WASHINGTON (AP) – Democrats won the majority. Now they just need a speaker of the House.
The standoff over Nancy Pelosi’s bid to regain the gavel intensified Friday as Democrats left Washington for the Thanksgiving holiday, an unsettling finish to an otherwise triumphant week that saw them welcome a historic class of newcomers to Capitol Hill and prepare to take control.
Pelosi was certain that she will be speaker once more, reviving her role as the first woman to wield the gavel. But her foes were equally confident they have the votes to stop her.
For now, it’s a band of disgruntled Democrats, led mostly by men, standing against the sweep of nationally-known Pelosi allies. With a test vote looming in late November, and at least one potential Pelosi challenger stepping forward, Democrats faced the grim prospect of the internal squabble over the Jan. 3 speaker’s vote dragging on for weeks, with no clear end game in sight.
“I think chaos is good if it’s productive. I think chaos is bad if it is too disruptive and it divides us too much,” said Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., a co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, whose leaders were upbeat after meeting with Pelosi this week.