WASHINGTON (AP) – Nancy Pelosi was narrowly re-elected as a speaker on Sunday, giving her the reins of most Democrats in the House, as she and President-elect Joe Biden set a challenging course of lawmaking to tackle the pandemic, relive the economy and tackle other party priorities.
“We accept a responsibility as frightening and demanding as any that previous generations of leadership have faced,” the California Democrat told the chamber when accepting a new two-year term in office, perhaps the last. Citing the 350,000 Americans who died of COVID-19 and the millions who lost jobs and livelihoods, she was given a standing ovation when she said, “Our most urgent priority will continue to be to defeat the coronavirus. And we will defeat him. ”
However, even before minority leader in the House Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., Ceremoniously handing him the speaker’s hammer – a normally brilliant moment – he provided a stark reminder of the party division that colored Congress.
McCarthy accused Pelosi of leading in the past two years “the least productive Congress in nearly 50 years” and said there was a clear message in last November’s elections, when Republicans won seats by defeating a dozen Democratic candidates. “It was an alert,” he said. “The question I ask this majority: were you listening?”
These are the statements that Democrats vehemently contest, saying that it was Republicans, especially in the Senate led by the Republican Party, that blocked progress in aid to the pandemic and other issues.
Pelosi, who has led his party in the House since 2003 and is the only woman to be President of the House, received 216 votes to 209 for McCarthy, who again will be the minority leader in the House.
It was the first vote of the new Congress, which met on Sunday with the COVID-19 guidelines requiring testing and facial coverage for lawmakers. There was widespread use of masks and much less legislators and guests in the Chamber than normal, an unimaginable picture when the last Congress started two years ago, before the pandemic reached.
Pelosi’s election came 17 days before Biden’s inauguration. However, instead of a fresh start for him and Pelosi, there are issues and trends that will be carried over from President Donald Trump’s stormy administration.
Although Congress enacted – and Trump finally signed – a $ 900 billion COVID-19 aid package at the end of last month, Biden and many Democrats say they regard this measure as an initial payment. They say more aid is needed to reinforce efforts to vaccinate the population, contain the virus and restore jobs and businesses lost to the pandemic.
Biden’s priorities also include efforts in health and the environment.
Directing such legislation through the House will be a challenge for Pelosi because the narrow majority of his party means that only a handful of deserters can be fatal.
In addition, cooperation with Republicans may become more difficult, as many in the Republican Party continue to demonstrate allegiance to the Trump divisive, supporting their baseless claims that their re-election defeat was tainted by fraud. Congress will meet on Wednesday to officially affirm the Biden Electoral College’s clear victory over Trump. Many House and Senate Republicans say they will contest the validity of some of these votes, but their efforts will certainly fail.
There was no widespread fraud in the election, which a number of election officials across the country, including former Trump attorney general William Barr, confirmed. Republican governors in Arizona and Georgia, key battlefield states crucial to Biden’s victory, also ensured the integrity of elections in their states. Almost all legal challenges to Trump and his allies have been dismissed by judges, including two contested by the Supreme Court, which includes three judges appointed by Trump.
In another hurdle for Democrats, it is unclear which party will control the Senate. Republicans will control it, unless Democrats win the two run-off Senate elections in Georgia on Tuesday.
To win, Pelosi had to overcome some Democratic complaints about his longevity, a slight 222-211 advantage over Republicans after the November elections and a handful of absences because of the coronavirus. There were two seats in the 435-member House and, whatever happens, Democrats will have the smallest majority in the House in two decades.
With little margin for error, Pelosi suffered only a handful of Democratic defections in his latest demonstration of his ability to get support, and no opponent challenged her for the job. She received applause from Democrats for leading her opposition to President Donald Trump, largely keeping her party’s moderates and progressives together and raising mountains of campaign funds.
“She had a finger on the dike and a finger on Donald Trump’s eye,” said Rep. Gerald Connolly, D-Va.
But she is 80 years old, and the ambitious younger members continue to be irritated by the long-standing influence she and other older leaders have exercised in their positions. Democrats were also furious after an election day that many hoped would mean more seats for the party, but instead saw a dozen candidates lose, without defeating a single Republican representative.
In the end, Representative Jared Golden, D-Me., Voted for Illinois Democratic Senator Tammy Duckworth – the constitution does not require the speaker to be a member of the House. Dep. Conor Lamb, D-Pa., Voted for Dep. Hakeem Jeffries, DN.Y., who is seen as a strong candidate for Pelosi’s succession whenever she leaves office.
Three Democrats who opposed Pelosi’s election as mayor two years ago voted present on Sunday – MPs Mikie Sherrill from New Jersey, Abigail Spanberger from Virginia and Elissa Slotkin from Michigan and five others who opposed her in 2019 supported her. this time. Deputy Alcee Hastings, D-Fla., Who has been battling cancer, lost the vote.
Democrats gave Pelosi a standing ovation when the final count was announced, while the Republican side of the chamber was almost empty. The vote lasted two and a half hours, an unusually long time, as lawmakers were divided into groups to reduce health risks.
Congressman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, DN.Y., a progressive leader, supported Pelosi and told reporters that democratic unity was important “at a time when the Republican Party is attempting an electoral coup”. She referred to the support that many Republican congressmen are giving to President Donald Trump’s baseless efforts to reverse election results.
Ocasio-Cortez said she and other progressives “had been in talks and negotiations” with Pelosi, but did not describe what they had accomplished.
With each vote worthwhile, workers built an enclosure on a veranda overlooking the town hall so that legislators exposed or positive for the coronavirus could vote more safely.
In the House, a race in New York is still being decided and there is a vacancy in Louisiana after deputy-elect Luke Letlow, 41, died after hiring COVID-19.
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AP Congressional correspondent Lisa Mascaro and AP writer Andrew Taylor contributed to this report.