Pelosi vies for speaker's job but faces some opposition sight
WASHINGTON — Democrats won the majority. Now they just need a speaker of the House.
The standoff over Nancy Pelosi’s bid to regain the gavel intensified Friday as Democrats left Washington for the Thanksgiving holiday, an unsettling finish to an otherwise triumphant week that saw them welcome a historic class of newcomers to Capitol Hill and prepare to take control.
Pelosi was certain that she will be speaker once more, reviving her role as the first woman to wield the gavel. But her foes were equally confident they have the votes to stop her.
For now, it’s a band of disgruntled Democrats, led mostly by men, standing against the sweep of nationally-known Pelosi allies. With a test vote looming in late November, and at least one potential Pelosi challenger stepping forward, Democrats faced the grim prospect of the internal squabble over the Jan. 3 speaker’s vote dragging on for weeks, with no clear end game in sight.
“I think chaos is good if it’s productive. I think chaos is bad if it is too disruptive and it divides us too much,” said Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., a co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, whose leaders were upbeat after meeting with Pelosi this week.
“We don’t have a lot of time,” Jayapal said. “We need to put forward the vision of who we are as a party and what we’re fighting for and so that needs to happen very, very quickly.”
Pelosi was expected to work the phones from California after meeting privately Friday with newly-elected Democrats who could be crucial to her bid for House speaker.
The freshmen entering and exiting Pelosi’s stately office off the House floor indicated they were having good meetings with the leader, though few said the talks had changed their minds to vote to support her as speaker.
Incoming Rep.-elect Abigail Spanberger of Virginia said she had a “wonderful conversation” about her district’s priorities, but “will not be voting for leader Pelosi.”
“It isn’t about her, it’s about wanting new leadership,” said Spanberger, a former CIA operative who defeated tea party Republican Rep. Dave Brat in suburban Richmond. “There isn’t anything she could say, because the decision isn’t about her.”
Another newly-elected Democrat, Rep. Jeff Van Drew of New Jersey, said he had a “pleasant” meeting, but remains a no on Pelosi as speaker. He is among 17 Democrats who have signed on to a letter opposing her. Van Drew said they discussed his district and which committees he’d like to serve on. “I don’t feel under pressure,” he said.
In a key session, Pelosi also met for 45 minutes with Rep. Marcia Fudge, D-Ohio, a potential rival for the speakership who said the two had “a very open and frank discussion,” including about “the feeling in the caucus of people who are feeling left out and left behind.”
Fudge said she would probably decide after Thanksgiving break if she will run.
“To her credit, she wanted to know what my concerns were,” Fudge said. “What she asked me was, basically, how we could get to a point where I’m supportive.”
One question for some Democrats is what, exactly, Pelosi means when she says she intends to be a transitional leader, a bridge to a new generation. She has led the party for 15 years.
“We talked about some succession planning,” Fudge said. “I think it is something our caucus is interested in knowing.”
