One burning question (among many) in Washington right now is what Democrats think about Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s bid to keep her leadership job in the next Congress, despite seeing her party lose 60-plus seats in the House. It’s something a lot of lawmakers would rather not chat about, at least in public.
Among the Connecticut delegation, so far only Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-3rd District, has come out publicly in favor (and unequivocally so) of Pelosi’s bid to stay on as House minority leader. When pressed, a spokeswoman for Rep. John Larson said the 1st District Democrat was also backing Pelosi’s move.
Meanwhile, Reps. Joe Courtney, Jim Himes, and Chris Murphy, who represent the state’s 2nd, 4th, and 5th districts respectively, all seem to be hoping to avoid the question. Or at least limit their remarks to non-committal hedging.
Take, for example, Himes’ response to a question from the Ridgefield Patch about whether Pelosi should step down or stay on. “I withhold judgment on that,” Himes told the Patch. “I haven’t heard of anyone else who wants to compete yet.”