The GOP Is Squabbling. Democrats Are Leading. You Choose.
There’s no nihilism caucus among House Democrats eager to burn democracy — and their own party — to the ground.
Credibility counts.
Photographer: Amanda Andrade-Rhoades/Bloomberg
While former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was in California for the funeral of her friend Senator Dianne Feinstein, Representative Patrick McHenry, the Kevin McCarthy ally who is the new caretaker of the leaderless House of Representatives, kicked Pelosi out of her Capitol hideaway office. Former Democratic Majority Leader Steny Hoyer subsequently received a similar eviction notice. It was a remarkably petty and spiteful act in the wake of McCarthy’s unprecedented downfall. But it showed that House Republicans had Pelosi’s successful reign very much in mind as McCarthy’s failure came crashing down on their heads.
Pelosi, after all, had run the House like a Swiss watch, passing hugely consequential legislation such as the Inflation Reduction Act, which may not have much to do with inflation but is already having a huge impact on the transition away from carbon-based energy. And Pelosi did it with a majority no larger than McCarthy’s.