A quick update on the ongoing House Dem leadership elections.
A source tells us that inside the caucus meeting moments ago, a motion authored by Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-OR) to hold a secret ballot vote on delaying the House leadership elections until December passed with a majority of votes. Though DeFazio hasn’t expressed a preference for a Minority Leader, he is widely known to be opposed to Pelosi remaining in the top slot.
The secret ballot to delay the vote failed 129-68, according to Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA).
DeFazio argued earlier this week, with Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-OH), that the vote should be delayed until December to give them time to “fully understand the causes of our historic losses” before voting. DeFazio told John Sowell with the Douglas County, Ore. News-Review on Sunday that his votes against the stimulus and the Wall Street bailout strained his relationship with Pelosi, but say the eight members who joined his push didn’t necessarily want to replace Pelosi — but they did want to discuss it.
It was considered a long shot that the vote to delay will be successful. But it would’ve been all but impossible without DeFazio’s push, and 68 member’s of Pelosi’s caucus just anonymously joined an rebuke to her push to quickly consolidate leadership, representing a broader-than-expected dissatisfaction from within the ranks of her own caucus.
[Ed note: This post was updated after publication]
