For what has seemed like a particularly long 35 years, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi has represented her California district in the U.S. House of Representatives, with two stints as House Speaker, becoming the first female ever to hold the coveted leadership position.
However, her time as second in line to assume the presidency could soon end if Republicans take majority control of the lower chamber, which could happen in the coming days as the remainder of the votes from the 2022 midterm elections are tallied and reported.
According to Fox News, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, long assumed to be the next speaker, will make a play for the top leadership position when Republicans officially gain the minimum of 218 House seats. The California Republican clarified his intentions this week in a letter to his GOP colleagues.
“Over the past century, Republicans had flipped the House from Democrats just four times: 1946, 1952, 1994, and 2010. Only twice did that flip occur in four years or less,” McCarthy wrote. “Yet in a hard-fought contest, our message and our candidates prevailed, winning key seats across the country, some in districts that President Biden carried just two years ago by double digits … This is no small feat.”
“I trust you know that earning the majority is only the beginning. Now, we will be measured by what we do with our majority. Now, the real work begins,” McCarthy added. “That is why I am running to serve as Speaker of the People’s House and humbly ask for your support.”
“I am determined to ensure that this majority reaches its full potential. I will be a listener every bit as much as a Speaker, striving to build consensus from the bottom-up rather than commanding the agenda from the top-down.”
There had been rumblings of House Minority Whip Steve Scalise of Louisiana making a play for the speakership, but he put those rumors to rest recently during a Fox News interview.
Instead, Scalise announced Wednesday that he’s making a run to be the next House majority leader, which would be second in command to the speakership.
Dear Republican colleague letter from @SteveScalise announcing run for Majority Leader -> pic.twitter.com/PuTZSq6xyx
— Mike Emanuel ?? (@MikeEmanuelFox) November 9, 2022
Regarding Pelosi’s fate, it appears that her days are numbered. Should Republicans capture a House majority, her term as House Speaker will formally come to an end when the current term expires.
In the meantime, Republicans, if they hold the majority, will take a vote to determine who becomes the House Speaker at the start of the new term in 2023.
During a recent CNN interview, Pelosi revealed that her political future would likely be tied to her husband’s health in the wake of the midnight hammer attack last month that landed him in a hospital with a cracked skull.
“I have to say my decision will be affected about what happened the last week or two,” Pelosi told CNN’s Anderson Cooper.
News — Pelosi says her decision to stay in her leadership position after the midterms will be impacted by the violent attack on her husband. “The decision will be affected about what happened the last week or two.” pic.twitter.com/Pd17uQa4Et
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) November 7, 2022
Statements like that, combined with the fact that she’ll lose the gavel if Republicans win the House, point strongly toward the 82-year-old congresswoman calling it a career.
Let’s hope and pray that’s the case, because Pelosi has been nothing short of a thorn in the side of Republicans, especially former President Donald Trump, who she’s spent a considerable chunk of her final years in office pursuing through impeachments and, most recently, the Jan. 6 House Select Committee.
While there might have been a time when Pelosi was more open to working across the political aisle, sadly, in recent years, and especially since the rise of the radical left flank of the Democratic Party, she’s fully embraced the wacky, hard-core progressive legislative agenda, which includes gems like the Green New Deal and “common sense” gun control laws.
With Pelosi out and McCarthy and Republicans calling the shots in the lower chamber, at the very least, the GOP can put a swift end to the Democrats’ agenda and perhaps illuminate a pathway to get this great nation back on the right track, so to speak.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
