House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is facing a Democratic reckoning as voters and politicians alike conduct a postmortem on what caused Democrats to shrink their majority in the House of Representatives.
Ahead of Tuesday’s election, House Democrats were poised to expand their majority in the lower chamber of Congress. Instead, voters chose to give House Republicans five new seats.
With hopes of a “blue wave” dashed, Pelosi’s ambitious legislative goals for the 2021 congressional calendar are in jeopardy as she faces the ever-increasing likelihood of a Republican-held Senate.
“It’s a dumpster fire,” one Democratic lawmaker said Wednesday of how the party performed on election night, speaking anonymously to Politico.
Going into Election Day, Pelosi (D-Calif.) was also poised to glide effortlessly to the speakership. Now, while a full ouster appears unlikely, the highest-ranking House Democrat is facing some pushback.
Speaking to The Hill on condition of anonymity, two moderate House Democrats said they and other centrists were privately discussing the idea of backing a challenger to Pelosi.
Their choice for her replacement: House Democratic Caucus Chairman Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY).
“He’s the only one prepared and positioned. He bridges moderates and progressives better than anyone. And most importantly, he’s not Nancy Pelosi,” one of the lawmakers told the outlet.
“It’s time for Democrats to elevate a new generation of leadership in both the House and the Senate. Americans are clearly afraid of ‘socialism,’ want safe streets and neighborhoods and to vote for people who they believe will help put more money in their pockets,” another lawmaker said.
“While Democratic policies can adequately address those issues, our messaging mechanism clearly cannot,” they added.
Unfortunately for those in Jeffries’ camp, the New York congressman is a close Pelosi ally. In a statement, a spokesperson said he would not make a play for her position.
“As we wait for every vote to be counted in the most pivotal election in our lifetime, keeping the House Democratic Caucus unified on behalf of the American people has never been more important. Representative Jeffries is running to serve a second term as Chairman of the vibrant House Democratic Caucus in the 117th Congress,” the spokesperson said.
For her part, Pelosi, the first female House speaker in US history, called it a “challenging election” in a letter to Congress sent Wednesday.
Still, she said, it was not a total loss for Democrats.
In a statement on the possibility of a Democratic leadership shakeup, Pelosi spokesman Drew Hammill said, “Today is not about the race for Speaker. Today is about the race for the White House and ensuring that our Members and candidates in uncalled races have the support they need. That is our focus.”
With Post wires