Pelosi seeks to remain speaker amid ‘ differences’
WASHINGTON — Speaker Nancy Pelosi told fellow House Democrats that she will run to keep her leadership post in the next Congress, on the heels of election results that disappointed her caucus and raised questions about the party’s strategy.
In a letter individually addressed to each House Democrat, obtained by The Chronicle, Pelosi congratulated the caucus for holding on to the House majority and declared Democrats had a “resounding and remarkable mandate for progress and
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi arrives for a Capitol news conference, where she discussed the impact of the election on the political landscape in Congress. She denied any deep split among Democrats, even though a handful of seats were lost.
healing.”
She also highlighted the diversity of the caucus — the only tacit acknowledgment of a sharp split between progressives and moderates over how to govern after several swing district Democrats lost their seats this week.
“I am writing to request your support to be reelected as speaker,” Pelosi wrote in the letter Thursday. “I do so with the utmost respect for the diverse viewpoints of our Democratic Caucus, the gravity of this role and the urgency of the challenges ahead.”
In her first postelection
news conference, Pelosi rejected the notion that there was an intraparty fight.
“Our caucus has its differences. I would not want to lead in a caucus that was a rubber stamp, lockstep caucus — that’s called Republicans,” Pelosi said Friday. “We are the Democratic Party and we have several exuberances in our midst, and that is representative of the districts our representatives come to Congress to serve, and we respect that.”
It is all but certain that Pelosi will again be speaker when the next Congress convenes Jan. 3, despite concerns among some in her caucus about leadership. Although she has faced several minor internal challenges since she was first elected caucus leader in 2003, they have failed to draw a credible alternative to the San Francisco Democrat. Pelosi, 80, has a reputation as a master legislative strategist among allies and opponents alike, and she is a prolific fundraiser for Democratic candidates.
Still, the loss this week of several Democrats who won hardfought races in swing districts in 2018, with the potential to lose more seats in the majority as votes are tabulated, rankled the caucus.
The emotions spilled into the puble eye Thursday, when a heated conference call among House Democrats was leaked live to reporters. The Washington Post obtained audio of Virginia Rep. Abigail Spanberger berating colleagues for the party’s drift to the left, saying it almost led to her election defeat.
But progressive colleagues fired back.
After Rep. Conor Lamb, DPa., was quoted as calling progressives “unprofessional and unrealistic” on issues including climate change and police violence, Michigan Rep.
Rashida Tlaib tweeted: “It’s unrealistic and unprofessional to be okay with people dying because air pollution is causing cancer in their communities. It’s unrealistic and unprofessional to look away while Black folks get gunned down in the streets by police.”
At her news conference, Pelosi said a “healthy difference of opinion” within the party was nothing new, but that it wouldn’t affect Democratic legislative priorities. The debate, she said, was about what message worked on the campaign trail.
“Welcome to my world. We always have a beautiful dynamism in our caucus,” she said. “The message in the districts that we have to win is the message that unifies us, a message for America’s working families. Everybody knows that.”
Other Democrats urged the group to keep the fight private.
“Some of my colleagues are literally liveleaking our internal Dem Caucus call right now to CNN, The Hill, NBC, Politico, etc,” tweeted San
Rafael Rep. Jared Huffman. “I've gotten texts from 3 different reporters asking me to liveleak juicy details to them. No. We ( Dems and the media) need to stop this nonsense.”