House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., Is not doing the work of the American people, said Jeff Van Drew, a Democrat who became a Republican, from New Jersey to “Fox & Friends Weekend” on Sunday, addressing the fact that that Democrats The small majority in the House of Representatives threatens his re-election as leader.
Van Drew, who before changing party voted against Pelosi’s candidacy for the job of spokesperson, said it “will be interesting” to see if Pelosi holds the senior position “because some of the people who did not support her before … yet are here . ”
He acknowledged that he does not know how the situation will develop.
Van Drew made the comments hours before the official date for the new 117th Capitol Congress official oath, before his new leadership vote.
The Chamber will receive nominations for a speaker at around 2:30 pm ET. The president of the Caucus Democratic Chamber, Hakeem Jeffries, DN.Y., will nominate Pelosi. Republican House Speaker Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., Will appoint House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif.
The successful speaker candidate obtains an absolute majority of the entire House, not a majority of the votes. So, if the House starts with 432 members and everyone is there, Pelosi needs 217 members to vote for her. If the Democrats are in 222 and all appear, the president can only lose five votes. Pelosi lost 15 votes in the speaker competition in January 2019.
Deputy Jim Cooper, D-Tenn., Voted present in 2019. But Cooper now says he will vote for Pelosi. Congresswoman Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., Voted “present” in 2019. Slotkin says he cannot support Pelosi. The representatives Abigail Spanberger, D-Va. And Jared Golden, D-Maine, voted for Congressman Cheri Bustos, D-Ill., Two years ago.
When asked why he voted against spokeswoman Pelosi in his candidacy for the position of spokesman in the past, Van Drew explained that it was for “reasons that proved to be absolutely accurate”.
“I was concerned that she didn’t have the ability to bring people together to show this leadership strength and to work with Republicans,” he said. “I felt that she was going to focus on issues that weren’t the main issues of the day, which is what happened.
“We get involved in impeachment, we get involved in hearing after hearing after hearing. We were involved with bills that we knew would never go anywhere, instead of really trying to work with the Senate, work with Republicans, bring everyone together and see what we can really accomplish, “he continued.
“Congress is about making a work product, just like anything else in life, and that work product was not really made.”
He then pointed to the coronavirus relief bill as an example.
“It took so long to make a bill that we weren’t even completely satisfied and then it got stuck together with another bill that many people didn’t like on a bus and, at the end of the day, almost everyone was unhappy,” said Van Drew.
THE RULES OF THE NEW HOUSE OF PELOSI ARE GENDER NEUTRAL, ABILITY OF THE CORTAL GOP TO FORCE VOTES OF ‘GOTCHA’
“This is not leadership. It is not what we need. This is even more than Republicans and Democrats. It is about moving forward to do the work of the American people and it is failing to do it.”
He stressed that he expects us to “do something better and something different and that will depend largely on Republicans and Democrats, but Democrats certainly have the majority, although it is much, much less.”
Van Drew acknowledged that he does not know what will happen to Pelosi and that “he is close”.
“If I had to bet money on it, somehow I think she will complain again, but she will have a hell of a speaker,” he said, noting that Pelosi will have “a hard time balancing” the Republican side and ” where the Democratic Party is going “.
Van Drew noted that Republicans, “who want to see moderation and some more conservative values”, “are going to press and have room to do that now because the numbers are very close.” He also pointed out that the Democratic Party is moving in a more left-wing, socialist and “certainly more progressive” direction.
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Chad Pergram of Fox News contributed to this report.