Nancy Pelosi is officially the nominee to be Speaker of the House and Ohio Congresswoman Joyce Beatty played a direct role in supporting her.
A total of 203 Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives voted in a closed meeting on Wednesday to make Pelosi, a California Democrat, their nominee for speaker, including Beatty.
The third district representative was one of nine members who spoke on behalf of Pelosi before the vote was taken. And Pelosi thanked her directly in her first comments after being nominated.
“And then to have Joyce Beatty speak in her own right, but to quote President Obama — it was very moving,” Pelosi said.
Beatty stood beside Pelosi as she spoke of a unifying day where a majority of House Democrats voted to once again make her Speaker of the House.
Nobody challenged Pelosi, and she called House Democrats the most diverse caucus ever.
She said she’s been listening to new and old members about how to go forward.
Spectrum Washington reporter Taylor Popielarz asked Beatty what her message is to her constituents who think it’s time for a transition to new and younger party leadership.
“What I say to them, you can’t have a transition without a candidate,” Beatty said. “Nancy Pelosi stepped up and stepped out. We don’t have another candidate. You know, I’ve been in politics a long time. I’ve been a strategist, an administrator and a business owner. I don’t know how you elect somebody that’s imaginary. You can’t vote for a person that’s not a candidate.”
Beatty called Pelosi ‘tough,’ ‘strong’ and an ‘expert negotiator.’
She joins two other Ohio Democrats — Mary Kaptur (OH-09) and Marcia Fudge (OH-11) — in supporting Pelosi.
But Rep. Tim Ryan (OH-13), the fourth House Democrat from Ohio, is still not behind her.
He met with Pelosi before Wednesday’s vote, but the group he was with said no deal was reached.
The formal vote for speaker will happen on January 3.
Pelosi will need to receive 218 votes to be elected, meaning she has to convince at least 15 Democrats who voted against her on Wednesday to support her, or sway some Republicans.
She received 203 ‘yes’ votes and 32 ‘no’ votes on Wednesday.
On Wednesday evening, it was announced that Beatty was elected to be vice-chair of the Congressional Black Caucus. She released this statement after the 55-member caucus voted her in:
“I am honored to be elected by my peers as vice-chair of the Congressional Black Caucus. As the ‘Conscience of Congress’—and the largest, most powerful House Caucus—the Congressional Black Caucus will work to ensure that all Americans are heard and represented. I look forward to helping lead the Congressional Black Caucus in the 116th Congress as we undertake our new majority mandate to lead the nation.”