Nancy Pelosi could be scrapped as speaker even IF Dems win House as only a few of her party need to vote against her
NANCY Pelosi could be scrapped as speaker even of the Democrats win the House as only a few of her party need to vote against her.
While Democrats are likely to retain control for two more years, their current 232-197 majority could easily shrink and such a small majority could potentially pose a challenge for Pelosi's return as Speaker.
A smaller majority for and her Democratic leadership team means less of a margin of error to pass legislation and will make passing bills harder.
The House is comprised of 435 members and Pelosi can’t dip below 218 votes.
estimates Democrats will hold 226 House seats, while Republicans will have 209, although these figures could change.
SHRINKING MAJORITY
Although Pelosi is widely expected to win another term as speaker in January, having a smaller majority means she will have fewer votes to spare.
Democratic majority in the House shrunk after expectations for big wins came crashing down on Thursday.
Kyle Kondik, managing editor of the nonpartisan Sabato’s Crystal Ball told NBC News he believed Democrats “were expecting a better overall environment than what they got.”
“For the second straight presidential election, Donald Trump was not the drag down-ballot that it appeared he could have been — and, in fact, the turnout from Trump-loving voters probably helped Republicans more broadly in House and Senate races,” Kondik said.
Pelosi's leadership was called into question as House Democrats cast blame on their election message and ground game.
For Pelosi to remain in her position she will need an outright majority, not just a plurality of the House at that given moment.
The entire House must elect the Speaker of the House and this may pose a problem for Pelosi if the House Democratic Caucus is whittled down to a figure in the low 220s.
Some Democrats could oppose her because of Democrats failing to add seats in this election and others may simply want to see a change at the top.
Four progressive Pelosi critics - Reps. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Alexandria Oscaio-Cortez of New York, Rashida Tlaib of Michigan and Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts - all won their reelection, and are likely to push for the speaker's removal.
Pelosi has already , sending a letter to her fellow Democrats Thursday urging them for their support.
The Speaker secured 220 votes at the start of the current Congress out of 430 total votes cast but some in the party deflected.
However, her former Chief of Staff Danny Weiss remained confident.
“She’s the best vote counter,” Weiss said. “She’ll know what kind of deal to arrange in order to get the needed votes.”
“I would still put the odds on her as the favorite because of the combination of skills that she brings and because of the absence for the moment of another, singularly unifying person in the caucus".
Former Rep. Heath Shuler, D-N.C., concurred.
“If you were going to challenge Nancy Pelosi, it is an uphill battle,” Shuler said in an interview. “There’s no better politician. She understands the game better than anyone.”
If someone was to run against Pelosi, they would need to command 218 votes on the floor.
House Democrats are scheduled to hold internal leadership elections starting on November 17.
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The House Speaker for another two years on Thursday.
has held onto the gavel since 2003 and has made it clear that she wants to remain in the House.
She sent a letter to her fellow Democrats urging them for their support.
"Out vision for the next two years must be built on the success of Democratic House Majority in the 116th Congress," Pelosi wrote.
"And to harness the extraordinary visions, values and vibrancy of our Caucus to secure the progress that the American people deserve. In that spirit, I am writing to request your support to be re-elected as Speaker.
Democrats continue to hold the majority in the lower chamber, but they lost at least seven incumbent seats after Tuesday election results.
As of Saturday morning, Democrats had not knocked off a single Republican seeking reelection and
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Republicans believe as the counting continues they can flip more seats and their ranks could balloon up to 208 members or more.
Pelosi needs the majority of votes on the House floor to win the speakership.
