Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi plans to run for re-election in 2022 despite the fact she will turn 82 next year and could easily retire.
There is also a possibility that she will stay in a leadership role when the next Congress meets after midterm elections.
Pelosi was first selected as house speaker more than a decade ago and is the only woman to ever hold the Speaker’s gavel. She said that it would be her last term as Speaker, adding that she would continue by an agreement to put limits on leadership roles and committee chairs.
But since the election of President Joe Biden, passing his agenda has proved difficult for House Democrats, who have faced fierce Republican opposition and challenges within their caucus from progressives, whose influence has grown, as well as their demands for Democrats in the White House.
Rep. Kathleen Rice referred to the votes for Biden’s infrastructure and social spending bills, saying: “We can keep saying our diversity is our power… But guess what? I got more sh*t from my fellow Democratic colleagues over the past months than I did from the Republicans. We’re eating our own at a time when we should be doing everything we can to hold onto our slim majority,” Rice continued. “Progressives need to remember that Republicans are the ones who want to destroy our democracy, not moderates in their own caucus.”
Rep. Ro Khanna, a fellow California Democrat said that Pelosi has trust among the Democrats, and that ‘anyone who comes after her is going to have to earn that trust.’
While another member of Congress had a different look at the situation, saying: “Where do we go from here? I don’t know.”
The President also called Pelosi ‘the finest and most capable speaker in the history of our nation.’
On the other side of politics, Pelosi is heavily criticized by most Republicans, especially former President Donald Trump.