Pelosi Nominated for Speaker

By National Review. Representative Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) was nominated Wednesday to serve as the next speaker of the House, despite strident opposition from a small subset of her Democratic caucus. Pelosi’s nomination was all but guaranteed as the House Democrats opposed to her nomination failed to present an alternative candidate.

With the nomination secured by a vote of 203-32, the California progressive must now win over a majority of the House in a floor vote in early January before she can claim the gavel. Since the entire Republican caucus will likely vote against her, Pelosi can only afford to lose the support of 17 Democrats if she hopes to win the speakership.

While Pelosi was running unopposed, the party modified the standard nomination ballot to include a “no” option, so that freshman Democrats who ran on opposing her could tell their constituents they followed through on their respective pledges. Pelosi reportedly supported those freshmen lawmakers, giving them the go ahead to vote “no” to preserve their political capital. (Read more from “Pelosi Nominated for Speaker” HERE)

_____________________________________________

Another Dem to Oppose Pelosi

By The Hill. The road to the Speakership grew a bit steeper for Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Wednesday when another Democrat announced his opposition to the longtime party leader.

Rep. Ron Kind (D), an 11-term Wisconsin lawmaker, noted that he voted against Pelosi’s leadership bid on the floor two years ago, and he’s planning to do the same in January.

“I’ve been consistent in saying we’re in desperate need of new leadership on both sides, as we move forward in the new Congress,” Kind told The Hill.

A senior Democratic aide fired back, noting that Kind has supported Pelosi’s top lieutenants — Reps. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) and James Clyburn (D-S.C.) — who have also been at the top of the party for more than a decade.

“This reasoning falls quite flat given Rep. Kind’s vote for Hoyer and Clyburn today,” the aide said, referring to Wednesday’s leadership votes on Capitol Hill. (Read more from “Another Dem to Oppose Pelosi” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.