Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi might as well have declared, “I am the Congress” with her latest remarks about the Iowa House seat that’s become another ‘stop the steal’ story for the 2020 cycle. She pretty much said she has the right to seat or unseat members of the House of Representatives regardless of the election result. The empress has spoken. Also, a tad creepy, huh?
Speaker Pelosi says it is her “right as Speaker” to seat or unseat any member of Congress she wants even if the election is certified
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) March 25, 2021
pic.twitter.com/b6yyJMf1EA
Iowa’s second congressional district race ended with Republican Mariannette Miller-Meeks winning by literally a handful of votes. She was certified. She was seated, but her Democratic opponents, Rita Hart, wants the certification overturned (via NPR):
The House Administration Committee is reviewing a challenge brought by defeated Iowa Democrat Rita Hart against freshman Republican Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, who won the race by just six votes.
Attorneys for the two candidates submitted initial legal briefs to the panel on Monday. In a terse 23-page brief, Miller-Meeks' counsel broadly denied Hart's claims and said the burden was on Hart to prove that a state-certified election should be overturned.
[…]
Hart's team alleges that there are 22 ballots that should have been counted in the election and that if they had, she would have won by nine votes. Hart's campaign has cited examples including five absentee ballots cast in her favor that were not counted because they were not properly sealed. However, the race was certified by the Iowa State Board of Canvassers — with bipartisan support — after a full recount.
Guy and Cortney have both covered this story. Luckily, it seems more and more Democrats are coming to the realization that continuing these antics isn’t good for the country or their supposed position on maintaining election integrity, which is already laughable. It’s not good politics for sure (via WSJ):
Losing a House election by six votes is painful for Democrats. But overturning it in the House would be even more painful for America. Just because a majority can, does not mean a majority should. https://t.co/pXaOYBIMue
— Rep. Dean Phillips ???? (@RepDeanPhillips) March 22, 2021
More House Democrats are expressing concern over potentially having to vote later this year on whether to overturn a Republican congresswoman’s razor-thin victory in Iowa.
The House Administration Committee opted on party lines earlier this month to review a challenge from Democratic candidate Rita Hart disputing her loss by six votes to GOP Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks. The Iowa State Board of Canvassers certified Ms. Miller-Meeks’s narrow win following a recount of the full district. But the legal team of Ms. Hart, who is challenging the results under the Federal Contested Elections Act, said there are 22 valid ballots that were never counted, which could reverse the outcome.
Some House Democrats have recently shared their concerns with Democratic leaders over having to potentially vote to overturn a state-certified election in Iowa and conveyed to them that they might not have enough votes to prevail, according to lawmakers and aides. Democrats currently hold a narrow 219-211 majority and can lose no more than three votes on measures opposed by all Republicans.
[…]
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) said Thursday it was Ms. Hart’s right to contest her narrow loss.
“If you had lost a race by six votes, wouldn’t you like to say ‘there must be some way that we can count this?’” she said to reporters. “We are obligated under federal law to follow the process and the facts.”
Remember, she’s God-queen of the House. She can unseat all who defy her. Not really, but in her mind, she thinks so.