AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka threw his organization’s support behind Rep. Nancy Pelosi in her bid to retain her leadership of the House Democrats.
The California Democrat, who has held the leadership post for 14 years, is being challenged by Rep. Tim Ryan of Ohio, who has argued the party has not mounted a strong enough effort to re-take control of the House.
Ryan’s challenge, announced last week, was prompted by the party’s poor showing in the November elections, netting only six seats to date, far short of the 20 that they had hoped for.
The head of the nation’s largest labor federation said Tuesday that he saw no need for a shakeup. “@NancyPelosi was w/ us before and after the election. Our agenda is her agenda and that’s why we’re with her to be the Democratic leader,” Trumka said in a tweet.
Trumka and other labor leaders have close ties to top Democratic officials. Emails hacked from the account of Hillary Clinton’s campaign manager, John Podesta, and published by the website WikiLeaks show the campaign working closely behind the scenes with the various labor leaders in the AFL-CIO to quell rank-and-file support for Clinton’s primary rival, Sen. Bernie Sanders, D-Vt., and deliver union endorsements to her.
