“The lack of communication with the minority makes it 100 percent political,” said Representative Rodney Davis, the main Republican on the House’s Management Committee. “Building a structure like this, in the darkness of the night, to protect only the votes that Speaker Pelosi needs to be re-elected speaker, is a shame. “
In a way, this is the speaker’s most challenging candidacy for Pelosi, as she had to meticulously block all votes, with almost zero room for error due to the party’s tenuous margins, rebellious Democrats and the potential for last-minute absences due for the coronavirus.
The magic number Pelosi needs to secure the hammer remained a moving target on Sunday. There are currently 222 Democrats and 211 Republicans in the new Congress, with two vacant seats. In addition, three members were absent and a handful of Democrats voted “present” or against Pelosi.
“This is a moment of great challenge here in America, full of trials and tribulations, with a lot of pain, suffering and death,” said the president of the House of Democrats, Hakeem Jeffries, in his Pelosi nomination speech. “Nancy Pelosi is a resilient leader. Better days are ahead in the United States of America.”
The mechanics of plenary voting seemed very different from two years ago, when Pelosi returned to the speaker seat for the second historic time, after losing a majority in 2010. Although each member still stood up one by one to vote, only a few dozen legislators from each party should be present at the same time.
On the Democratic side, lawmakers sat several seats away from each other, although many Republicans disregarded health guidelines and sat shoulder to shoulder in the House.
The tone of the day was also less commemorative than it was in 2018, as the public health crisis remained a priority for members of both parties. Several members used their prominent moment to deliver personal praise to the speaker: Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.), For example, described Pelosi as “the best speaker in the history of the United States”.
Meanwhile, Republicans supported minority leader in the House, Kevin McCarthy, as mayor, including several members who rejected him last time.
But there was much less joy over the vote two years ago.
Pelosi, 80, and his allies have engaged in an intense behind-the-scenes lobby blitz in recent weeks to ensure full support within the caucus, including some critics of the longtime speaker. The senior Democrats meticulously managed their attendance until the final hours – even talking to offices several times to confirm that lawmakers would be present.
Before the vote, Democrats expected only one absence from their side – 84-year-old Representative Alcee Hastings (D-Florida), who is battling pancreatic cancer. Republicans were predicting two absences – elected deputies David Valadao (R-Calif.) And Maria Elvira Salazar (R-Fla.), Who tested positive for coronavirus in the past few days.
Democratic Congresswoman Gwen Moore of Wisconsin, who also tested positive for coronavirus recently, was released from quarantine at midnight and may travel to Washington for the vote. Moore told POLITICO that although she had not received a negative coronavirus test, she was released by her doctors to appear on Sunday.
But not every Democrat planned to vote for Pelosi, despite harsh warnings from senior members of the party that they should vote. Congressman Jared Golden (D-Maine) became the first defection of the day, casting his vote for Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Although his vote was widely expected. He was followed by Rep. Conor Lamb (D-Pa.), Who chose Jeffries as a speaker. Like Golden, Lamb should not support Pelosi’s offer.
And Congresswoman Elissa Slotkin of Michigan, who was one of 15 Democrats who did not support Pelosi as mayor in 2019, voted “present” on Sunday, as did representatives Abigail Spanberger (D-Va.) And Mikie Sherill (DN. J.).
“I am not supporting the speaker,” said Slotkin before the vote. “I’m going to vote for this because no one came forward to run against her.”
Ten of those 15 Democrats were returning to the 117th Congress, while three lost the election, one, Rep. Anthony Brindisi of New York, was still stuck in a tight vote count for his seat and one, Rep. Jeff Van Drew of New Jersey , changed party last year. Pelosi successfully defeated several of these Democratic defectors in the race for Sunday’s election.
For the first time since May, all members had to be present and vote, instead of some failing to follow the proxy vote implemented at the last Congress when the pandemic hit the country. And the vote is expected to last for hours – with legislators, wearing their mandatory masks, being summoned to the City Council in batches to cast their vote in order to limit the number of people gathered at the same time.
Pelosi has made history during his more than three decades in the House, including almost two decades leading the Democratic caucus. The California Democrat is the only woman to wield the speaker’s hammer and the first lawmaker in six decades to recover it in 2019 after losing it.
Now Pelosi must navigate one of the smallest majorities in the House in decades through the last turbulent days of President Donald Trump’s administration before preparing to usher in a new era under President-elect Joe Biden.
One of the final sighs of Trump’s term will come on Wednesday, when Republicans in the House and Senate will make one last doomed attempt to overturn the results of Biden’s victory when Congress meets to certify the results of the elections.
The effort has zero chance of success, but it will guarantee a long day, possibly bleeding the next, after a dozen Republican senators announced plans to join dozens of their Republican Party colleagues to challenge the victory of the Biden Electoral College.
Pelosi’s expected fourth term as mayor comes two years after a group of Democratic rebels tried to block his way to the hammer, only stepping back after she agreed to a four-year term limit at the top of the House.
But in many ways, since then, Pelosi has only consolidated more power, positioning himself as Trump’s main opponent during a chaotic 116º The Congress, which began under the longest government shutdown in history, ended up leading to the impeachment of the president before being quickly consumed by the coronavirus that effectively closed the country in the past nine months.
Pelosi did not face an opponent this time, but was repeatedly asked if this was indeed his last term.
“What I said then was whether it passed or not, I will respect the limits that exist,” Pelosi told reporters in November about the deal she made with Democratic rebels in 2018.
Olivia Beavers contributed to this report.