Newsman: Nancy Pelosi has been reelected as speaker for fourth term in the house of representative. The House of Representatives has narrowly reelected Nancy Pelosi with 216 votes. The California Democrat likely is in her final term leading the House. The top House Democrat since 2003 and the only woman to ever serve as speaker, Pelosi did not have an opponent in the race for the speaker’s gavel, and did not face down a rebellion in her ranks like she did two years ago, when 15 Democrats voted against her on the House floor after unsuccessfully trying to recruit a challenger. But five Democrats did not support Pelosi on the floor, and instead voted for alternative candidates or “present.”
As Congress prepares to certify the results of the electoral college on Wednesday, Texas Republican Rep. Chip Roy objected to Pelosi’s effort to swear in members of Congress, disputing the results in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin – states where Trump has contested the election results as well. The move would have left Pelosi with a smaller Congress to preside over, as she would not have been able to swear in members from those state delegations, based on the precedent of the House. But the House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, however, then requested a vote on a privileged resolution to give Pelosi the authority to swear in all members of Congress, which Roy also objected to – forcing a vote and the usual circumstance where members voting had not yet sworn an oath to the Constitution.
Pelosi faced a challenge of corralling votes with the slimmest House majority in 20 years, after Democrats lost about a dozen seats in the November elections. Rep. Jared Golden, D-Maine, voted for Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Illinois, for speaker, while Rep. Conor Lamb, D-Pa., voted for Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., who is seen as a likely successor to Pelosi. Both pledged to oppose Pelosi after doing so in 2018. Three other Democrats – Reps. Mikie Sherrill of New Jersey, Abigail Spanberger of Virginia and Elissa Slotkin of Michigan – voted “present,” which under House rules did not count against Pelosi. Slotkin voted “present” two years ago, while Sherrill and Spanberger voted for other Democrats for speaker. Though, She won the support of other former critics who did not support her in 2019 – including Reps. Jason Crow of Colorado, Jim Cooper of Tennessee, Ron Kind of Wisconsin, and Kathleen Rice of New York. Two Republicans, Reps.-elect Maria Elvira Salazar of Florida and David Valadao of California, missed the first day of the session after recently testing positive for COVID-19.
Rep. Kevin McCarthy, the Republican leader, won unanimous support from the Republican conference – obtaining 209 votes on the floor.
Nancy Pelosi, 80, is the third speaker in the last 25 years to win with less than 218 votes, after former Republican Speakers Newt Gingrich and Paul Ryan. After seizing the gavel, Pelosi said the “most urgent priority” of the 117th Congress will be defeating the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Two weeks ago, we passed an emergency relief package to crush the virus and put money in the pockets of workers and families, which is now the law. But we must do more to recognize our heroes,” she said Sunday. “Indeed, the pandemic has pulled back the curtain on even worsened disparities in our economy and our society. We must pursue justice: economic justice, justice in health, racial justice, environmental and climate justice.”
