Nancy Pelosi is elected to a fourth time period as House speaker

California Democratic Rep. Nancy Pelosi has been elected to a different time period — her fourth — as speaker of the House of Representatives, one she has promised will likely be her final.

By a vote of 216 to 209 Sunday, with three members voting current and a number of other others both absent or voting for different candidates, Democratic lawmakers as soon as once more gave Pelosi the gavel simply hours after the traditionally various 117th Congress was sworn in.

Pelosi, 80, beforehand made historical past as the primary lady to be elected speaker, and she or he has once more made historical past on Sunday by changing into the oldest American to be elected to the function. Renowned House Speaker Sam Rayburn of Texas, who beforehand held that honor, was 78 when elected for his ultimate time period.

Pelosi confronted no challengers, however had little margin for error given her get together’s slender majority within the new Congress. Despite having anticipated to increase their majority within the 2020 elections, Democrats really misplaced floor and now maintain simply 222 seats within the chamber — 4 greater than the 218 wanted for a naked majority — with two races nonetheless undecided. In whole, the GOP picked up at the least 9 seats.

To retain the speakership, Pelosi wanted solely to obtain a easy majority of votes within the full House. But she confronted questions over whether or not she would have the ability to obtain that majority.

Among different points, a number of Democratic House members — corresponding to Wisconsin Rep. Gwen Moore — have examined optimistic for the coronavirus in current weeks. Moore finally ended up voting on the House floor anyway, regardless of not having tested negative for Covid-19 since her optimistic check on December 28.

The absence of two Republican representatives-elect due to optimistic Covid-19 checks — David Valadao of California and Maria Elvira Salazar of Florida — additionally made the maths considerably simpler for Pelosi.

Nonetheless, there was concern that, as in 2018, Pelosi would face opposition to her bid from inside the Democratic Party — and that this time it could be sufficient to derail her possibilities.

After the 2018 midterms, greater than a dozen Democrats opposed one other speaker’s time period for Pelosi, arguing that their get together wanted new management. Some of those that had been in opposition to Pelosi then, like former New York Rep. Max Rose, misplaced reelection; others, like Pennsylvania’s Rep. Conor Lamb, stay within the House. Ahead of Sunday’s vote, there have been lingering questions on how these lawmakers — in addition to first-term members who had been silent about their intentions — would possibly vote on Sunday.

Lamb voted for New York Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, the chair of the House Democratic Caucus, on Sunday.

But Jeffries himself was assured about Pelosi’s possibilities forward of the vote Sunday, telling Fox News, “Nancy Pelosi will be the next speaker of the United States House of Representatives and I look forward to placing her name into nomination.”

And Virginia Rep. Gerry Connolly advised to CNN that issues about Pelosi’s skill to safe majority help had been overblown, saying, “If Nancy can do anything, it is that she knows how to count.”

Ultimately, Pelosi was capable of marshal sufficient votes to remain in energy, with beforehand undeclared first-term members like New York Rep. Jamaal Bowman selecting to help her for a fourth time period as speaker.

However, the 117th Congress will probably be Pelosi’s final as speaker. In 2018, she struck a take care of Democrats who opposed her run — promising that she would abide by proposed time period limits for House management, that means she would have the ability to serve solely 4 extra years.

Pelosi will face a brand new set of challenges within the 117th Congress

Now that she has secured her place as speaker, Pelosi will face the early problem of her majority dwindling even additional, albeit probably simply briefly.

At least three House Democrats — Reps. Cedric Richmond, Marcia Fudge, and Deb Haaland — have been tapped for jobs within the Biden administration, leaving their seats vacant. (Richmond, who’s in line to function director of the White House Office of Public Engagement, doesn’t have to be confirmed for the job, although Fudge and Haaland do.)

All three at present serve in comfortably Democratic districts that are prone to stay blue if their present occupants go away for a Biden administration — however the seats will take time to fill, briefly leaving Pelosi with as few as 219 Democratic votes.

Even as soon as these seats are crammed — assuming they’re gained by Democrats, as is probably going — Pelosi must discover a solution to govern an often fractious, various caucus and go laws with fewer votes to spare than she had within the final Congress. Unless she wins Republican votes, which is an unlikely prospect in the case of many Democratic legislative priorities, she’ll have the ability to lose simply 4 votes.

And Pelosi will preside over a deeply divided caucus — a cut up that was evident within the days instantly following the election, during which average members blamed progressives for losses, and that noticed progressives name for even bolder motion on points like immigration and schooling.

The want for practically each vote from each side of the caucus will give particular person members a higher skill to power compromises on laws, a reality Washington Rep. Pramila Jayapal, chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, acknowledged just lately.

“Anytime you have a very narrow majority it gives a lot of different parts of the caucus power. Progressives will have power but so will more conservative Democrats. So this will have to be a case where we are thoughtful, careful on how and when we weigh in on things and work as much as we can across the caucus as well,” Jayapal informed Newsweek in December.

However, it’s not all unhealthy information for Pelosi. For the primary time since she yielded the speaker’s gavel in January 2011 following a Republican wave within the 2010 midterm elections, she could have an ally within the White House within the type of President-elect Joe Biden. What’s extra, ought to Democrats win a pair of Senate runoffs in Georgia this week, the Democratic Party may get pleasure from unified management of the federal government for the primary time since January 2011.

If Democratic Senate nominees Jon Ossoff and Rev. Raphael Warnock win out in opposition to incumbent Republican Sens. David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler Tuesday, Vice President-elect Kamala Harris will change into the tie-breaking vote on January 20, tipping management of the chamber to the Democratic Party and making New York Sen. Chuck Schumer the bulk chief.