A cohort of House Democrats are ramping up efforts to oppose House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi’s bid for the speakership and reportedly have put together a letter that proves they have enough support to block her from winning the position.
The two Democrats leading the charge, Reps. Seth Moulton of Massachusetts and Filemon Vela of Texas, told CNN Tuesday that they are “100%” confident they have the support to defeat Pelosi, despite Pelosi saying earlier in November she was “100 percent” confident that she’d be the next Speaker of the House.
Pelosi would need 218 votes to take over the position, but Moulton and Vela say they’ve been circulating a letter of signatures that will be released at some point this week that proves enough Democrats oppose her.
“This is a simple letter saying we want new leadership, which is what a vast majority of Democrats and the American people want,” Moulton told reporters Tuesday.
Democrats outside the Washington, D.C., grounds have been supporting Pelosi for the speakership, including New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, former Vice President Al Gore and former Secretary of State John Kerry.
But many incoming House Democrats and representatives who hold an actual vote feel differently. (RELATED: Number Of Incoming Democrats Supporting Trump Impeachment Surprisingly Low)
“I am 100% confident we can forge new leadership,” Vela told CNN.
The Democrats’ goal, according to Vela and Moulton, is to release the letter by the end of the week or at least before the Nov. 28, when the leadership elections take place in the House Democratic Caucus.
At the moment, only a handful of House Democrats have explicitly said they would oppose Pelosi for the speakership, namely Reps. Connor Lamb of Pennsylvania, Anthony Brindisi of New York, Tim Ryan of Ohio and Representative-elect Rashida Tlaib of Michigan.
Vela and Moulton hope their reveal will change the course before elections.
“We are trying to do the right thing for the party by solving this ahead of time,” Moulton said.
Pelosi responded to Moultan’s comments Wednesday, telling reporters,”I’m a busy person, but I will be the speaker of the House no matter what he said.”
WASHINGTON, DC – NOVEMBER 07: House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) holds a news conference following the 2018 midterm elections at the Capitol Building on November 7, 2018 in Washington, DC. Republicans kept the Senate majority but lost control of the House to the Democrats. (Photo by Zach Gibson/Getty Images)
Pelosi’s allies are just as confident as she is going into the election.
“Never count out Nancy Pelosi,” Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York said. “Nobody within the Capitol dome is a better vote counter than the once and future speaker of the United States House of Representatives.”
A potential positive for Pelosi is that despite receiving substantial negative feedback regarding her speaker, Democrats have yet to put someone else in the running.
“If they’re foolish enough to sign their names to a letter when they don’t have to, when they don’t know whether Pelosi is going to win or lose, and when they don’t even have a candidate to oppose her, then it doesn’t bode well for their leadership if they succeed,” a Pelosi confidant told ABC News.
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