Tim Ryan backs Pelosi as speaker, with term limit
Staff/wire report
WASHINGTON, D.C.
U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan of Howland, D-13th, on Wednesday announced his support for an agreement with Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi ensuring “the rise of a new generation of Democratic leaders.”
As a result of this deal, Ryan plans to vote in support of Pelosi’s bid for speaker on the House floor Jan. 3.
The California Democrat said in a written statement Wednesday that she is “comfortable” with the plan. Moments after she released her statement, seven rebellious Democrats said they would now back her.
That essentially guaranteed she will be elected speaker when the full House votes for its leader Jan. 3. Aides said an agreement would all but certainly bring her the votes she’d need.
A small group of unhappy Democrats – potentially enough to thwart her drive to win the job – had been threatening to vote against her unless she agreed to limit her service. The group wants the party’s aging leaders to step aside for a new generation.
The deal would see Pelosi agree to transition out of her leadership role by the end of the next Congress or – if she can obtain two-thirds support of the Democratic Caucus – at the end of the 117th Congress.
Pelosi also agreed to demands by Ryan and other Democrats who were withholding their vote for her that she support a change to Democratic Caucus rules to implement term limits for the top three leaders of the caucus. If the vote passes, the top three current Democratic leaders, all of whom have already served two terms in their current positions, would be allowed to serve only one more term in the upcoming 116th Congress unless they can secure two-thirds of the caucus’s support for an extra term in the 117th Congress.
Pelosi personally pledged to adhere to the framework for these term limits regardless of the outcome of the caucus vote.
“When I joined this effort four weeks ago, I said our goal was to think seriously about transitioning our caucus leadership to a new generation of Democrats in the House,” Ryan said. “The agreement announced today is a historic step in that direction. I have also been clear from the start that this effort was never about one person – but our entire Democratic leadership team, which has been in power for 16 years. As such, I intend to fight alongside my colleagues to make sure the entire leadership team and future leadership teams are bound by this deal.”
Ryan said Pelosi has been “an honest partner throughout these negotiations, and I applaud her commitment to creating a system that will ensure the speedy rise of new leadership reflecting the diversity and energy of our caucus.”