House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi is facing down a new threat to her job just days after Tuesday’s special election setback in Georgia. A group of younger House Democrats is leading the charge, saying that the party faces an uphill battle to take back the majority in the chamber as long as Pelosi is the party’s public face.
Representative Tim Ryan, is among the leaders of that group. Having failed to oust Pelosi in a leadership challenge shortly after the election last fall, Ryan is working with colleagues to see if there’s appetite for another attempt at replacing her, he said Thursday on ABC News’ “Powerhouse Politics” podcast.
“If you can’t get elected, you can’t govern. It’s just that simple,” Ryan said. He argued that the Democrats have strayed from issues that got them elected in the past. The contentious Russian investigation, for example, is “just disconnected from what normal people and average people are going through.”
Ryan lists home ownership, health care, and the price of energy as key issues his party should focus on. According to him, Pelosi stands in the way of the party’s goal of flipping control of the House back in their favor for the first time since 2010.
“It’s not personal against Leader Pelosi, it’s just reality,” Ryan said, adding later his belief that Pelosi’s leadership “provide[s] a good, solid impediment” to taking back the majority.
In this week’s Georgia and South Carolina special elections, Republicans ran ads that targeted Pelosi. Ryan believes those ads were instrumental in the Republicans’ victories.
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