House Speaker Nancy Pelosi turns down calls from her own caucus about bringing “change” to the party’s geriatric leadership team.
The speaker, 82, who is seeking reelection, said: MSNBCAndrea Mitchell, 75, said President Joe Biden did a “spectacular job” and the most important thing was to win.
She was asked by the longtime NBC correspondent about Rep. Elisa Slotkin for ‘new blood’.
Pelosi shrugged off the comment and dismissed it as a political move by the Michigan Democrat.
“I say, just win, honey. Just win. If that’s what you have to say to win, great. We will in no way do anything other than fully support mobilization, in messaging and in money, so that those people can win their races,” she said.
“Just win, honey.” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, 82, brushed aside calls for new leadership in her party, even as she said there was a need for ‘generational change’
Trying to fight historical trends to maintain her party’s slim majority in the House, Pelosi is in the process of fundraising that will take her to Michigan on Wednesday.
‘Yes, we need a generational change, of course. But in some cases there is no substitute for experience,” Pelosi told Mitchell.
She also praised President Biden, who has previously praised Pelosi’s role in carrying his agenda through the House.
“And I think we’ve seen that with the legislation led by President Biden, who has done a spectacular job. He’s had two better years than most presidents you can name, especially in the recent generations. He has, again, with the bailout package, with the most recent inflation reduction package, with the Chips and Science Act, with the PACT Act for our veterans, with the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill. He has had a remarkable record,” she said.
Pelosi said President Biden, 79, did a ‘spectacular job’
House Majority Whip James C. Clyburn, a key Biden ally, is 82
Waiting in the wings: House majority leader Steny Hoyer, Pelosi’s longtime partner and occasional leadership rival, is 83
Majority Leader Charles Schumer (NY) is 71. He was elected to the House in 1980 at the age of 29 and served there with Pelosi
It was the kind of endorsement of Biden’s legislative achievements that the White House would like more of, with a wave of Democrats sometimes distancing themselves from the White House on immigration and the economy amid Biden’s low approval ratings.
“If they’re after us, look, just win. That’s all I say to people,” Pelosi said, shaking off internal criticism amid speculation she could step down if the Democrats lose the House.
“I just want you to win your races because there is nothing less at stake than our democracy. Nothing less is at stake than our planet. Nothing less is at stake than our freedoms, a woman’s right to choose,” she said.
Slotkin’s comment that prompted the question came as she faces a battle to win a third term in a redrawn district.
“We need new blood, period, throughout the Democratic Party,” said Michigan Rep. Elissa Slotkin
“I have been very vocal, including with my own leadership in the House, that we need a new generation. We need new blood, period, in the Democratic Party, in the House, Senate and White House. I think the country said that,” she said.
Slotkin, 46, a former CIA analyst and Department of Defense official, commented on a remarkably stable leadership team that has achieved political victories while freezing younger members.
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, Pelosi’s longtime partner and occasional leadership rival, is 83, while House Majority Whip James C. Clyburn, a key ally of Biden, is 82.
In the Senate, Majority Leader Charles Schumer (NY) is 71, while Mitch McConnell, the Republican who wants to replace him, is 80.
Pelosi was not the only one to be criticized. Podcaster and former MSNBC host Keith Olbermann criticized Mitchell for asking a question about why Biden didn’t “press harder” to codify Roe v. Wade. Pelosi told her there was no chance of getting 10 Republican votes in the Senate to overcome a filibuster.
And my apologies to the viewers for Andrea. She should retire,’ he tweeted.