Nancy Pelosi Is Speaker Of The House Again
Nancy Pelosi is Speaker of The House again after eight years out of power, but there's little time for her to celebrate.
Not unexpectedly, Nancy Pelosi was rather easily elected Speaker of the House for the 116th Congress with only a minimal amount of dissent from a small number of Democratic members of the House:
WASHINGTON — On a day of pomp and pageantry, ebullient Democrats assumed control of the House on Thursday and elected Representative Nancy Pelosi of California to be speaker, returning her to a historic distinction as the first woman to hold the post at the pinnacle of power in Congress, second in line to the presidency.
The investiture of Ms. Pelosi, whose talent for legislative maneuvering is surpassed only by her skill at keeping her fractious party in line, placed her at the fulcrum of divided government opposite an increasingly combative President Trump. With Mr. Trump, his presidential campaign and his businesses all under federal and state investigations, her handling of him will likely define the 116th Congress.
Her election came on Day 13 of a government shutdown that has dramatized the shifting dynamics in Washington. Mr. Trump’s insistence on a wall on the Mexican border has come to embody harsh immigration policies that will run headlong into newly energized Democratic opposition.
But on Thursday, if only for a few hours, the dark clouds of divisive politics parted long enough for a peaceful transition of power from Republicans to Democrats, as a majority lawmakers rose in turn from their seats on the House floor to utter Ms. Pelosi’s name and formally award her the gavel she relinquished in 2011 after a Tea Party wave swept Republicans to power.
Following her election, Ms. Pelosi, wearing a hot pink dress, ascended to the marble dais in the center of the House chamber with Representative Kevin McCarthy of California, the incoming Republican leader, who handed her the wooden gavel.
“To the speaker of the House, Ms. Pelosi, I extend to you the gavel,” he said. The room erupted into applause as Ms. Pelosi held the tool aloft, showing it off to her colleagues.
“Our nation is at a historic moment,” she declared. “This Congress will be bipartisan, transparent and unified.”
Moments later, with a “Come on, kids!” Ms. Pelosi invited the children and grandchildren on the floor of the House to surround her as she took the oath of office.
“I now call the House to order on behalf of all of America’s children,” Ms. Pelosi said after she was sworn in.
Scores of newly elected Democrats in the most racially, ethnically and gender-diverse class in history were on hand for the occasion, some of them clad in the traditional or religious garb of their communities — a Palestinian thobe, a Muslim hijab or head scarf, a Pueblo dress. The new members provided the visual tableau of change in a chamber that has for centuries been overwhelmingly white and male.
“When our new members take the oath, our Congress will be refreshed, and our democracy will be strengthened by the optimism, idealism and patriotism of this transformative freshman class,” Ms. Pelosi said in prepared remarks to be delivered from the House floor. “Working together, we will redeem the promise of the American dream for every family, advancing progress for every community.”
Representative Hakeem Jeffries of New York, the chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, nominated Ms. Pelosi to be speaker, prompting a standing ovation from most of the Democratic side of the House and much of the spectators in the gallery.
Nancy Pelosi was elected speaker for the 116th Congress on Thursday, cementing her legacy and returning the longtime Democratic leader to the post she first held eight years ago.
Pelosi, the first and only woman to ever wield the speaker’s gavel, was elected with 220 votes. 15 Democrats did not vote for her on the floor.
Pelosi was celebrated in the leadup to the vote, which made her the most prominent Democratic foil to President Donald Trump at a time when the new House majority is eager to take on the president.
“Let me be clear. House Democrats are down with NDP,” House Democratic Caucus Chairman Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) said as he officially nominated Pelosi, whose maiden name is D’Alesandro, to the speakership. The Democratic side of the chamber erupted into a standing ovation.
The election marks a triumphant return to the gavel for the California Democrat after a band of a dozen-plus rebels unsuccessfully tried to deny her the speakership late last year. Pelosi is the first person in six decades to regain the speaker’s gavel after losing it, a job she first held from 2007-2011.
Pelosi, 78, also made history in a less positive way — ascending to the speakership in the middle of a partial government shutdown with no end in sight.
Still, even with the shadow of the shutdown looming over the new Congress, current and incoming lawmakers still exuded that “first day of school” vibe before the official proceedings kicked off shortly after noon.
Several lawmakers were seen toting their young children around the House as they welcomed new members and said hello to longtime colleagues. Pelosi entered the chamber with several of her grandchildren in tow, pumping her fists as she walked down the center aisle of the chamber.
Legendary crooner Tony Bennett, a guest of Pelosi’s, was spotted in the speaker’s box in the gallery above the chamber. Other guests of Pelosi’s included Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser, Mickey Hart of the Grateful Dead and Project Runway co-host Tim Gunn. Pelosi’s husband, five children and all nine grandchildren were also on hand for the occasion.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), a former House member himself, was also on hand for the speaker’s vote and gave Pelosi a hug as the vote kicked off.
Several new members were still trying to find their way around the Capitol complex and introduce themselves to the police officers who station every entrance.
Rep.-elect Haley Stevens (D-Mich.), one of 100 incoming freshmen, was stopped by security as she tried to get to the House to be sworn in. She didn’t yet have a member pin, only a pass. The officer, who did not recognize her, looked at her name on the badge and muttered “bear with me here.”
It did not put a dent in her excitement to become a member of Congress. “We are energized and we are resolved and we are ready to deliver,” Stevens said enthusiastically as she turned toward the chamber.
Prior to today and during the campaign, there was some question about potential challenges to Pelosi’s leadership, especially from the progressie wing of the party and from Democrats elected in marginal In the end, 15 Democrats ended up either voting for someone else, including everyone from Congressman Joseph Kennedy to former Vice-President Biden or voting “No” or “Present,” presumably as a form of protest. In any case, with her election, Pelosi becomes the eighth Speaker of the House to be re-elected to the Speakership after having previously lost it. The previous seven were Frederick Muhlenberg, who served as Speaker in both the 1st and 3rd Congresses in the early years of the Republic, Henry Clay, who served as Speaker during the 12th, 13th, 14th, 15th, 16th, and 18th Congresses, Thomas Brackett Reed, who served as Speaker during the 51st, 54th, and 55th Congresses, Joseph Martin, who served during the 80th and 83rd Congresses, and Sam Rayburn, who served during the 76th, 77th, 78th, 79th, 81st, 82nd, 84th, 85th, 86th, and 87th Congresses. She also remains the only Member of Congress and the only woman to serve in the position.
Thanks to the ongoing government shutdown, Pelosi won’t get much of a honeymoon notwithstanding the laurels that were heaped upon her this afternoon. Later today, the House will vote on a series of bills designed to end the shutdown with respect to all of the agencies of government impacted by the shutdown with the exception of the Department of Homeland Security and to pass a continuing resolution with regard to DHS funding that allows the parties to continue negotiating with regard to President Trump’s border wall. Unfortunately, President Trump has already rejected that proposal and, because of that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has said that he will not put a bill before the Senate unless he’s assured that the President will agree to the deal. The major problem with that is that this is extremely difficult given the fact that the President has failed to say exactly what he’d accept other than the $5 billion for his wall that he continues to insist upon despite the fact that it’s clear that this is not going to pass Congress. This means that the parties will need to come up with some kind of face-saving proposal that both sides can accept. What that might be is something that, in the end, only the President can speak to at this point. However, as Senate Minority Leader noted just about a year ago, negotiating with President Trump is like negotiating with Jello because you can never be sure where he actually stand and you can never rely on his word at any given moment since he could end up changing his mind at the drop of a hate. Given this, it’s hard to see an easy resolution to this mess any time soon.
So, congratulations Speaker Pelosi, you’ve got your work cut out for you.
I remember overhearing a right-winger shortly after the 2010 elections rejoicing over rumors that Pelosi had decided to retire. Oh, the days.
And Paul Ryan retires as the biggest Speaker failure in my lifetime, but with a strangely high 12% approval rating
@Teve: Less than half of the Keyes constant is essentially the equivalent of “nothing.”
Woe to you, oh earth and sea…Nancy Pelosi, aka the Head Cutter, aka the Iron Queen, has the gavel again. Look upon her works, ye mighty, and despair.
@Kylopod: yeah, colorectal cancer could probly get 12% đ
@James Pearce: yah, we get it, you can’t stand capable women in positions of power.
We know the only person you consider to be Wonderful is Trump, and all the rest of us are supposed to bend down and hail him as our God and Leader.
(Sixty-seven dimensional chess player? The idiot can’t even read a “See Dick run!” story.)
I quit reading him quite a while ago, so I’ve heard him talk shit about Hillary, and I’ve heard him talk shit about pelosi, but I haven’t directly seen him talk shit about Elizabeth Warren and AOC. If he hasn’t already, I’m sure it’s coming. đ
@grumpy realist:
Yep. Took me a while to decipher the crazy, but that’s the basis of his hard-on against Democrats. They’re doomed to lose because: bitchez; and Trump is sure to win because: penis.
@Michael Reynolds: he also has a problem with black people, but women have been more prominent lately.
@grumpy realist:
And yet that doesn’t stop me from having a “Nikki Haley for President” sticker on the bumper of my Subaru.
@Michael Reynolds: Finally, the Pearce expert chimes in.
@Teve: You’re right. You don’t read my comments…
(Yeah, I got skillz.)
I don’t know if you all see the same stories on the upper right of your screen, but I see two Nancy Pelosi related stories up there… with two pictures of her.
I’ve got to say, I didn’t know that Nancy was one of the Barden Bellas!
.
And James, do you ever get tired of being the person trying to take a duce in the punchbowl?
We sure do. Your roll? It’s old.
@James Pearce:
If true then you’re lying about being a Democrat. Right?
I’ll just sit back and enjoy the moment.
I think you guys are giving JP too much credit–not to mention attention. When I used to read his schtick, he prided himself on being “a contrarian.” By which he meant a person who reflexively argues against what he or she believes is the zeitgeist of the moment. To comment on what he is saying is to both reinforce his delusions that he understands the culture and to reward him for his contrariness. In his case, “pointing out his folly for the sake of the lurkers” is probably non-productive as most of what he says is probably too arcane for lurkers to care about. Teve probably has a good approach, and I try as much as possible to avoid reading him to.
As always, YMMV.
the new Congress in 17 photos.
https://www.gq.com/story/democrats-climate-change-committee?verso=true
Nancy Pelosi and her leadership are climate deniers.
https://hbr.org/2018/12/the-story-of-sustainability-in-2018-we-have-about-12-years-left
Insisting on an incremental response to a catastrophic problem is a form of psychological denial. And right-wing denialism is at the heart of the Democratic Party.
I’m not a Democrat. I’m a liberal independent, which means I often vote Democratic, but officially I’m unaffiliated. I do not actually have a Nikki Haley bumper sticker on my Subaru. It’s a (properly aligned!) Broncos sticker.
But I do like Nikki Haley, despite her being a Republican.
@Liberal Capitalist:
It’s called “taking the piss” and not only did I gently parody the Pelosi-philes, I did it while referencing both Iron Maiden and Shelley.
Sorry you didn’t think it was funny, but it was funny.
@James Pearce: “Sorry you didnât think it was funny, but it was funny.”
It was a hard-fought battle, but we have a winner in the contest for “Least Self-Aware Person on the Internet.”
Another guy whoâs not worth reading: Wolf. He comes across as bitter, angry and reflexively negative. And of course, the ultimate reason for ignoring someone in a comments section: he doesnât actually engage in discussion, but jus lobs his turds over the wall and ignores any replies he doesnât like.
@wr:
This –well, I’ll be generous– “quip” is way too lame to get 6 upvotes. If you need some extra wit, you can borrow some of mine.
@MarkedMan:
I cannot wait until our culture abandons this “I refuse to encounter viewpoints I do not agree with” moment. It’s a recipe for intellectual atrophy, as demonstrated daily from our resident name-callers and braggarts.
@MarkedMan:
Disappointed Bernie Bro, doesn’t like women, and seems to think we need a Marxist revolution. Pearce is just an idiot; Wolf jammed his otherwise considerable brain into a tiny box of ideology and resentment, a self-inflicted intellectual crippling.
@Teve: I not up to date on protocol for these occasions but I took it as a particularly low-class act that Ryan gave the job of handing the gavel over to Ms Pelosi to Cong McCarthy.
@JohnMcC: the only good thing one can say about Paul Ryan is that he was incompetent, and while he managed to blow up the deficit, like all good Republicans, he failed in his effort to destroy the social safety net and completely turn us into a third world country.
@James Pearce:
“If you need some extra wit, you can borrow some of mine.”
Are you sure you have any to spare? You only seem to have a half portion yourself.
@Michael Reynolds: You think I’m a “Disappointed Bernie Bro?”
I’m an Obama guy, going “There’s no red states and blue states, dummy, just the United States” and you’re over here going, “To hell with all that. We have the women, the minorities, the gays, the cities, and all you have are the deplorables. Ha ha.”
Count me out of that self-delusional, divisive crap.
@James Pearce: He’s talking about Ben Wolf, not you.
@Monala:
Yeah, on second glance, it appears you’re right. He did call Ben the “Bernie Bro.”
Me, he just called an idiot.
@James Pearce:..And yet that doesnât stop me from having a âNikki Haley for Presidentâ sticker on the bumper of my Subaru.
@James Pearce:..I do not actually have a Nikki Haley bumper sticker on my Subaru.
…self-delusional, divisive crap…
@James Pearce: “This âwell, Iâll be generousâ âquipâ is way too lame to get 6 upvotes. If you need some extra wit, you can borrow some of mine.”
As evidenced by this clever comeback? Thanks, pass.
@James Pearce: “I cannot wait until our culture abandons this âI refuse to encounter viewpoints I do not agree withâ moment. Itâs a recipe for intellectual atrophy, as demonstrated daily from our resident name-callers and braggarts.”
Telling that you can’t see a difference between “refuse to encounter viewpoints I do not agree with” and “after reading many comments over a long period of time have come to the conclusion that this poster has nothing worthwhile to say.”
@James Pearce: “Yeah, on second glance, it appears youâre right. He did call Ben the âBernie Bro.â Me, he just called an idiot.”
And then you proved him right. Good job!
@wr: wr, I don’t know about you, but I originally started coming here because Doug and James were conservatives that I didn’t agree with. But they were smart conservatives, who are worth engaging.
A small number of people here are, intellectually, not worth engaging.
http://nymag.com/intelligencer/2019/01/paygo-rule-explained-ocasio-cortez-house-democrats-pelosi.html
@Mister Bluster: Oh god…joking about a bumper sticker I do not have doesn’t mean I’m self-delusional. It means I have a sense of humor.
@wr:
I just read three of your comments in a short period of time.
Since I apparently live rent-free in your head, hear this: stay out of my bathroom and stop touching my stuff.
(<–Memo to Mr. Bluster. That's a joke, too.)
@Ben Wolf: Well, THERE’s a pithy comment. Wonder what Ben REALLY thinks?
@Ben Wolf: Undoubtedly, you have “proven” that
1) Speaker Pelosi is a climate denier and has rigged the House Democratic Caucus so that climate deniers will “win,” and
2) A person of your resolve would certainly turn the ocean liner-like phenomenon of global warming on the dime necessary to reverse the direction of carbon concentration over a 12 year period (tl/dr: if 12 years is it, are we past the “tipping point?”).
Maybe you and Pearce should form a “contrarian” pact of some sort and combine your businesses.
@Teve: Interesting. Roughly 10 years ago, I came here because it was a conservative site that promised a conservatism that I could still believe in and embrace, even though I thought Doug and Dr. Joyner held some neocon positions that were problematical for me.
Little did I know that time and the philosophical version of Newton’s First Law of Motion would send the left careening past me in a mere 10 short years.
@Teve: Agree with you on all counts. Sometimes mosquitoes need to be slapped, though.
@James Pearce: “Since I apparently live rent-free in your head,”
The last refuge of the desperate troll — “I can’t possibly convince anyone of anything, my points are incoherent or simply moronic, everyone sees that I’ve got nothing to say… but look, I managed to annoy someone, so I exist!”
@Just nutha ignint cracker: and it’s not just me, I think there are a lot of liberals in the comments here, who are here because this is a rare smart conservative site where we can see and discuss differences of opinion. Where else are we going to go? Gateway pundit? Conservative treehouse? Breitbart? you can lose IQ points just reading those sites. đ
@Just nutha ignint cracker:
https://www.vox.com/2018/10/8/17948832/climate-change-global-warming-un-ipcc-report
@JohnMcC:
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/03/opinion/house-democrats-budget-deficit.html
@Ben Wolf: I repeat: it seems like we may be past the tipping point. Or are you making the same point and I’m just missing it? (see Neal’s comment on another thread)
@Ben Wolf: When these carbon fees are implemented, how will they affect the consumer, the average working people who are paying their utility bills and donât need more fees or taxes?
The American homeowners have put in their own money and hard work to make their homes more energy efficient. They have installed insulation, caulked, bought energy efficient appliances and heat/ac, window film, smart thermostats, special power meters, energy monitoring software, efficient lighting, smart light switches, and many have made their own solar panels. They did this on their own with no help from the government. The hardware stores are full of energy saving materials, tools, and supplies. I wonder how much of the Federal government buildings have been upgraded to save energy.
Every time this subject is talked about by politicians, it always comes around to some sort of extra taxes or fees on the average people. Some would love to put higher taxes on gas, and cars.
The American people have done their part.
See – UN Agenda 21 and 2030 “Sustainable development”. The US needs to stay out of these entangling treaties and agreements.