Nancy Pelosi was reelected Speaker of the House on Sunday, but ahead of her is the challenge of producing legislation to tackle the pandemic and revive the economy while leading the chamber’s narrowest majority in two decades.
Pelosi (D-CA) received 216 votes to 208 votes for House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA); 2 votes were cast for others, with 3 members voting "present."
Pelosi, who is serving her fourth non-consecutive term as speaker, called it a "great honor."
"As we are sworn in today, we accept a responsibility as daunting and demanding as any that previous generations of leadership have faced," she said. "We begin the new Congress during a time of extraordinary difficulty. Each of our communities has been drastically affected by the pandemic and economic crisis: 350,000 tragic deaths, each one a sadness that we carry in our hearts, over 20 million infections, millions without jobs – a toll almost beyond comprehension."
In her remarks following her election, she remembered Congressman-elect Luke Letlow, who passed away from COVID-19, and the son of Rep. Jamie Raskin, as well as three individuals lost during the last Congress: Elijah Cummings, John Lewis, and Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
"Each of their memories is a source of strength and inspiration to us, as we approach the challenges ahead," she said.
The new Congress convened Sunday, just two days after lawmakers ended their contentious previous session and with COVID-19 guidelines requiring testing and face coverings for House members. There was widespread mask-wearing and far fewer lawmakers and guests in the chamber than usual, an unimaginable tableau when the last Congress commenced two years ago, before the pandemic struck.
Pelosi, who has led House Democrats since 2003 and is the only woman to be speaker, was widely expected to retain her post despite some Democratic grumbling, a slim 222-211 edge over Republicans and a handful of absences because of the coronavirus. There were two vacancies in the 435-member House.
Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) formally nominated Pelosi for the job, calling her “a notorious negotiator and a legendary legislator for such a time as this.”
Jeffries, a member of House leadership who’s expected to contend for the speakership whenever Pelosi steps aside, said that as Pelosi prepares to work with Democratic President-elect Joe Biden, “Brighter days are ahead in the United States of America. This is the day of great renewal in the House of Representatives.”
To be reelected, Pelosi needed a majority of votes cast for specific candidates and could afford to lose only a handful of Democratic votes. House rules gave her a bit of wiggle room because lawmakers who are absent or who vote “present” are not counted in the total number of those voting.
With every vote at a premium, workers had constructed an enclosure in a balcony overlooking the House chamber so lawmakers exposed to or testing positive for the coronavirus could more safely vote. Rep. Tim Ryan, D-Ohio, voted from there.
Two Democrats who tested positive for the virus last month and say they have recovered voted for Pelosi from the House floor: Wisconsin Rep. Gwen Moore and Washington state Rep. Rick Larsen.
In a positive sign for Pelosi, newly elected progressive Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., voted for her. “Our country needs stability right now, and it’s really important for the Democratic Party to come together,” Bowman told a reporter.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), a prominent progressive, voted for Pelosi, one of the final votes that put her over the top for Speaker.
Pelosi won plaudits from many Democrats for two years of leading their opposition to President Donald Trump, largely keeping her party’s moderates and progressives united on their joint goal of defeating him and raising mountains of campaign funds. No Democrat has stepped forward to challenge her, underscoring the perception that she would be all but impossible to topple.
But Pelosi is 80 years old, and ambitious younger members continue chafing at the longtime hold she and other older top leaders have had on their jobs. Democrats were also angry and divided after an Election Day that many expected would to mean added House seats for the party but instead saw a dozen incumbents lose, without defeating a single GOP representative.
Pelosi recently suggested anew that these would be her final two years as speaker, referencing a statement she made two years ago in which she said she would step aside after this period.
The speaker’s election came 17 days before Biden is inaugurated. Yet rather than a fresh start for him and Pelosi, there were issues and undercurrents that will be carrying over from Trump’s tempestuous administration.
Though Congress enacted — and Trump finally signed — a $900 billion COVID-19 relief package late last month, Biden and many Democrats say they consider that measure a down payment. They say more aid is needed to bolster efforts to vaccinate the public, curb the virus and restore jobs and businesses lost to the pandemic.
Many Democrats, with the unlikely support of Trump, wanted to boost that bill’s $600 per person direct payments to $2,000 but were blocked by Republicans. Democrats want additional money to help state and local governments struggling to maintain services and avoid layoffs.
Biden’s priorities also include efforts on health care and the environment.
Guiding such legislation through the House will be a challenge for Pelosi because her party’s narrow majority means just a handful of defectors could be fatal.
In addition, cooperation with Republicans could be made more difficult as many in the GOP are continuing to demonstrate fealty to the divisive Trump, backing his unfounded claims that his reelection loss was tainted by fraud. Congress will meet Wednesday to officially affirm Biden’s clear Electoral College victory over Trump. Many House and Senate Republicans say they will contest the validity of some of those votes, but their efforts that are certain to fail.
There was no widespread fraud in the election, which a range of election officials across the country, as well as Trump’s former attorney general, William Barr, have confirmed. Republican governors in Arizona and Georgia, key battleground states crucial to Biden’s victory, have also vouched for the integrity of the elections in their states. Nearly all the legal challenges from Trump and his allies have been dismissed by judges, including two tossed by the Supreme Court, which includes three Trump-nominated justices.
Meanwhile, it’s not clear which party will control the Senate, which Republicans will hold unless Democrats win both Senate runoff elections in Georgia on Tuesday.
In the House, one race in New York is still being decided and there is a vacancy in Louisiana after GOP Rep.-elect Luke Letlow, 41, died after contracting COVID-19.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.