakership.
The predicament offers a preview of the challenges sure to loom over her the next two years as she works to unite competing factions in the party behind President- elect Joe Biden.
“You’re going to have the progressives versus the moderates on nearly every bill.” Michael Hardaway Hardaway Wire
“I think this is going to be her toughest test yet,” said Michael Hardaway, a former spokesman for Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D- N. Y., and House Democrats, who now heads a political intelligence startup called Hardaway Wire. “You’re going to have the progressives versus the moderates on nearly every bill. It’s going to be tough for her to get anything done, but here’s the thing: If anyone can do this, it’s Nancy Pelosi.”
While most on Capitol Hill expect this to be Pelosi’s last term as House speaker – a mantle she first took in 2007 when she became the first woman to lead the House – the California Democrat has carefully danced around the topic and left some guessing.
She appeared to acknowledge the end of her tenure leading House Democrats, which she’s done since 2003, when asked by reporters about it last month, but Pelosi left herself some wiggle room. She acknowledged a deal she made in 2018 with Democrats that this would be her last term, to pave the way for a younger batch of leaders. She and her top lieutenants have held the top House slots for more than a decade.
“I don’t want to undermine any leverage I may have, but I made the statement,” she said, referring to the deal.
Many say Pelosi is right to be concerned that a lame- duck term could weaken her ability to leverage power.
“She is one of the smartest operators Democrats have ever had and she knows the moment she announces her departure, she gives up her leverage,” Hardaway said. “All the negotiations she has within the caucus and with Republicans, she’d be operating at a disadvantage. She knows she’d be crippling herself.”
After delivering the Affordable Care Act, playing a key role in recovery efforts after the 2008 financial crisis, negotiating the largest- ever emergency relief packages to counter the coronavirus and leading the chamber when it impeached President Donald Trump, Pelosi is marking the end of her career by leaving it in the hands of a historically diverse House of Representatives as her party takes control of the White House.
“She has delivered,” Hardaway said. “She has done a masterful job and this is the perfect time where she is able to ride off in the sunset.”
Pelosi has largely been a key face of the resistance to Trump. She will return to the speakership in a different role, a key negotiator working to help Biden.
One of her political strengths has been managing the egos and agendas of a diverse caucus, keeping hundreds of Democrats united. Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, the Maryland Democrat who serves as her right hand, said that was particularly on display when the House lodged articles of impeachment against Trump. In an interview, Hoyer praised her leadership and noted there was no strong- arming members, despite calls for months from some in the caucus to move forward with impeachment.
“This past Congress was one of her best displays of leadership and consensus building,” Hoyer said.
But the slimmed- down majority will make her job a lot harder.
The House lost about a dozen seats in November, and Biden announced that another two members of the caucus will leave to work in the White House after he is sworn in this month. The potential of only a handful of seats giving Democrats the majority will mean Pelosi will have to work overtime to keep her caucus united if there’s any chance of passing Biden’s legislative priorities. That dynamic carried over to the vote on her speakership. In 2019, when Democrats elected her to again lead them, 15 caucus members voted against her. Several of those members lost reelection bids, but the tight margin meant Pelosi would not be able to lose so many of her members this round.
Five Democrats, all second- term lawmakers who represent key swing districts, broke ranks and either voted against Pelosi or as “present.”
Rep. Jared Golden, D- Maine, voted for Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D- Ill., and Rep. Conor Lamb, D- Pa., cast his vote for Jeffries, who is widely expected to take the speakership after Pelosi’s departure.
Three other Democrats voted “present”: Reps. Mikie Sherrill of New Jersey, Elissa Slotkin of Michigan, and Abigail Spanberger of Virginia.
Despite the defections, Pelosi was able to muster a narrow victory with 216 votes, compared with Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R- Calif., scoring 209 votes with no defections.
Progressives, over the years, have been unafraid to defy Pelosi, denying her votes on measures they decried as not going far enough. And the rise of “The Squad” – Democratic Reps. Alexandria Ocasio- Cortez, Rashida Tlaib, Ayanna Pressley and Ilhan Omar – could pose a bigger problem during this Congress as the lawmakers become more- seasoned sophomores.
And thanks to the thinned margins between parties, moderates will be crucial in negotiating compromises, regardless of the results of runoff races in Georgia on Tuesday that will determine which party controls the Senate.
“The challenges are going to be multifaceted,” said Jim Manley, a Democratic strategist and former senior aide to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D- Nev.
Manley explained one key asset the Biden administration planned to have was control of the House and the ability to quickly pass legislation. While the House will still be controlled by Democrats, the smaller margins and intraparty disputes are likely to slow Biden’s legislative agenda.
Despite the tight margins, Pelosi has crafted a clear set of priorities over the next two years – a plan that closely aligns with Biden’s agenda.
At the top of the list is passing measures that would curb dark money in politics and expand voting access. She also aims to tackle overhauling the nation’s immigration system, requiring background checks for gun purchases and taking up an infrastructure bill that could help economic recovery efforts in the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic.