Pelosi made the announcement during a press conference on Wednesday, when she answered succinctly “yes” when asked if she planned to accommodate Miller-Meeks before moving on to another question.
“Every vote counts and that is why the House of Directors Committee is conducting a thorough and fair review of this election to ensure that every vote has been counted and counted as given,” explained Pelosi’s spokesman, Drew Hammill, in a communicated after the press conference. “Pending the outcome of the Committee’s review and consistent with the Chamber’s practice, we intend to provisionally place the Republican candidate on Sunday.”
The fate of Iowa’s second district – and who would have a seat when Congress met to start the 117th Congress on Sunday – remained an open question as legislators and campaign officials from both parties speculated what Pelosi could do. House Democrats could also have chosen to leave the seat open until the House panel completes its review.
But many Democrats were particularly concerned about the prospect of not sitting the certified winner of the chair, while continuing to harshly criticize President Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the presidential election results despite Joe Biden’s overwhelming victory.
Refusing to place Miller-Meeks, the certified winner of an election, would be extremely rare. It has only happened three times since 1933, according to Congressional records.
Miller-Meeks was declared a winner by Iowa election officials in late November, but Hart did not budge and is now asking the House Administration Committee to examine the results and possibly overturn the state’s decision.
Any member of the House could object to Miller-Meeks being sworn in with the rest of the freshman class on January 3, but senior advisers predicted that it would be unlikely to happen after Pelosi made the decision to place her.
Hart formally presented his challenge to the House last week under the Contested Federal Election Law. (Pelosi’s intention to accommodate Miller-Meeks will not directly affect Hart’s contest.)
In the coming weeks, the House Management Committee is expected to create a panel to investigate its claims – potentially conducting a recount – and then determine the winner of the chair.
In his complaint, Hart provided a detailed explanation of why 22 ballots were wrongly rejected. If those ballots had been cleared, she said she would be in the lead.
The incumbent, Democratic MP Dave Loebsack, is retiring next month. Miller-Meeks, an ophthalmologist, ran four times through the southeast Iowa district. The district is a biennial rocking chair. Trump carried it in 2016 and 2020.