Months after former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi helped engineer the departure of President Joe Biden from the race for the White House, she has become involved in rearranging the leadership of several House committees, according to new reports.
Pelosi was a major force behind the scenes pushing for Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland to replace House Judiciary Committee ranking member Jerry Nadler of New York, according to The New York Times.
Nadler withdrew from the contest on Wednesday.
Speaking to reporters after Nadler stood down, Pelosi was asked if she was supporting challenges to the existing ranking members of House committees.
“Some,” she replied, adding, “I don’t know all of them,” according to Axios.
Axios noted that changes are coming to other committees.
Democratic Rep. Raúl Grijalva of Arizona, who is 75, said he will step aside as ranking member of the Natural Resources Committee after Democratic Rep. Jared Huffman of California, who is 60, launched a challenge.
A three-way race is taking place for leadership of the Democrats on the House Agriculture Committee.
Ranking member Rep. David Scott of Georgia, who is 79, is fighting off challenges by Reps. Jim Costa of California, who is 72, and Angie Craig of Minnesota, who is 52.
Nadler said he bowed out to ensure Democrats can fight President-elect Donald Trump.
“As our country faces the return of Donald Trump, and the renewed threats to our democracy and our way of life that he represents, I am very confident that Jamie would ably lead the Judiciary Committee as we confront this growing danger,” Nadler wrote in the letter announcing his plans to step aside, according to NBC.
“In the 119th Congress, the Judiciary Committee will be the headquarters of Congressional opposition to authoritarianism and MAGA’s campaign to dismantle our Constitutional system and the rule of law as we know it,” Raskin said.
As Raskin moves to the Judiciary Committee, his job as ranking member of the Oversight Committee is up for grabs.
Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York has been mentioned as a contender against Rep. Gerry Connolly, of Virginia.
“I have been receiving a lot of input from my colleagues, and we’ll be making a decision,” Ocasio-Cortez said.
