Rep. Tony Cárdenas, the House Democrats' caucus leadership representative, said he and his successors should be able to serve two terms in the post, arguing four years gives a member time to grow into the position. | Kris Connor/Getty Images House Democrats adopt new caucus rules

House Democrats approved a slate of new rules Tuesday to limit the time members of their caucus can serve in some leadership posts — but not the top-tier spots.

The rules package doesn’t apply to House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of California or Minority Whip Steny Hoyer of Maryland. Pelosi and Hoyer have led the caucus for nearly 15 years.


Instead, the term limits apply to posts created last November after some Democrats challenged Pelosi’s leadership and demanded more opportunities for younger members.

The rules adopted Tuesday prohibit the caucus leadership representative — a member who has been in Congress five terms or less — from serving more than one term in that post.

The initial slate of rules allowed for the caucus representative to serve two terms, but some members — led by Rep. Joe Kennedy of Massachusetts — successfully pushed for an amendment to limit the position to one term.

Before the amendment was adopted, California Rep. Tony Cárdenas, the member currently serving in that post, said he and future such members should be able to serve two terms, saying four years gives a member time to grow into the position.

But Kennedy said the idea of creating the position was to provide more opportunities to members who otherwise feel shut out of caucus leadership.

Reps. Debbie Dingell of Michigan and Kathleen Rice of New York have complained about the prospective rules in recent weeks, insisting the five-terms-or-less post should be restricted to one term.

Dingell ran unsuccessfully against Cardenas last year for the job. Rice, meanwhile, has repeatedly called for a wholesale leadership change at the top. Dingell and Rice did not speak at Tuesday’s caucus meeting, according to sources in the room.

Democrats agreed to limit voting for the caucus leadership representative to lawmakers who have served in Congress five terms or less.

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Democrats also have a freshman representative, another post added to the leadership roster last year. That post currently is held by Rep. Colleen Hanabusa of Hawaii.

The caucus also adopted a rule Tuesday limiting the time members can serve as leaders of House Democrats’ messaging arm. Members are now limited to two consecutive terms as co-chairs of the Democratic Policy and Communications Committee.

The DPCC was divided into three electable co-chair positions as part of the leadership changes adopted last year. Reps. Cheri Bustos of Illinois, David Cicilline of Rhode Island and Hakeem Jeffries of New York currently serve as leaders of the group.

The Democratic Caucus has long argued over whether to adopt term limits. Unlike Republicans, House Democrats use a seniority system for some of their most coveted spots, like committee leadership posts.

In recent years, some members, particularly those elected since 2010, who have never served in the majority, have called for ranking members and other leadership positions to also be subject to term limits. But strong opposition from certain sectors of the conference, most notably the Congressional Black Caucus, has prevented that idea from gaining any real traction.

The package adopted Tuesday is the culmination of months of work by the Committee on Organization, Study and Review, led by Reps. Karen Bass of California and Brian Higgins of New York. Bass and Higgins were tasked with making the longstanding caucus rules more user-friendly and clarifying the roles and term limits for newer leadership positions.

The caucus also agreed to rename the OSR committee the Committee on Caucus Procedures.

