Forget Nancy Pelosi. The most endangered member of House Democratic leadership is its most recent entrant and the highest-ranking Latina in Congress, Rep. Linda Sánchez.

As vice chairwoman of the Democratic Caucus, Sánchez occupies the obscure No. 5 spot in Democratic ranks, a position deemed the “potted plant” of leadership by veteran lawmakers. But what is normally a launching pad to greater ambitions could be a blunt end to Sánchez’s so-far promising leadership career as some members have her in their cross hairs come November.


For Sánchez, the trouble started last fall when she shocked the caucus by publicly calling for a change in House Democrats’ leadership regime, long led by Pelosi, Minority Whip Steny Hoyer of Maryland and Assistant Minority Leader Jim Clyburn of South Carolina.

It was a sentiment dozens of lawmakers have shared privately — but it was unheard of for a member of leadership to express to the media.

For her part, a defiant Sánchez shrugged off any potential blowback — even if that includes getting booted from leadership.

“It’s not about me, it’s about the future of the caucus,” Sánchez told Politico. “My ultimate goal is to leave behind a stronger Democratic Caucus with an effective majority because I think that would leave the country better off. That’s my ambition for my congressional career.”

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The dilemma facing Sánchez is at the heart of tensions within the Democratic Caucus over its static top leadership. Pelosi and her team have made it clear they want to stay in power if Democrats win back the House in November, but their decade-plus reign has left a wake of frustrated younger members with little room to advance.

Sánchez gave voice to frustrations that most members are comfortable expressing only privately, and lawmakers say they’re watching closely to see whether she pays a price for speaking out.

What happens to Sánchez also has significant implications for the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and its influence over leadership. She’s not the only prominent member of the group who might want to move up in the ranks where few slots, if any, might be open.

Rep. Ben Ray Luján of New Mexico could push for a promotion if his stint as chairman of Democrats’ campaign arm helps them win back the House. Other prominent CHC members, including Reps. Joaquin Castro of Texas and Pete Aguilar of California, are also mentioned in the leadership mix, according to members.

Interviews with 20 Democratic lawmakers and aides indicate an overwhelming sense that Sánchez will face a challenge for her leadership post this fall. But opinions are mixed as to whether she’s built up enough loyalty within the caucus to beat back a potential opponent.

So far, no one has stepped forward to say they are planning to challenge Sánchez. And the California Democrat could even have an opportunity to move up if the top three leaders step aside, especially if Democrats underperform in the midterm elections.

But members say there have been private conversations in small groups, specifically within the Congressional Black Caucus and the Congressional Progressive Caucus, about pushing someone to take on Sánchez in November.

Still, the eight-term California lawmaker has strong support in various corners of the caucus.

Sánchez is close to the “Pennsylvania Corner,” the tight clique of Democrats whose districts buffer the Northeast Corridor, and she cultivated several friendships as the only female member on Democrats’ congressional baseball team for several years.

And in the previous Congress, Sánchez was chairwoman of the CHC, a 31-member group that is growing in influence and is expected to add more members this cycle as Latinos continue to secure their party’s primary nomination in Democratic-friendly districts.

She also had important roles as the top Democrat on the Ethics Committee for several years and served on the House Select Committee on Benghazi — both jobs bestowed by Pelosi and typically reserved for the caucus’ most trusted members.

Sánchez, 49, has represented a district in the southeastern Los Angeles suburbs since 2003. Prior to that, she worked as a labor lawyer in California. She is one of seven children born to parents who emigrated from Mexico and for more than a decade served in Congress alongside her sister, former Rep. Loretta Sánchez.

Sánchez is known for being blunt and not afraid to push the limits. Lately, she’s been sporting a pink arm cast she jokes she got in a bar fight (she actually slipped and fell) that matches the shock of hot pink she wears in her hair — qualities multiple lawmakers have said they find refreshing for a member of leadership.

She further buttressed her rebel reputation with her comments last fall: “I do think we have this real breadth and depth of talent within our caucus, and I do think it’s time to pass the torch to a new generation of leaders,” Sánchez said on C-SPAN in October.

The remarks stunned even many members who privately agree with her. They wondered why Sánchez would open the door again after the caucus had already litigated that fight after the 2016 election and then, to a lesser degree, last summer after Democrats lost a close House race in Georgia.

House Democratic Caucus Chairman Joe Crowley of New York, normally a close ally of Sánchez, pushed back on her remarks during a TV appearance later that day. And other lawmakers, even those who have made similar comments, did not publicly jump to Sánchez’s defense.

“The two rarest elements on the political chart are fortitude and gratitude,” Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) said in an interview last week. “So am I surprised that there wasn’t some fortitude exhibited in support of Linda at that time when she needed it? No.”

Now several members, even Sánchez’s allies in the House, say her fate in leadership is anything but guaranteed.

Critics of Sánchez point to her race for vice chair — she beat Rep. Barbara Lee, a fellow California Democrat, progressive and a former CBC chair, by two votes in 2016 — as a sign of her vulnerability. Lee said in a recent interview she is considering running for leadership again in November but declined to specify which position she was eyeing.

Some Democrats said the whip count in that earlier race combined with potential fallout from her comments on C-SPAN could make Sánchez a prime target this fall. That’s particularly true if Pelosi remains caucus chief and loyalists of the longtime leader want to send a message.

“There were obviously a lot of enemies created when she went after Pelosi, Hoyer and Clyburn in such an aggressive way,” said one Democratic lawmaker. “She’s still in the conversation, but there’s no sense of inevitability, which may have previously existed.”

But other members said it would be the height of irony if she were driven out for expressing publicly a sentiment that many other members have shared privately.

“I never think you’re hurt by speaking what’s on everybody’s mind,” said Rep. John Larson (D-Conn.), a Sánchez ally who officiated at her wedding. “And I think our own leaders would acknowledge that there needs to be a generational change, perhaps just not now.”

Lawmakers pointed to other criticisms of Sánchez. Some noted that right after the 2016 election, she attended a “coup meeting” about ousting Pelosi, something that would’ve likely been forgotten if not for her remarks last fall. Others said Sánchez seems disengaged or bored in leadership meetings, spending a significant amount of time on her phone.

A spokesman for Sánchez dismissed the notion that she’s disengaged: “Anyone who knows Linda Sánchez knows she doesn’t hesitate to speak up,” communications director Alex Nguyen said.

Other members pointed to smaller slights they say add up over time. For example, Sánchez was supposed to nominate Rep. Scott Peters (D-Calif.) to join the Energy and Commerce Committee at the start of this Congress.

But after another member nominated Rep. Raul Ruiz, a fellow Californian, Sánchez didn’t offer Peters’ name, as she’d promised. Sources said Sánchez was worried that the members who vote on committee memberships wouldn’t approve two new lawmakers from the same delegation.

Another lawmaker nominated Peters, and he made it onto the committee. But some sources mentioned the episode in recent interviews as an example of Sánchez going back on a promise.

Peters, for his part, shrugged it off.

“I’m a fan of Linda Sánchez,” Peters said, noting that she helped him fend off labor groups angry about his support of the Pacific Rim trade agreement in 2016. “Even though Linda Sánchez is pretty much a confirmed leftist, … she understands that the party has got to be a big tent. And she walks the walk.”

Sánchez regularly holds one-on-one meetings with members, but sources say this is part of her vice-chair duties and that she isn’t trying to line up support for another leadership run right now.

They also point to the more than half-dozen meetings and dinners she’s held over the past year to help members sharpen their messaging skills, including the most recent one with Bill Burton, a former spokesman for President Barack Obama, last week.

And though sources close to Sánchez insist there’s no whip operation going on yet, she is maintaining an aggressive travel and fundraising schedule that could benefit her in a future leadership race.

Sánchez has raised more than $1.5 million so far this cycle and is on track to beat the $1.9 million she raised in 2016, according to her campaign. In addition, she has traveled to more than 30 cities for Democratic candidates this cycle with more stops this summer including in California, Pennsylvania and Florida.

For some members, her work to help win back the majority — not what she has said about current leadership — is what they’ll remember come November.

“I mean Jim Clyburn has said they should all go if they don’t win the majority. He’s in leadership,” said Connolly, referencing recent comments the South Carolina lawmaker made at his annual fish fry. “Why would we hold her to a standard that we’re not holding him to?”

