Pelosi nears deal with Democratic rebels to secure votes to be House speaker

Dec. 12, 2018 / 6:39 PM GMT

By Alex Moe, Kasie Hunt and Rebecca Shabad

WASHINGTON — House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and a group of dissidents who have been pushing for new Democratic leadership are nearing a deal that would ensure Pelosi has the necessary votes to be elected speaker next month, three sources familiar with the negotiations confirmed to NBC News on Wednesday.

Under the terms of the tentative deal, members serving in the top spots in House Democratic leadership would only be allowed to serve in their roles for three terms before needing a two-thirds majority in the caucus to be elected to a fourth term. Leaders are currently not subject to term limits and only require a simple majority to win election.

For Pelosi, 78, to be elected speaker in January, she needs to win a majority of the full House present and voting during a formal floor vote after the new Congress convenes. She previously served as speaker from 2007 to 2011, which spanned the administrations of President George W. Bush and Barack Obama.

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The House Democratic caucus would need to adopt this rule change to make it official in January. However, as part of the deal being negotiated, Pelosi would agree to hold herself to this rule even if the caucus does not adopt it.

Both sides are about 98 percent of the way there and final details of the agreement are being hashed out, the sources said. Another meeting took place Wednesday between the rebels and Pelosi, one source said, as well as a conference call with several.

Pelosi wouldn’t confirm the potential deal Wednesday, telling reporters only, “When I’m ready to make a statement, I will.”

“There are various conversations going on about a path forward,” said an aide to Pelosi, who added that “progress has been made and the conversations are constructive because all involved care about the institution of the House of Representatives.”

A possible deal, which was first reported by Politico Tuesday, could be announced as early as Wednesday.

If it comes together, at least five current “never Pelosi” members — Reps. Seth Moulton, D-Mass., Linda Sanchez, D-Calif., Ed Perlmutter, D-Colo., Bill Foster, D-Ill., and Filemon Vela, D-Texas — would agree to support Pelosi on the House floor during the Jan. 3 vote for speaker.

That group would help get Pelosi over the top to reclaim the gavel and provide cover to others — especially certain freshman members — who stated on the campaign trail that they wouldn’t back her for speaker and can’t afford to reneg on that promise.

If the caucus were to adopt this rule change in January, it would affect not only Pelosi but also Democratic whip Steny Hoyer, D-Md., who’s expected to serve as House majority leader in the new Congress, and assistant Democratic leader James Clyburn, D-S.C., who will serve as Democratic whip.

Hoyer is adamantly opposed to term limits for leaders, telling reporters Tuesday that Pelosi is “not negotiating for me.”

House Democrats nominated Pelosi to serve as speaker during a closed-door, secret ballot vote last month. Ahead of that vote, despite a long-simmering insurgency against her bid, the rebellion crumbled in the days leading up to that internal caucus election.

At the time, Pelosi reached a deal with a group within the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus in which she agreed to several rules changed that would kick-start a process that would more easily bring bills with at least 290 co-sponsors to the floor. Others included a measure that would increase committee transparency and ensure that a majority of members of a committee can request and schedule a markup.

Meanwhile, the negotiations over the leadership term limits are taking place in the final weeks of this year’s lame-duck congressional session as Congress has several must-pass items on its to-do list, including addressing government funding.