After a lot of internal party turmoil and questioning of leadership, the House Democratic Caucus has voted in House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi as Speaker of the House.
Pelosi’s second stint as Speaker could turn out to be more than she bargained for, as many of the newly-elected progressive members of congress expressed their opposition to Pelosi’s nomination and political agenda.
New York progressive Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who has ascended to being the top voice of opposition to Pelosi, was recently defeated when her move to oppose Pelosi’s “pay-go” rules package by a 234-197 vote.
This will not be the last challenge to her leadership that Pelosi will face in the months leading up to the 2020 presidential election. Progressives like Ocasio-Cortez will hold her accountable if Pelosi decides to reach across the aisle against the legislative agenda.
Ocasio-Cortez took a political hit, but here political career is just starting, while Pelosi’s career is on its last leg.
Because her New York congressional district is just as Democratic-leaning as Pelosi’s California district, Ocasio-Cortez is just getting warmed up, and could overshadow the elder stateswoman in the years to come.
Florida Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D), a member of the old progressive guard and close friend of Speaker Pelosi, tweeted her opinion of the make up the 116th congress.
The new Congress looks a lot more like the American people. That's not an accident - it's the result of hard work. And we've still got a lot of work to do.
— Debbie Wasserman Schultz (@DWStweets) January 3, 2019
