House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) on Sunday categorically denied the suggestion that Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is undermining his leadership by openly voicing her opinion about what led to the Democrats’ poor showing in this election.
Some Democrats have expressed frustration that Pelosi is publicly assessing the party’s strategy and results despite her decision to step down from her leadership role two years ago. An unnamed member of the Congressional Black Caucus told Axios Pelosi is not being “respectful” of Jeffries.
Jeffries, though, does not appear to share the sentiment.
“Speaker Emerita Pelosi has been incredibly respectful of the entire leadership team,” Jeffries told NBC’s “Meet The Press.” “It’s an honor to stand on the shoulders of Speaker Nancy Pelosi, an incredibly consequential public servant in the history of America.”
In an interview with The New York Times in the days after the race was called for President-elect Donald Trump, Pelosi conceded that Nov. 5 was a “not a good night” for her party.
Pelosi suggested President Joe Biden should have dropped out of the race earlier than he did to allow Democrats to hold an open primary to decide who should be their new nominee, predicting that Vice President Kamala Harris would have prevailed.
“Had the president gotten out sooner, there may have been other candidates in the race,” she told the Times. “Kamala, I think, still would have won, but she may have been stronger, having taken her case to the public sooner.”
Biden withdrew his candidacy in July, weeks after he delivered a poor performance at the debate against Trump that raised questions about his mental acuity and fitness to continue serving in the role for another four years. He immediately endorsed Harris, prompting the rest of the party to rally around her.
Jeffries did not offer a direct answer on whether he agreed with Pelosi’s assessment on Biden.
The president “did make the decision. It was a selfless decision to pass the torch to Vice President Kamala Harris,” Jeffries told NBC’s Kristen Welker.
“We’ve said that should be candid and clear-eyed and comprehensive about what was done right, what was done wrong collectively,” he continued.
Democracy In The Balance
Support HuffPost
Already contributed? Log in to hide these messages.
Apart from their defeat in the presidential election, Democrats are also projected to lose the Senate and the House, giving Republicans a governing trifecta.
Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) last week told Politico Pelosi is not being fair in her critique of Biden given she was one of the Democrats credited with pushing him to step aside. Fetterman had pushed for Biden to remain in the race.
Pelosi “embraced this ‘she’s the godmother, she’s the enforcer.’ And now she’s blaming Biden,” Fetterman said. “Well, you can’t have it both ways. You got what you wanted, and now you’re still blaming Biden.”