House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) suggested she is not worried about losing her speakership position in the midst of claims by other Democrats that the party needs different leadership.
Pelosi was asked on Tuesday about the Jan. 3 election for her speakership.
“You have a big vote Sunday night for speaker. You think have got that wrapped up?” a reporter asked Pelosi. Her reply: “Yeah, I do.”
Pelosi said she isn’t concerned about the CCP virus pandemic impacting her chances at reelection as House speaker.
The Democratic majority is slimmer than it was two years ago, and some Democrats in the House have said they might not back her. Some Democrats have expressed fears that House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Ky.) could take the speakership due to the pandemic.
“Let’s say, just theoretically, we had six or eight people out with COVID and the Republicans have none. They probably could elect [Kevin] McCarthy,” Rep. John Yarmuth (D-Ky.), told The Hill.
Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.) noted to The Hill on Dec. 26 that some Democrats may oppose Pelosi.
“There’s the usual suspects who make it part of their brand to vote against her,” Himes said. “But I think there’s an awareness—and there’s certainly a message coming from within the caucus—that this may not be a year for the usual branding.”
Reps.-elect Cori Bush (D-Mo.) and Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.) declined on Sunday to say whether they will vote to support Pelosi.
“I am going to make sure that voices of the people of St. Louis are heard and we have what we need. And so you will find out then,” said Bush on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “You will find out when my vote is tallied and, again, organizing with our community to figure out what’s best,” added Bowman on the same program.
During the Nov. 3 election, Democrats lost at least 10 seats to Republicans. Meanwhile, Reps. Conor Lamb (D-Pa.), Jared Golden (D-Maine), and Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) have said they will not vote for Pelosi, according to The Hill report.
“COVID is a wild card,” said Rep. Hank Johnson (D-Ga.), according to the news outlet. “If we have sick members who cannot come back, and we only have a four-vote majority, it throws our entire advent of the 117th Congress in peril—a smooth advent.”
Earlier this month, self-described socialist Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) suggested that she wouldn’t support Pelosi if she ran again, claiming it’s time for different leadership.
