Pelosi seen closing in on House
speakership
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[November 27, 2018]
By Susan Cornwell
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Nancy Pelosi was
expected on Wednesday to become the Democratic nominee for speaker of
the U.S. House of Representatives, giving her the inside track to
reclaim the House's top job in January, unless critics in her own party
block her.
The 78-year-old San Francisco liberal, a frequent target of Republicans
on the campaign trail, faces a small faction of Democrats who are
refusing to back her for the post in which she made history from 2007 to
2011 as the first woman speaker.
Maneuvering to win over her opponents, Pelosi was set to meet on Tuesday
with Democratic members of a bipartisan group known as the "Problem
Solvers Caucus." They want her to back reforms in how the House
operates.
With a record of achievement, including passage of 2010's Affordable
Care Act, popularly known as Obamacare, Pelosi, currently the House
Democratic leader, argues she is still best qualified to be speaker,
rejecting critics' demands for new, younger leadership.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2018/Nov/27/images/ads/current/brickey_sda_2017.png)
No one has stepped forward to directly challenge her in Wednesday's
closed-door party election. If she wins, she will become the party's
nominee to be speaker for 2019-2020.
"Nancy Pelosi is basically guaranteed to be endorsed by the House
Democratic Caucus to be speaker. ... We expect her to be elected speaker
in January," Cowen Washington Research Group analyst Chris Krueger said
in a research note.
Some Democrats are trying to set conditions on their support for her. In
the election in January, she will need a majority of those casting
ballots for a candidate in the whole, 435-member House, with both
parties voting publicly.
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![](../images/112718pics/news_u40.jpg)
U.S. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi celebrates the Democrats
winning a majority in the U.S. House of Representatives in the U.S.
midterm elections during a Democratic election night party in
Washington, U.S. November 6, 2018. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst/File Photo
![](../images/ads/current/fitzpatrick_lda_SPONSOR_2017.png)
Voters in the Nov. 6 congressional elections took away the
Republicans' House majority and handed it to the Democrats in a
contest widely seen as a referendum on President Donald Trump. His
fellow Republicans added to their majority in the Senate.
Nine Democratic "Problem Solvers" urged Pelosi on Monday to publicly
support three rule changes they said would "help break the gridlock
and pass meaningful legislation to fix health care, immigration and
infrastructure."
A senior Democratic aide said House Democratic leaders had embraced
some of the proposals - such as promising timely votes on bills with
the backing of three-fifths of the House.
An additional 16 Democrats signed a letter last week saying they
believed "the time has come for new leadership in our caucus." At
least one of the 16, Representative Brian Higgins, has since changed
his mind and announced he will support Pelosi.
Recently elected Representative Ayanna Pressley, whose position had
been unclear, said on Monday she backed Pelosi.
(Reporting by Susan Cornwell; Editing by Kevin Drawbaugh and Peter
Cooney)
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