House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) seeks a fourth term with the speaker’s gavel, as her party holds a historically slim majority in the lower chamber. Democrats were projected to gain upwards of 10 to 15 seats in the House, but Republicans managed to flip several Democratic-held districts on election day.
Her party’s slim majority complicates Pelosi’s bid for the speakership, as many House Democrats place blame on her for the massive losses in congressional elections. High-profile Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) called for new leadership in Congress, and a handful of newly-elected Democrats declined to say whether or not they would back Pelosi’s bid for the speakership.
New York GOP Congresswoman Elise Stefanik warned that Pelosi’s bid for the speaker’s gavel is “in peril” as her own party publicly voices frustration with her governance.
“I have thought for weeks that Nancy Pelosi’s speakership is in peril,” Stefanik said on Fox and Friends on Monday morning. “Her majority is so slim...she can only lose 3 to 4 votes of that speakership. That means that there are a number of members who voted against her last time who are going to have to vote for her.”
WATCH Pt. 2 of my @FoxandFriends appearance this morning as we talk about Nancy Pelosi's failing support within her own party. It's clear that Pelosi's speakership is IN PERIL... many Democrats are withholding their votes from her - causing a perilous path to the speakership! pic.twitter.com/yQom3pJv60
— Elise Stefanik (@EliseStefanik) December 28, 2020
Pelosi lost 15 votes from her own caucus during her last speaker election, and cannot afford such a monumental loss this time around.
