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There has been some speculation as to when House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will be retiring for some time. Pelosi is reportedly planning to stay as the leader for House Democrats at least until after the 2022 midterm elections.
CNN reports that Pelosi plans to stay as House Speaker, leading the caucus at least until after the 2022 midterm elections. However, there is also the possibility of extending another term of an already historic career, as Pelosi plans to file and run for reelection in her district in San Francisco in 2022, at least for now, similar to what Pelosi has done in the past. People familiar with the House Speaker’s thinking revealed that Pelosi is not ruling out staying in leadership until 2022, despite originally planning to leave as Speaker.
Pelosi will reportedly spend time raising money for the House Democrats as they seek to maintain or expand their majority. Many House Democrats are eager to see new, younger leadership take Pelosi’s place. However, they are also concerned that the caucus may be caught up in internal conflicts rather than fight back, against House Republicans that threaten to retake the majority following the midterm elections, without her.
Both supporters and critics of Pelosi have confessed, according to CNN, a sense of dread of what the House of Representatives will be like when Pelosi finally decides to retire. “Her grip on House Democrats may be looser than it was, but whoever comes after her won’t have anywhere near that control. And with everyone expecting her departure to come soon, many complained to CNN that she hasn’t prepared her caucus for the post-Pelosi era, though she has worked to groom several of the top prospects to succeed her,” said the outlet.
In other related news, Pelosi also faces some pressure from her colleagues regarding taking action against Rep. Lauren Boebert, whose Islamophobic remarks against Rep. Ilhan Omar have led to calls to have the Colorado Republican censured and stripped of committee assignments. Speaking on Axios on HBO, House Majority Whip Rep. Jim Clyburn weighed in on the conflict surrounding Boebert and Omar, saying that Democrats should not be responsible for policing their Republican colleagues.
“She is a member of the Republican conference, so it’s not the Democratic Party’s responsibility to police Republicans,” said Clyburn, regarding Boebert.
