Midterm Headaches Mount For House Speaker Nancy Pelosi

Untimely retirements and the consequences of “Defund the Police” are haunting the House.

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi speaking with attendees at the 2019 California Democratic Party State Convention at the George R. Moscone Convention Center in San Francisco, California. June 1, 2019. (photo: Gage Skidmore)

During the midterm election it is typical for the political party in control of the White House to lose a certain number of seats in the House and Senate.

If there is one thing American voters tend to favor, whatever their political affiliation, it is balance. If Democrats control the Executive Branch, but Republicans control the Senate and/or House, or vice versa, it is that much more difficult for either party to dominate the other overmuch.

As Russia rattles its saber over the Ukraine, and war yet again raises its ugly head in the minds of U.S. lawmakers; while globalism falls somewhat out of fashion due to a worsening supply-line crisis, the timing on all these challenges couldn’t be worse for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

How do the midterms challenge Nancy Pelosi? Let us count the ways.

Democratic Party Retirements

A number of incumbent Democratic congresspeople are electing not to seek reelection in November: A large number.

Retirements at the midterm aren’t unusual; but the number reached with the most recent Democrat to announce his retirement from Congress is much larger than usual: 29…