House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is on the path to retaining her post after House Democrats nominated her for the leadership position on Wednesday.
After Democrats vote to nominate their leaders in the House, questions swirled over whether or not Pelosi would uphold her 2018 pledge to serve just two more terms as speaker — which would make this her last term.
During a press conference shortly after the vote, Pelosi was asked if he would uphold her pledge. She said, “Well, let me just say that when that conversation took place, there was a move to put limits on the leadership and the chairs of committees.”
“It never came up… They said they were going to do it. They didn’t do it. What I said then was, whether it passes or not, I will abide by those limits,” she added.
When pressed on whether that was a “Shermanesque statement,” Pelosi said, “No, it’s not. It’s the statement that I made.”
She continued:
“Listen, if my husband is listening, don’t make me have to be more specific than that because we never expected to have another term now. I consider this a gift. And I can’t wait to be working with Joe Biden and preparing us for our transition into the future. But I don’t want to undermine any leverage I may have, but I made the statement.”
Watch the video below:
JUST IN: Pelosi asked if she'll hold to making this last term as Speaker.
— The Hill (@thehill) November 18, 2020
NP: "What I said then is that whether it passes or not, I will abide by the limits that are there."
Q: "So is that a kind of Shermanesque statement?"
NP: "No, it's not. It's a statement that I made." pic.twitter.com/xa8T9TubVM
In 2018, Pelosi vowed that she would not serve more than two terms as speaker. Under that promise, she would give up the speaker’s gavel in 2023.
While Democrats were expected to expand their House majority in the 2020 election, they suffered a surprising as Republicans have so far flipped 11 seats with several races still left to be called where Republican candidates are leading.
Democrats managed to hold onto their majority, but it is likely to be the slimmest majority in more than 50 years.
In a phone call after the election, Democratic lawmakers argued over what was responsible for the losses.
Despite the frustration among the party ranks, there was little expectation that Pelosi would face a challenge for the post like she did in 2018 when 32 Democrats opposed her nomination to the post.
Pelosi will have to win over a simple majority, or 218 votes, when the full House votes to decide who will be the next speaker. The Hill reports that she has already locked in the support of several of the lawmakers who voted against her in 2019.