House Democrats elected Nancy Pelosi as the minority leader in the House of Representatives on Nov. 14, 2002, making her the first woman to take up the post. But now there’s speculation that she could be moving on.
Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, the chair of the Democratic National Committee, sought to put those rumors to rest Tuesday.
“Personally, if you ask me, I would be shocked if she left,” Rep. Wasserman-Schultz said on Morning Joe.
In a report on Pelosi’s future, the Washington Post quoted Pelosi’s spokesman as saying: “She’s talking with members. When she’s ready to make an announcement, she will do so.”
“It would really surprise me if she stepped aside,” Wasserman-Schultz continued. “Nancy Pelosi is someone who absolutely loves to be part of the architecture of big, major decisions, the big issues. We wouldn’t have health care reform without Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi. With the fiscal cliff issues and the big economic decisions that we’re going to be making, it would be hard for me to imagine she walks away. Plus, we’ve had a successful election, and we’ve got a job to finish. Just knowing her, that’s my gut feeling.”
In 2002, Congresswoman Pelosi expressed her gratitude at being chosen for the role. “I’ve been waiting over 200 years for this, I didn’t run as a woman; I ran again as a seasoned politician and experienced legislator. It just so happens that I am a woman, and we have been waiting a long time for this moment,” she said. In the 2010 midterm elections, Pelosi watched as Democrats lost 63 seats in the House largely due to Tea Party excitement that swept the country. Republicans currently occupy 242 seats in the House, while Democrats have 193.
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