Nancy Pelosi Rules the House Again!

As the Washington Post ” s Amber Phillips points out, there were plenty of nonideological reasons House members may have voted for Ryan, ranging from a simple desire for change in the wake of a disappointing election, to backbench restiveness toward the caucus seniority system, and inversely, senior members’ unhappiness with preemptive concessions Pelosi made to placate the young “uns. “We’ve done it in the past, and we will do it again”, she said.

“Clearly this didn’t turn out the way we wanted it to”, Mr Ryan told reporters after the vote, which he described as “an uphill battle” from the beginning.

Another Ryan supporter, California Rep. James M. Costa, said in January when the whole House votes for speaker, there will be another opportunity for disenchanted House Democrats to register their knocks against their leader.

The California lawmaker, who has led the party since 2002, defeated a challenge from Representative Tim Ryan of Ohio. It was a message: “Hold on, change is coming”.

“To ensure that every member of our Caucus is included in the discussion to move our party forward, we all must continue to push for open discussion and to strengthen our outreach to working families and institute the reforms necessary to evolve as a Party and win back the trust of American voters”. Heath Shuler, a conservative Democrat from North Carolina, after the Democrats lost 63 seats and the House majority in that year’s midterm elections.

In addition to re-electing Pelosi, House Democrats also re-elected Congressman Steny Hoyer, D-Md., as Democratic Whip and Congressman Jim Clyburn, D-S.C., as Assistant Democratic Leader.

Michigan Democratic Rep Dan Kildee told CNN he’s backing Pelosi, and praised her for leading the effort to deal with the contaminated water crisis in his hometown of Flint, Michigan. The party is expected to hold 241 seats in the House next year.

Clyburn is the lone member of the Congressional Black Caucus on the top leadership team, and at least one African-American member of Congress anxious Pelosi’s proposal would keep older black lawmakers from the position.

Some Democrats want the position to be contested rather than be a rubber stamp of whoever top Democrats select.

Ryan, 43, who picked up support from fellow Rust Belt lawmakers as well as those from the intermountain Western states of Arizona and Colorado, said he had succeeded in opening up the leadership ranks.

While the changes appeared to soothe some rank-and-file lawmakers, others said Pelosi will need to do more to loosen her grip on power and allow more voices into the decision-making process.

“My heart is broken that we did not win the White House this time“, Pelosi said.

The Democrats agreed on this much: Their strategy and tactics need an overhaul.

Ryan said that after he saw his OH county, which has voted for a Democratic presidential candidate in every election since 1972, swing to cast their votes for Donald Trump, he knew he had to do something. “She’s been able to tap into the donor class, she’s been able to do that really well”, he said. They need to think about the next generation and the generation after that, taking them into account for committee assignments and task forces, he says.