As Leah wrote earlier this morning, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi already has contingency plans should the 2022 midterms go sideways for Democrats. The California Democrat is readying her next job should the Republicans retake the House, and it’s far from the Capitol Building. The rumor mill about Pelosi’s next chapter is that she wants to become the next US Ambassador to Italy. Joe Biden has not filled that vacancy and is reportedly waiting until after the 2022 elections to nominate a replacement (via Fox Business):
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is planning her next move after an expected Republican victory in November.
Sources tell FOX ?Business that Pelosi wants President Biden to nominate her to become the next U.S. ambassador to Italy if the GOP takes the House majority in the midterm elections.
Biden is holding the spot for the speaker, sources say, which is one reason he has yet to fill the position since taking office. Speculation earlier this year that a Pelosi ally and former Wall Street executive wanted the job has shifted with the increasing likelihood that the GOP takes the majority.
There was no clarity yet on how a new Senate will react to a Pelosi nomination, but there was a mixed reaction to her in the role from sources this week.
Democrats will undoubtedly keep control of her seat, roughly three blocks of San Francisco, so there’s little to no blowback of Pelosi saying ‘arrivederci’ to the House of Representatives. What should be gleaned from Biden’s holding position in filling this ambassadorship is that top Democrats know they’re going to lose the House. The Senate remains a different animal, but Democrats entered this current session with a slim four-seat majority. With high inflation and an economy in recession, there was never a political scenario based on reality that favored Democrats keeping the House.
A good showing in Florida’s House races alone guarantees a GOP win overall in the House races. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis took the unusual move this year of drawing the congressional map himself, which Florida Democrats decried, though it was legal. In June, the state Supreme Court allowed the map to remain in place for the midterms, which heavily favors Republicans by a 20-8 margin regarding seat allocation.
With a president with approvals in the 30s, coupled with the domestic crises that continue to plague the country, not sure why some liberals still feel hopeful about the 2022 midterms.