House Democrats who oppose House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi’s becoming the next speaker released a letter on Monday detailing their opposition to her.
“We are thankful to Leader Pelosi for her years of service to our Country and to our Caucus,” said the letter, which was obtained by Politico.
“She is a historic figure whose leadership has been instrumental to some of our party’s most important legislative achievements.”
Pelosi is assumed to be the next speaker, given her past experience.
She previously served as speaker for a few years before conservatives were able to regain control of the House. She continued her role as the party leader in the chamber afterward as minority leader.
But there’s been a growing movement among progressives to replace her.
Related: Trump Endorses Nancy Pelosi for House Speaker
“We also recognize that in this recent election, Democrats ran and won on a message of change,” the letter also said.
“Our majority came on the backs of candidates who said that they would support new leadership because voters in hard-won districts, and across the country, want to see real change in Washington.”
The Huffington Post first reported on the growing list of names that had signed onto the letter on November 14. Reps. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio), Seth Moulton (D-Mass.), Kathleen Rice (D-N.Y.) and Ed Perlmutter (D-Colo.) were among the 17 names to sign on.
But the opposition group kept the actual letter a secret since that time.
“We promised to change the status quo, and we intend to deliver on that promise,” the letter also said. “Therefore, we are committed to voting for new leadership in both our Caucus meeting and on the House Floor.”
Pelosi has still been getting plenty of support from inferential progressive and liberal groups. She is being backed by the bulk of the national labor movement, with groups such as the AFL-CIO, AFSCME and the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) endorsing her.
She was also endorsed by 100 gay rights groups.
President Donald Trump surprisingly decided to “endorse” her as well for speaker in a tweet on November 7. He argued that she deserves to be the speaker and that she’s earned that honor. He even said he might have to find some votes for her if she’s given too much of a hard time.
He later clarified that he was being sincere — and not sarcastic.
The midterm election results went late into the night on Election Day, November 6, with voters on both sides coming out in droves. In the end, the results were more bittersweet for both sides. Republicans were able to win enough seats to hold onto their Senate majority, while Democrats picked up enough seats to take control of the House.
Related: McConnell Hopes for Bipartisanship After Losing House
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) responded to the loss by saying he hoped to find bipartisan ground to work with Democrats. He mentioned that he spoke with Pelosi earlier about areas the two can work on together, such as infrastructure.
Pelosi also tried to strike a moderate tone, even taking the notion of impeaching the president off the table.
Trump held dozens of rallies across the country in the months leading up to Election Day to stir support for conservative candidates.
The midterms overall drew a considerable amount of attention in a show of how much political unrest there is across the country. The Center for Responsive Politics predicted that the midterm elections would be the most expensive ever — at more than $5.2 billion.
For more on the 2018 midterms, check out this video:
Join the Discussion
COMMENTS POLICY: We have no tolerance for messages of violence, racism, vulgarity, obscenity or other such discourteous behavior. Thank you for contributing to a respectful and useful online dialogue.