On Monday, 16 insurgent Democrats vowed they would oppose Nancy Pelosi on the House floor. On Tuesday, Pelosi pulled off a one-two punch, winning over a key agitator in the movement against her speaker bid.
Like clockwork, Ohio Democrat Marcia Fudge turned on detractors Tuesday evening, endorsing Pelosi’s continued leadership of the Democratic caucus in exchange for a plum chairmanship atop a House administration subcommittee. Fudge abandoned a possible speaker bid after flirting with a run for seven days, even signing her name to an earlier version of a letter declaring war on Pelosi.
[Opinion: Marcia Fudge doomed her run for speaker before it even began]
Fudge’s absence from that Monday letter was the second sign that she might be wavering in her opposition to the longtime Democratic leader — the first was her decision to meet face-to-face with Pelosi last week. Fudge also backed the return of Maryland Democrat Steny Hoyer to majority leader and South Carolina Democrat Jim Clyburn to majority whip.
“Last week, I announced that I was strongly considering a run for speaker of the House,” Fudge wrote in a statement Tuesday. “I now join my colleagues in support of the leadership team of Pelosi, Hoyer and Clyburn.”
Pelosi allies anticipated Fudge would soon flip in conversations with the Washington Examiner earlier Tuesday, and predicted the beginning of the end for defectors. As Pelosi’s sewn up endorsements left and right, her supporters have come out swinging, mocking the “amateurish” campaign to take down the California Democrat.
“They’ve lost at this point and they should call it off for the sake of having our party unified,” said Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif. “Marcia at the end of the day will be supporting Nancy.”
Khanna claimed a number of the members who signed the letter pledging to vote against Pelosi on the floor would cave as well. Khanna didn’t provide names but said he’s spoken to people on the letter and thinks some of them “will vote present” or “skip the vote.”
“It is the height of hypocrisy that Chuck Schumer who lost three seats is being elected by acclamation and Nancy Pelosi who won [38] seats is facing this challenge,” Khanna said, assuming that Democrats will lose the Mississippi Senate run-off election next week. “That is the definition of sexism in politics.”
Khanna and other Pelosi loyalists have directed much of their wrath at Massachusetts Democrat Seth Moulton, a leader of the “rebel” Democrats. “I wouldn’t want to be the person who tried a botched coup,” Khanna said of Moulton.
Illinois Democrat Jan Schakowsky, a staunch supporter of Pelosi, piled on.
“I don’t know what Seth’s game is: If he doesn’t really see his future in the House of Representatives or he has some other plans,” Schakowsky said in an interview Tuesday. “But this ‘anybody but Pelosi’ business, what did she do to deserve that?”
After facing criticism at home during a Monday-night town hall, Moulton published an op-ed on CNN’s website, urging Democrats to listen to voters who “told us it’s time for change.”
“If we, as Democrats, are going to answer that call, we can’t turn around and choose the same leadership we’ve had in place since 2003,” Moulton wrote.
Schakowsky, who has served in the House for 20 years, called the anti-Pelosi campaign “unfair” and accused defectors of sowing discord among Democrats at a “critical” and “dangerous time” in American history.
“There’s this animosity that they say is not personal,” Schakowsky said of the attacks on Pelosi. “I feel like it is very personal.”
As the leadership fight escalates, Pelosi’s lined up endorsements from former President Barack Obama — who called Pelosi “one of the most effective legislative leaders” on Tuesday — and key advocacy groups that helped Democrats retake the majority. Progressive groups, gun control organizations, unions, reproductive rights groups like NARAL Pro-Choice and more have thrown their weight behind Pelosi’s speaker bid.
“Do you really want to make enemies out of these groups?” said Schakowsky, adding later, that the fight “is not just inside baseball, this has enormous ramifications for how we successfully move forward to pass an agenda that’s going to help people.”
Those itching for change, like Rep. Kathleen Rice of New York, have criticized the pressure campaign from Pelosi allies on incoming members. “It would be nice if there were arguments being made to [freshman] that were substantive as opposed to getting outside money people, or advocacy groups, or EMILY’s List to threaten that you’re going to lose support if you don’t support Nancy Pelosi,” Rice said last week.
One Democratic strategist equated the revolt to a “third party bid” by failing to put someone forward as a challenger before the caucus vote. “It’s one thing to run against someone for the Democratic nomination, it’s another to threaten to be the next Jill Stein,” the strategist said.
Though the momentum appears to be behind Pelosi heading into next week’s private caucus vote, the math, at least publicly, still favors her opponents. Democrats are headed for a 234-seat majority. If the 19 members who say they are committed to voting against her — either pledging in the letter or separate statements — Pelosi would fall short by three votes. That is assuming every single member of the House votes and Republicans vote for their GOP candidate.
Virginia Democrat Gerry Connolly, a Pelosi ally, called the anti-Pelosi letter an “anemic showing” but said Pelosi is not out of the woods just yet.
“What you hear from Nancy is determination; she doesn’t express worry,” Connolly said. “Obviously her marshaling this campaign with outside groups and inside the caucus would clearly indicate she’s quite aware of how challenging these numbers are.”
The math may look good for dissidents right now, but Pelosi’s ability to win over Fudge could indicate a willingness from defectors to join their leader one more time for the right price.
After Fudge announced her endorsement Tuesday evening, Khanna took another victory lap via text: “It’s game over.”
