Pelosi: NO PLANS to ‘to step away from Congress,’ rips GOP’s ‘horrible response’ to Paul’s assault

Nancy Pelosi will not be stepping out of Congress anytime soon, she said Sunday, despite growing calls from young Democrats for a new generation of elected officials.

However, the House Speaker was hesitant about whether she would run for a leadership role again, explaining that the decision would depend largely on her family in the wake of a recent burglary at her San Francisco home that left her 82 years old. used to be. -old husband Paul with a skull fracture and other injuries requiring hospitalization.

Democrats’ performance in the midterm elections surpassed expectations, with President Joe Biden’s party winning the Senate while the House of Representatives – long expected to win at least 30 GOP seats – is still in the game is, but republican leans.

In a few talk show interviews on Sunday, Pelosi partially praised Biden for the Democrats’ strong performance and gave full support for the president to run for a second term.

“President Biden has been a great president for our country. He’s accomplished so much,” Pelosi told ABC News this week, despite other Democrats having seen the commander in chief and his low job approval numbers with an albatross hanging around their necks.

On the GOP side, she suggested to CNN’s State of the Union that the Republicans’ “terrible response” to her husband Paul’s attack could be partly responsible for voter rejection of their candidates.

Pelosi told the network that every day Paul was “closer to recovery” but that it would be “a long haul” after an intruder who espoused the QAnon beliefs online broke into their home late last month and eventually attacked him with a hammer. – all while looking for the Speaker himself, who was not at home.

The vast majority of people on both sides of the aisle condemned the attack and wished the Pelosi family well — but fringe voices on the right tried to cast doubt on the incident and even circulated conspiracy theories about Paul Pelosi’s alleged relationship with the intruder. whom he had never met.

Party leaders such as House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy also condemned the attack, but were criticized for staying silent as members of his caucus pushed the damaging conspiracies.

When asked if it had any effect on voters a few days before Election Day on November 8, Pelosi replied, “It’s a trend in what I’m hearing.”

“But it wasn’t just the attack. It was the Republican response to it that was outrageous,” the Speaker said.

“The attack is terrible. I mean, imagine – how I feel, like the one who was targeted, and my husband who paid the price, and the traumatic effect on our family.”

She continued: “But that trauma is compounded by the ridiculous, disrespectful attitude of the Republicans — and no one can distance themselves from the horrible response they gave to it.”

As of Sunday afternoon, the Democrats have 204 seats in the new Congress and the Republicans 211. A party needs 218 members for a governing majority.

Pelosi wouldn’t tell either network what she’s leaning on or will make another bid for the House presidency if Democrats beat the odds of keeping her chamber.

“My decision will then be rooted in what- the wishes of my family and the wishes of my caucus. But not much thought will be given to it until we see the outcome of all this,” the California Democrat said.

Suggesting that she at least thought about letting go of the hammer, Pelosi added, “But there are all kinds of ways to exert influence…the speaker has tremendous power, but I will always have influence. ‘

She told ABC News, “I’m not going to comment until this election is over.”

But the speaker later clarified that she plans to stay on Capitol Hill for the foreseeable future.

“Finally, Madam Chair, if you decide to leave Congress, how would you like your speakers to be remembered?” asked host Georgie Stephanopoulos.

“Well, I have no plans to resign from Congress. I don’t know… you asked me if I was running for leadership,” Pelosi said.

“My showpiece, ever since I’ve been in Congress, has been the climate issue. But over the course of the case, when we had the opportunity to expand health care for all Americans, that has to be my greatest achievement.”

When asked by ABC if she thinks Biden should run again in 2024, Pelosi bluntly replied, “Yeah, I do.”

“He’s been a great president and he has a great track record,” Pelosi said.

On CNN, she credited him with helping to secure the votes needed for narrow victories in key battlefield states — while also keeping Biden well away from others, such as Arizona and Ohio.

“I want to salute President Biden for his campaign, President Obama, who has all fueled the urgency of the election and raised awareness that people should vote,” Pelosi said.

“And that they shouldn’t listen to those who say this is a foregone conclusion because of history, but it’s about the future, and go out and vote.”