Pelosi's Democratic critics plot to replace her

A dozen unhappy House Democrats met Thursday afternoon to discuss if — and how — they can replace Rep. Nancy Pelosi as minority leader.

Led by Reps. Kathleen Rice (D-N.Y.), Seth Moulton (D-Mass.) and Tim Ryan (D-Ohio), at least some in the group believe Pelosi has to go in order for Democrats to have a chance to win the House back in Nov. 2018. Ryan unsuccessfully challenged Pelosi for party leader back in November.


“There are many more people today, even from November, who are much more vocal, who have approached us and said, ‘I’m done. We need to move forward and we need to get a new leadership team in place,” Rice said after the hour-long meeting.

“There is a consensus, I think, that we can reach in the caucus that allows for a new leadership team to be put in place in a time that’s well before, hopefully, November of next year.”

But despite the renewed noise surrounding Pelosi’s leadership, no one within the caucus has stepped forward to challenge her and an actual coup against the long-time leader is still a long shot.

Rice, Moulton and others leaving the meeting said no decisions were made about their next steps but they plan to meet again and continue the discussions.

“The takeaway from the meeting is that we want to win again in 2018,” Moulton said, noting he’s seen a shift in the caucus since Pelosi’s leadership race last year. “I think people see the stakes more clearly.”

At least a dozen Democrats attended the confab including Congressional Black Caucus Chairman Cedric Richmond (La.), Tony Cardenas (Calif.), a member of House Democratic leadership, and Reps. Ami Bera (Calif.), Filemon Vela (Texas), Ruben Gallego (Ariz.) and Del. Stacey Plaskett (V.I.).

Roughly 20 Democrats were invited to the private session, although one member said some decided not to show up after POLITICO reported the meeting ahead of time.

The unhappiness within Democratic ranks has spiked since their loss in the special election in Georgia on Tuesday. Republicans spent millions of dollars on TV ads tying Democratic candidate Jon Ossoff to Pelosi, a tactic that has been used extensively — and successfully — by the GOP since 2010.

However, Pelosi and her allies don’t think her Democratic detractors have nearly enough support to topple her.

“I would say that too if I were her. But I can tell you that I’ve been speaking to a lot of members of the caucus who have supported her in the past – as have I – but the time has come,” Rice said.

But Pelosi was defiant in a Thursday news conference, even mocking intraparty critics, suggesting they’re more interested in promoting themselves than helping the party win back the majority.

“When it comes to personal ambition and having fun on TV, have your fun. I love the arena, I thrive on competition, and I welcome the discussion,” Pelosi said.

Richmond, leaving the Capitol later in the day, took a long pause before answering reporters’ questions about whether Pelosi should step down.

“I think that what we really need is just an internal conversation and a family conversation,” he finally responded. “I’ve been in the [state] legislature 11 years, Congress, I’ve never seen a speaker overthrown or a leader overthrown in my years.”

Richmond wouldn’t say whether he voted for Pelosi during her race against Ryan in November, insisting he keeps his positions as a member quiet to avoid getting construed as representing the entire CBC.

Richmond said he “probably” thought Democrats could take back the House with Pelosi as their leader but said they’d probably have to spend campaign money to counter the stream of Republican attacks vilifying Pelosi.

“We can’t let people keep describing her and talking about her in certain ways without us pushing back. We can’t run from the fact that she’s our leader,” Richmond said.

“Maybe instead of just completely running, maybe we turn around and fight.”

