Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi will miss the Tuesday vote on ousting Kevin McCarthy as speaker.
Her absence, first reported by POLITICO, is a surprising move from the California Democrat who’s known to have a terrible relationship with her successor at the helm of the House. Pelosi spokesperson Aaron Bennett said in a statement that “she is very saddened not to be there for this historic vote.”
“Sadly, Speaker Pelosi is grieving the loss of her dear friend Dianne Feinstein and will remain in San Francisco for the next few days to participate in official memorials and pay tribute to Senator Feinstein’s towering legacy.“
Pelosi flew back to California with the body of Feinstein, the late California Democratic senator, over the weekend. Some Democrats had thought she might have a slim chance of making it back to Washington on Tuesday; the party’s lawmakers were voting by hand in the well of the House in an effort to stall for time and get several absent members back to vote against McCarthy.
Pelosi is one of McCarthy’s most outspoken critics, once going as far as to call him a “moron” to reporters for his criticism of her mask mandate during the Covid pandemic.
She also posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Tuesday: “In this Congress, it is the responsibility of House Republicans to choose a nominee & elect the Speaker on the Floor. At this time there is no justification for a departure from this tradition. The House will be in order” with no mention of missing the votes.”
