Tipsheet

It Looks Like House Democrats Retain Majority, But Pelosi May Have to Give Up the Speaker's Gavel

Matt Vespa
Matt Vespa  |  November 10, 2020 8:15 PM

Here we go. We have drama over the Speaker of the House again. Yes, it’s fun to ponder who will wrest the gavel away from Speaker Pelosi, but there’s always a lot of hype and then a rather anti-climactic ending that usually ends with the California liberal keeping her residency in that office. 

House Democrats did not have the best election cycle. The so-called experts said they were on track to gain 10-15 seats. They ended up losing races. Conservative women dominated. Period. Reagan noted that earlier this week and Katie wrote about the latest round of Republican pick-ups. The House Democratic majority has been whittled down. Can the GOP retake the House? It doesn’t look that way, as some have already said the Democrats will retain the majority, albeit a very slim one. And remember there are 20 or so moderate Democrats who really cannot get on board with the more far-left and insane elements that are peddled by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and her squad.

House Republican Leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) said that a) Pelosi doesn’t have the votes to keep her gavel, and b) the GOP could steer the ship in the lower chamber with the help of those moderate Democrats in vulnerable districts (via Newsweek):

The House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy said the Republican Party could "control the floor" of the House if a small number of Democrats were to join them on votes after the party gained seats in the lower chamber on Election Day.

Appearing on Fox News on Sunday, the California representative added that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi could lose her role if 10 of the 15 Democrats who voted against her bid in January 2019 did so again at the start of next year.

He also warned that "internal fights" in the Democratic Party were emerging after the party failed to build on its House majority despite President-Elect Joe Biden's victory in the presidential contest.

[…]

"If those 10 vote against her again, she will not be speaker of the House, because she won't have 218 because of the gains of the Republicans. We are close enough now that we can control the floor with a few Democrats joining with us."

Bold prediction. But we’ve heard these tales before about internal issues between Pelosi and her caucus and every time they always back her. The latest challenge to her speakership in the elections fizzled quickly. And she’ll remain in a strong position to get the votes needed. After all, a good share of the House Democratic majority hails from three very liberal states, California, New York, and Massachusetts. We’ll see what happens. For now, let’s focus on making sure every legal vote is counted in the 2020 election. And let’s prepare for the Georgia runoffs.