Rep. Nancy Pelosi reached a deal with dissident Democrats to limit herself to four years as speaker, she announced Wednesday, her most consequential move to date to put down a rebellion in her ranks and clinch the votes she needs to be elected speaker in January.
The agreement, which if adopted by Democrats would also bind the party's other three top leaders, would almost certainly clear the way for Pelosi, the Democratic leader from California, to reclaim the mantle of the first woman to serve in the post that is second in line to the presidency.
The plan she publicly embraced Wednesday would bind her to a four-term limit -- eight years -- that would apply retroactively, taking into account the two terms she already served as speaker. It is the latest in a series of deals Pelosi has struck in the past several weeks to win over a small but vocal group of Democratic defectors and secure her place as speaker.
It also signals a major shift for Democrats who, despite the striking diversity and demographic shifts within their party, have governed for more than a decade with the same three people at the helm. The three -- Pelosi, 78; Rep. Steny Hoyer of Maryland, 79; and Rep. James Clyburn of South Carolina, 79 -- must now prepare to cede power to a new generation, even as they move to take the House majority next month.
Democrats remain deeply split on the question of term limits, and it is not clear that they are prepared to endorse the move when the party meets next year to determine its rules. But in a statement released Wednesday evening, Pelosi made it clear that she would submit to the term limit regardless of whether her party supports it.
"I am comfortable with the proposal, and it is my intention to abide by it whether it passes or not," she said.
Pelosi handily won an internal vote among Democrats last month to be nominated as speaker, a post she held from 2007 to 2011. But a small group of defectors who have agitated for new leadership at the top of the party have been threatening to withhold their votes when the new Congress convenes Jan. 3 for a formal vote on the House floor. Pelosi would need a majority of those present and voting in the chamber -- as many as 218 -- to be elected.
The rebels demanded that Pelosi either step aside or give a date when she would do so, something she had refused to do, arguing that it would weaken her hand as a bulwark against President Donald Trump.
In the days since Pelosi's nomination, Rep. Ed Perlmutter of Colorado, a member of the group, spearheaded discussions with the leader and other colleagues about a compromise. The talks came to a head in Pelosi's Capitol office late Tuesday after she returned from a meeting at the White House in which she had a televised confrontation with Trump, who sought to undercut her by alluding to her troubles corralling the votes to become speaker.
If adopted by the House Democratic caucus, the leadership term limits would also apply to the other three top Democratic leaders: Hoyer, who is in line to be the majority leader; Clyburn, who is set to be the whip; and Rep. Ben Ray Lujan of New Mexico, the assistant Democratic leader.
Under the compromise to which Pelosi has committed, she and the three other leaders would be limited to three two-year terms, with the possibility of a fourth if they could garner the support of two-thirds of the Democratic caucus. Given that Pelosi, Hoyer and Clyburn have already served two terms in the top three posts, it would put a hard cap on their tenures, forcing them out of their posts by 2022.
It is not clear whether the Democratic caucus will embrace the changes Pelosi has agreed to; at least one, Hoyer, has flatly said he is against the idea and told reporters Tuesday, "She's not negotiating for me."
But an endorsement of the plan by Pelosi would go a long way toward securing her place as speaker, and prod other Democrats -- many whom have pressed privately and publicly for changes at the top to reflect a younger, more diverse caucus -- to vote in favor of it when the party meets to set its own rules early next year.
A Section on 12/13/2018