Jonathan Ernst | Reuters
House Democratic leader and House Speaker-designate Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) votes for herself next to Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD) after being nominated to the speakership as the U.S. House of Representatives with Democrats in the majority meets for the start of the 116th Congress on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., January 3, 2019.
Democrats also plan to quickly pass a sweeping anti-corruption bill, among other largely symbolic measures meant to set a tone for their majority. Pelosi has stressed that she wants to focus first on noncontroversial measures with broad public support.
Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., nominated Pelosi for speaker on Thursday afternoon to loud applause from House Democrats and polite clapping from even some Republicans. The representative said “Nancy Pelosi is just getting started.”
After holding off opposition within her party, Pelosi faces new challenges in the nearly two years before the November 2020 presidential election. Democrats want to challenge Trump’s policies and investigate what they call corruption in his administration. But they do not want to go too far and alienate the independent and moderate voters who they may need to win the presidency or keep the House in the next election.
Democratic leaders have pledged to go after Trump’s tax returns and probe his personal businesses, among a bevy of other potential investigations. However, they see pushing for the president’s impeachment as one way to drive voters back toward Trump.
In an interview with NBC’s “TODAY” that aired Thursday morning, Pelosi said Democrats would wait to see the conclusion of special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation before deciding whether to impeach Trump.
“We shouldn’t be impeaching for a political reason, and we shouldn’t avoid impeachment for a political reason,” she said.
Pelosi has represented the San Francisco-area for more than 30 years. She has led House Democrats for more than 16 of those years.
Her first stint as speaker came lasted from 2007 to 2011, when she oversaw the House’s response to the 2008 financial crisis and spearheaded the chamber’s passage of the Affordable Care Act.
This story is developing. Please check back for updates.
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