Nancy Pelosi is expected to become speaker of the House in January for a second time despite growing opposition to her leadership from incumbent and incoming Democrats.
Pelosi appears poised to reclaim the gavel and reiterated that one of her primary motivations for staying on is to the protect the Affordable Care Act and to ensure that a woman is among the country’s top leaders.
“You cannot have the fours leaders of Congress, the president of United States, these five people, and not have the voice of women,” Pelosi said on CBS’s “Face the Nation.”
Pressed on the defectors in her ranks and calls for her to step aside after 16 years at the top Democrat, Pelosi pushed back.
“Well, people have to run,” she said “When I first ran people said, ‘She couldn’t run.’ Nobody smoothed a path for me.”
There are roughly 12 incumbent members who are planning to vote against Pelosi on the House floor in January regardless the outcome of the private caucus vote, which will be held after Thanksgiving. If Democrats have a 230- to 232-seat majority and incoming freshman join the detractors, Pelosi’s path to speaker come into question.
Still, no one has announced a bid against Pelosi and as leader of the caucus she is able to dangle committee assignments before incoming members in exchange for loyalty.
