Insurgent Democrats are struggling to keep their campaign to oust Nancy Pelosi afloat.
Those opposing Pelosi’s bid to become House speaker put themselves back in the spotlight Monday, adding a new lawmaker to their ranks. But Pelosi continues to outmaneuver her critics, peeling off two defectors and weakening the already volatile campaign to deny her the speaker’s gavel in January.
Pelosi has more than a month to squash the uprising by rebel Democrats and the momentum is on her side. In a sign that defectors might be softening, Massachusetts Democrat Seth Moulton signaled Monday that he wants to sit down with Pelosi to discuss a possible deal.
[Opinion: Democrats would be nuts to oust Nancy Pelosi]
Moulton and other incumbent Democrats in safe seats who oppose Pelosi could be prepared to vote for her if she agrees to only serve for one year, according to an aide close to detractors. It’s a concession the Californian is unlikely to entertain. Pelosi has called herself a “transitional” leader but won’t provide details about how long that transition might last, arguing that doing so could make her a lame-duck speaker.
“Leader Pelosi wants to boil this down to a personal argument, but this is so much bigger than her,” Moulton said in a statement. “It’s about the entire, stagnant, three-person leadership team and having a serious conversation about promoting leaders who reflect the future of our caucus.”
But if Moulton is looking for a deal to remove Pelosi’s two deputies, he’s likely to come up empty-handed. Maryland Democrat Steny Hoyer and South Carolina Democrat Jim Clyburn are expected to easily win re-election to the majority leader and majority whip posts and have strong support within the caucus.
Moulton has yet to formally request a meeting with Pelosi, according to a Pelosi aide. And other members of the anti-Pelosi faction have not publicly endorsed Moulton’s latest play.
Dissidents predict at least 20 will be ready to vote against Pelosi on the floor. Democrats are poised to hold a 234-seat majority, meaning Pelosi can only lose 16 Democrats if every member votes and Republicans vote for a GOP candidate.
But detractors have steadily hemorrhaged support. Pelosi successfully flipped her potential rival, Ohio Democrat Marcia Fudge, last week. A day later, Pelosi picked off Rep. Brian Higgins, D-N.Y., who originally pledged to vote against her on the floor. And Pelosi allies expect she will be able to woo more defectors to her side as she works to strike deals.
Another problem for the renegade Democrats is that no alternative candidate has stepped up to challenge Pelosi.
“It’s a little frustrating hearing about this ‘anything but’ campaign,” said Rep. Anthony Brown, D-Md., a Pelosi ally. “Anything but these three. Put forward a name, put forward a candidate. Let that candidate articulate the reasons why they should lead.”
The continued resistance to Pelosi and her deputies is “antagonizing a lot of people,” said Rep. John Yarmuth, D-Ky., who supports current leadership.
“They’re trying to save face; they’re out there on a limb with nobody else behind them,” Yarmuth said of the detrators. “Even if they could stop Pelosi on a first ballot they’re not going to decide who the speaker is because they don’t have enough votes to do that and they don’t have an alternative.”
The latest machinations come as Democrats prepare to vote for leadership in a private caucus vote Wednesday. Pelosi, Hoyer and Clyburn are all expected to win a majority of support from the caucus.
Meanwhile, Pelosi is working to win over nine moderate Democrats who belong to the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus. The group wants a hard commitment that Pelosi will institute proposed rules changes.
“We are asking Leader Pelosi to publicly support three of the ‘Break the Gridlock’ rules changes that we first proposed in June to help spur immediate action on healthcare, immigration, and infrastructure,” the nine Democratic members said in a statement Sunday night.
The members want three rules changes: A floor vote for any bill with 290 co-sponsors, votes on amendments that garner 20 Democratic and 20 Republican co-sponsors, and that each member be allowed to introduce one bill for debate a vote on a committee they serve on.
A draft rules package unveiled by Pelosi and Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., includes allowing floor consideration for a bill with 290 cosponsors and four other changes proposed by the Problem Solvers caucus.
Pelosi will meet with the subset of Democratic members Tuesday, according to a senior Democratic aide.
