New Petition from House Democrats Takes Aim at Pelosi

The Atlantic: “In a move described as a direct shot at Nancy Pelosi, some Democrats are trying to make it more difficult for one of their own to become speaker of the House.”

“At least 10 Democrats in the lower chamber have signed onto a letter to Caucus Chair Joe Crowley seeking a change to caucus rules that would raise the number of votes required to nominate a candidate for speaker. Current rules mandate that a nominee receive support from only a simple majority of caucus members before advancing to the floor for a vote. The letter requests that threshold be changed to 218, a majority of the House.”

Playbook: “This is likely to be defeated in the Democratic Caucus soundly. Five percent of Democrats signed this letter. This is a way for Democrats to let off steam, but it underscores, in part, that they have no one else to run against Pelosi — for now. Pelosi supporters even have a mechanism to quash this before it comes up for a vote. In some ways, this could hurt the anti-Pelosi movement by showing that, at the moment, process is the only tool they have to go up against her.”