It’s official.
Nancy Pelosi has been re-elected as Speaker of the House:
Pelosi secures enough votes to be speaker again.
— Casey J. Wooten (@Casey_J_Wooten) January 3, 2021
But the vote was close and she only won by 1 vote:
Current Tally:
216 for Pelosi
208 for McCarthy
2 for others — Golden for Duckworth; Lamb for Jeffries
3 present — Spanberger, Slotkin and Sherrill
— Heather Caygle (@heatherscope) January 3, 2021
And one of the Dems who put her over the top was none other than Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez:
Breaking: Nancy Pelosi wins vote for speaker, w/ AOC among final Dems putting her over the top.
— Dave Wasserman (@Redistrict) January 3, 2021
The other members of The Squad voted for her as well:
AOC just voted for Pelosi as Speaker
Every member of the squad has now voted to re-elect her Speaker
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) January 3, 2021
But with the vote as close as it was, Dems had to build a plexiglass box like in hockey to allow a Covid-19 positive members and those in quarantine to vote for Pelosi:
Hse has set up a plexiglass box above the chamber (like something from a hockey rink) for some mbrs to vote, et al. Colleague Caroline McKee rpts Dem OH Rep Tim Ryan just voted for Pelosi from the box
— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) January 3, 2021
They also used a special entrance:
I'm told they'll use a special entrance that connects through the Capitol Visitor Center in order to cast their vote for Speaker, per a source briefed on the plan
As Bres makes clear — this shows the stakes of the vote, of which Democrats have an incredibly narrow majority https://t.co/at91Ts5ogt
— Alayna Treene (@alaynatreene) January 3, 2021
Republican Rep. Rodney Davis ripped the “Popemobile” plexiglass structure, calling it “shameful”:
/3 @RodneyDavis, top R on the House Administration Cmte, is very upset about this “Popemobile” built in the House Gallery for quarantined members. He says the “only reason this is happening is because Speaker Pelosi needs to be re-elected speaker.” “It’s shameful.”
— John Bresnahan (@bresreports) January 3, 2021
And “horses*it”:
/4 Davis says Monahan won’t tell him who members in quarantine are but says they’ve had negative tests. “It’s horseshit. You can quote me on that.”
— John Bresnahan (@bresreports) January 3, 2021
You see, these rules are only for normal people:
Pelosi allowing Dems who JUST tested positive for COVID days ago in to vote (because her Speakership is on the line) is a great reminder that Dems see the virus and virus safety measures as a political tool to weaponize or ignore based on their political needs of the moment. https://t.co/ByYkBz7Atk
— Matt Whitlock (@mattdizwhitlock) January 3, 2021
Where’s the media outrage?
When Republican Senators returned to participate in a Supreme Court confirmation *after the appropriate 10 days of quarantine* all we heard about (from media and Democrats) was that they putting everyone at risk.
But this is Pelosi so it’ll get a solid pass.
— Matt Whitlock (@mattdizwhitlock) January 3, 2021
And there are small businesses all across America who would be shut down for this:
A Democrat rep who tested positive for COVID broke quarantine and ignored health guideline because Nancy Pelosi needed her vote for leadership padding. https://t.co/ZrZPzhbCpG
— Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) January 3, 2021
But when Dems do it, it’s totally cool?
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Editor’s note: We fixed an edited error in the headline.
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