Pelosi on verge of deal with rebels to reclaim speakership
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi is on the verge of a deal with Democratic rebels once intent on denying her the speakership, an accord that could deliver her the decisive votes needed to reclaim the gavel, according to multiple Democratic sources Tuesday.
The California Democrat and some of her fiercest party critics have tentatively agreed to limit her speakership to four years at most, these sources said. In return, several lawmakers who had vowed publicly to vote against Pelosi on the House floor in a critical Jan. 3 roll call will instead back her ascent to the position she held eight years ago.
Although the agreement was still being finalized Tuesday night, it could be unveiled as early as Wednesday morning; the timing is fluid. Both sides were haggling about the rollout of the deal rather than the substance of the terms, these sources said.
“It’s pretty much done,” a source with knowledge of the agreement said. “The issue is how do we wrap this up. What are the procedural steps that we need to get this done?”
Under the tentative terms of the deal, the top Democratic leaders would be allowed to serve for only three terms. If any leader wanted to exceed that limit by one term, he or she would need a two-thirds majority in the Democratic Caucus. They currently need only a simple majority to do so. After this time frame, the lawmaker would need to run for another position or vacate leadership altogether.
Most important, Pelosi’s agreement with rebels, the deal would be retroactive. That means Pelosi, House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) and Assistant Democratic Leader Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.) would already be entering their third term in leadership during the next Congress. They would need two-thirds approval from the caucus to serve beyond 2020 — and the longest they could remain in place in their current jobs is four years.
Pelosi has agreed to publicly support this deal, which would require a change to caucus rules, the sources said. Pelosi will whip to try to pass it inside the caucus, they continued. And should the caucus reject the agreement, she has promised to abide by it anyway.
“Ultimately, their goal is to have a clear declaration for when Nancy Pelosi will exit,” the Democratic source said.
The agreement is expected to deliver Pelosi at least five rebel votes, which would almost certainly give Pelosi the support she needs to be speaker. Reps. Ed Perlmutter (D-Colo.), Bill Foster (D-Ill.) and Linda Sanchez (D-Calif.) hammered out the final provisions with Pelosi in a 45-minute meeting Tuesday afternoon and will back the agreement. Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.), who organized a conference call Tuesday morning in which the rebels agreed on an offer the trio would later take to Pelosi, also will back the deal. So too will Rep. Filemon Vela (D-Texas), these sources said.
Until now, all five of these members have publicly opposed Pelosi, insisting that she would cost them the majority in 2020. Picking off these members would be a major coup for the leader.
Rebel supporters of the deal are also lobbying Reps. Kathleen Rice (D-N.Y.) and Tim Ryan (D-Ohio). It is unclear whether they will sign on to the agreement.
Pelosi’s newfound support would enable a host of incoming freshmen who campaigned against her on the trail to vote against her on the floor without sinking her speakership. In fact, that was a driving force behind the agreement, multiple Democratic rebel sources said.
According to a Pelosi aide, “There are various conversations going on about a path forward. Progress has been made and the conversations are constructive because all involved care about the institution of the House of Representatives.”
The deal will likely cause serious tension in Democratic leadership, and, potentially, in the broader caucus. Hoyer, whose future in leadership would be jeopardized under this agreement, has made clear he wants no part of term limits.
“She’s not negotiating for me,” the Maryland Democrat told reporters at his own news conference.
Hoyer added: “I’m not for term limits. Is anybody confused? I am not for term limits. I … am … not … for … term … limits.”
In the Democratic Caucus meeting Tuesday morning, Perlmutter spoke in favor of term limits, focusing only on limits for leadership. Perlmutter and some Pelosi critics had also floated term limits for committee chairmen in recent days, but lawmakers agreed to postpone any action on that until next Congress at the earliest — in part because of a serious backlash to the chairmen term limits idea.
Following Perlmutter’s comments, however, a number of senior Democrats — including several who belong to the Congressional Black Caucus — criticized the proposal. There is a fear among some Democrats that term limits for leaders will cause more problems than they resolve and eventually lead to chairmanship term limits they despise.
Opponents who spoke up against the idea included Reps. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.), Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) and David Scott (D-Ga.), said Democratic sources who attended the meeting. Pallone is slated to become chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee next year, while Waters will take over the top position at Financial Services.
The resistance to the idea of leadership term limits signifies the uphill battle Pelosi faces as she works to whip support for this idea. While she may be on the cusp of an accord with her fiercest critics, the agreement will not assure adoption of the rule.
That’s why the rebels have pushed for a commitment from Pelosi to leave her post even if the rule is rejected.