Rep. Nancy Pelosi refused to answer Sunday whether she will seek another term as speaker of the House if Democrats retain control of the chamber, despite a previous pledge not to serve in the role past the current Congress that ends in January.
As part of a deal struck with Democrats who opposed her as speaker in 2019, the California Democrat agreed at the time to only serve a maximum of two terms in the speakership post. However, she has repeatedly dodged questions since about whether she will stay true to that vow.
“I’m not talking about that. I’m here to talk about how we win the election,” Mrs. Pelosi said on CBS’s “Face the Nation.” “I’m not here to talk about me. I’m here to talk about the future. America’s working families — for the children, it’s always about the children.”
Her dodge of the question comes amid an intraparty debate over the party’s aging leadership, with younger members calling on “new blood.”
Mrs. Pelosi and the next two ranking House Democrats — Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and Majority Whip James Clyburn — are all over 80 years old.
“I have been very vocal, including with my own leadership in the House, that we need a new generation, we need new blood — period — across the Democratic Party in the House, the Senate and the White House,” Rep. Elissa Slotkin, Michigan Democrat, said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” earlier this month. “I think that the country has been saying that. And I’m one of a handful of members of Congress who hasn’t voted for Nancy Pelosi as speaker. I’ve said I think we need new leaders.”
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In an interview with NBC News last week, Mrs. Pelosi said she agreed while also offering pushback: “We need generational change, but in some cases, there’s no substitute for experience.”
• Ramsey Touchberry can be reached at rtouchberry@washingtontimes.com.
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