She explained to Anderson Cooper of CNN that her successor had made an excessive number of compromises.
On Wednesday, House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi stated that House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s compromises to conservatives on his right flank in order to gain his leadership post had lessened the position’s value. Pelosi served as House Speaker from 2007–2011.
Pelosi told CNN’s Anderson Cooper, “I think it’s an ever incredibly shrinking speakership,” alluding to the sacrifices McCarthy made to become speaker. “I think it’s an ever incredibly shrinking speakership,” Pelosi said. “It came to pass on the very first night when he was required to give all of these vows and promises in order to become the speaker. It is not worth it, really, to be the speaker of the House if one is going to cede that much jurisdiction over the chamber.”
McCarthy “abdicated” power to a more conservative segment of the Republican House caucus on his way to becoming speaker. That same segment of the caucus is responsible for pushing McCarthy, a Republican from California, to launch an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden, which he announced on Tuesday.
The statements made by Pelosi, a Democrat from California who has served as speaker of the House on two separate occasions, shed light on the political limits that McCarthy is currently operating inside. The House of Representatives must now negotiate a possible impeachment of the president in addition to passing a large number of must-pass laws, one of which is a federal budget for which there is currently no resolution in sight.
Pelosi stated, in reference to the potential impeachment, that she believes “that is really more of a matter of politics of the Republican caucus.” “This is not accountable government in action. But the disorganization on the Republican side is the problem.”
The San Francisco Democrat, who is 83 years old and made the announcement last Friday that she would compete for another term in the House, has steadfastly supported former Vice President Joe Biden and his running companion, Kamala Harris, in their efforts to win the 2024 race.
Harris, whose approval ratings often lag below the already low numbers of Biden, has come under fire from a variety of commentators and observers for exhibiting signs of weakness. This is a portrayal that Pelosi denies, calling the vice president “politically astute.” Harris’s approval ratings generally lag behind the already low numbers of Biden. In addition to this, she noted that vice presidents, in reality, do not perform all that many duties.
Pelosi defended Harris by saying, “She is the vice president of the United States.” Pelosi was speaking in Harris’s defense. “A lot of people ask me, ‘Well, why isn’t she doing this or that?'” I say that due to the fact that she is the vice president. That sums up the duties of the position. You don’t really have that much going on. You should know that I get strength, inspiration, and intellectual resource from you in addition to the other things.
