House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is in for headaches dealing with the growing far-Left contingent in the new Congress while managing a slim Democratic majority.
Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, and Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, known as the “Squad,” will be joined by Democratic Cori Bush of Missouri. She recently enjoyed success with a primary win over Rep. Lacy Clay, who has held the seat since 2001. Also joining the Squad is Jamaal Bowman of New York. He unseated incumbent Rep. Eliot Engel, who has served in Congress since 1989, in a June primary.
A nurse by trade, Bush is also a Black Lives Matter organizer who was involved with activism in the aftermath of the 2014 protests in Ferguson, Missouri. She and Bowman, a former principal and teacher, were both backed by the leftist insurgent Justice Democrats PAC, an organization that’s happy to add the two to the Squad.
Bush and Bowman have made it clear that they will not give automatic support to Pelosi. Asked in a joint television interview whether they will vote for Pelosi for speaker, neither would commit to it, saying that they will continue to organize with their communities.
“I am going to make sure that voices of the people of St. Louis are heard and we have what we need,” Bush said.
The original Squad flexed its power, firing a warning shot at Pelosi just before Christmas. Ocasio-Cortez, Omar, Pressley, and Tlaib all voted against the rule governing the coronavirus relief and government spending bill, which, if successful, would have prevented the bill from getting an immediate vote on the House floor. The congresswomen had expressed objections to the House having to vote on a massive bill just hours after its reveal.
It was a mostly symbolic move, though, as the rule passed and all the congresswomen except Tlaib voted for the bill itself. Tlaib said that the legislation, particularly the $600 stimulus checks, did not do enough.
In the last Congress, Pelosi could easily ignore gadflies on the far Left and account for some defections on crucial issues while pushing through her priorities.
But after failing to make gains in the House in the 2020 elections, Pelosi will operate with a slim majority of only around a dozen votes.
And that majority will temporarily be made even tighter after Jan. 20. President-elect Joe Biden has selected three House Democrats to join his administration. Louisiana Rep. Cedric Richmond will join the White House as a senior adviser and the director of the Office of Public Engagement. Ohio Rep. Marcia Fudge is likely Biden’s nominee for secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and Biden chose New Mexico Rep. Deb Haaland for the post of secretary of the Department of the Interior.
Though the seats are all safe Democratic districts, the vacancies could take months to fill due to special elections, leaving Pelosi with a majority of just a handful of votes in the crucial first months of the Biden administration, when there is traditionally the most legislative activity in a new president’s term.
The six representatives could band together and, on specific issues, find other allies, potentially blocking legislation that they object to from passing the House — similar to how the Freedom Caucus held great power when Republicans controlled the House.
It is not an ideal situation for the progressive wing, though. Overuse of blocking measures could backfire politically. Ocasio-Cortez said recently that her wing would use leverage when “absolutely necessary.”
And while the Squad may have the power to block certain measures, it will be harder for it to push its priorities since more centrist Democrats can use the same tactic and band together to prevent far-left bills from passing.
