Photo by shawncalhoun via Flickr

Nancy Pelosi may be on the verge of being replaced as House speaker as two more Democrat representatives announced they may vote against her.

Reps.-elect Cori Bush of Missouri and Jamaal Bowman of New York tell CNN they are not committed to supporting Pelosi’s re-election as speaker. By rule, the speaker is elected by a majority of the House.

“I am going to make sure that voices of the people of St. Louis are heard and we have what we need. And so you will find out then,” said Bush, who defeated incumbent Democrat Rep. William Lacy Clay Jr. in a primary after accusing him of siding with Pelosi against socialism.

Those statements sound like Bush and Bowman are using the Democrats’ razor-thin majority to cut a deal with Pelosi to save her speakership.

“You will find out when my vote is tallied and, again, organizing with our community to figure out what’s best,” said Bowman.

Both are far-leftists supported by socialist “Squad” members Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ayanna Pressley, Rashida Tlaib, and Ilhan Omar, all of whom have publicly criticized Pelosi as insufficiently leftist.

With Democrats holding 223 seats in the 435-member House, just six defections of the full House would leave Pelosi with only 217 votes, one short of the majority needed to win.

That number is even smaller as three House Democrats, Louisiana Congressman Cedric Richmond, Ohio Congresswoman Marcia Fudge, and New Mexico Congresswoman Deb Haaland have resigned to take positions in the Biden administration.

A fourth seat currently held by Democrats, where a winner of the November election has not yet been determined, will automatically become vacant when Congress reconvenes.

That could leave Pelosi with only about 219 Democrats present and voting.

If two or more Democrats withhold support for Pelosi, denying her a majority, she could be forced to either cut a deal for their support or step aside for a different candidate.

With Republicans holding 212 seats, six short of the 218 needed to elect a speaker, it would be impossible for a Republican to win the seat without Democrat support. That means the next speaker will almost certainly be a Democrat.

The question is whether Pelosi can cut a deal to win over her party’s surging socialist wing, or will step aside in favor of a candidate with full Democrat support.

READ NEXT: Meet the Republicans Who Flipped Democrat-Held Seats >>

The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of AmericanActionNews.com.




Michael Brigham has written for American Action News since the summer of 2019. His areas of expertise include foreign affairs, government, and politics, but regardless of the subject matter, he has a nose and an insatiable appetite for news. In his free time, he enjoys reading nonfiction, watching a mix of comedies and true crime documentaries, and spending time away from the swamp hiking in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains.

Comments

      1. Oh yes she will! When she stands before God she will suffer a lot more than she ever made Trump suffer, and it will be for Eternity!

  1. Time for Pelosi to retire…just get on the broom and fly off into the sunset. Her politics were more important to her than the needs of the American people.

  2. This is Exactly what they said last time…and then they voted For her to be speaker again…!!! the Dems just say what they think the American people want to hear , then they do what they want to do instead….All I know is , if Trump leaves the White House, I will not watch any news again because I do not want to know how bad everything is …..and it will be BAD !!!

  3. Pelosi or a “socialist”? Excuse me, but Pelosi’s policies look a lot like socialism to me. Electing another left-wing maniac would only be trading tweedledum for tweedledee.
    All Demon-crats are socialists. It’s only how radical they are that makes any difference.

  4. Out of the frying pan and into the FIRE. The one wanting her position, believe it or no,,,are even WORSE.

  5. Put peelousi in da toilet flush several time to get that big of a turd down the hole . And bury in the swamp only dirt on earth that’s willing to take her. Trash hag !!!

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