U.S. Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. (White House photo)
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy says Nancy Pelosi will not be elected speaker again if the same number of Democrats vote against her as they did after the 2018 midterms.
McCarthy noted in an interview with "Sunday Morning Futures" that a candidate needs 218 votes to win the post, but when Pelosi stood for election two years ago, there were 15 Democrats who voted against her.
"Ten of those Democrats will be coming back to Congress. If those 10 vote against her again, she will not be speaker of the House because of the gains of the Republicans," he explained. "We are close enough now that we can control the floor with a few Democrats joining with us."
So far, Republicans have won at least seven seats previously held by Democrats and another from Michigan held by a Libertarian.
In 2018, Pelosi got 220 votes for speaker and McCarthy received 192.
"Our vision for the next two years must be built on the success of Democratic House Majority in the 116th Congress," Pelosi said in a statement announcing she will run again. "And to harness the extraordinary visions, values and vibrancy of our Caucus to secure the progress that the American people deserve. In that spirit, I am writing to request your support to be re-elected as speaker."
Four progressive Pelosi critics – Reps. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Alexandria Ocasio Cortez of New York, Rashida Tlaib of Michigan and Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts – were re-elected and may push for a more progressive speaker, the London Sun reported.
Last week, Pelosi was the target of "yelling and crying lawmakers" during a conference call among Democrats after Republicans made significant gains.
DailyMail.com reported that at an hours-long conference call leaked to the Capitol Hill press corps, Rep. Abigail Spanberger, D-Va., who narrowly won a second term Tuesday, accused party leaders of caving to the far-left "Squad," led by democratic socialist Cortez of New York.
"We need to be pretty clear, it was a failure. It was not a success. We lost incredible members of Congress," Spanberger said.
She charged the party's advocacy for the radical Black Lives Matter agenda cost it dearly.
"No one should say 'defund the police' ever again. Nobody should be talking about socialism," she said. If the current tactics continue into 2022, she said, "we will get f------ torn apart."
Democrats expected to pick up five or more seats but may end up losing 10.
DailyMail.com said: "The call was billed as a 'family session' but became a bitch fest between the liberal wing of the party and its more moderate members – all of whom were disappointed by the Democrats failure to win more seats. The party expected to pick up five or more on election night."
Pelosi also may face a challenge to her speakership from centrist Democrats, The Hill reported.
Two unidentified Democrats told the publication they were reaching out for thoughts on backing Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., even though he has rejected the idea.
"He's the only one prepared and positioned" for the job, one lawmaker said. "He bridges moderates and progressives better than anyone. And most importantly, he's not Nancy Pelosi."
One of the two lawmakers who spoke to The Hill said a number of Democrats representing suburban and exurban districts had been talking about the need for a change.
They said they had already spoken with dozens of members of the Congressional Black Caucus, Progressive Caucus, New Democrat Coalition and bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus.
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