WASHINGTON – Former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi left his powerful position leading House Democrats nearly a year and a half ago. But behind the scenes, sources say, Pelosi, a San Francisco Democrat, played a key role in gently nudging President Joe Biden on the way out.
Although the Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer and protégé of House Minority Leader Pelosi Hakeem Jeffriesboth from New York, also told Biden about Democrats’ concerns regarding the continuation of her campaign, three sources told NBC News that whenever the issue of her abandonment began to dwindle and lose steam, they saw Pelosi as fanning the flames.
Unlike the two current Democratic leaders, Pelosi is no longer part of the leadership team and could afford to be more front and center in the effort to oust Biden following his disastrous debate performance last month.
“I think Pelosi continues to show that she is a master political strategist,” a House Democratic leadership aide said Sunday.
Throughout the Democrats’ painful three-week ordeal, Pelosi never publicly called on Biden to drop out of the race; neither did Schumer or Jeffries. Doing so could infuriate Biden and cause him to become intransigent and never back down.
Instead, Pelosi worked quietly and methodically, speaking to dozens of rank-and-file lawmakers, members of her former leadership team and her large network of Democratic donors who once made her the party’s most prolific fundraiser.
To vulnerable rank-and-file lawmakers who looked to her for guidance, two sources said, Pelosi advised them to “speak their minds” in the days leading up to Biden’s surprising decision to drop out. A source close to Pelosi made it clear that she was not initiating conversations but taking calls. On Friday, 13 Democratic congressmen called on Biden to abandon the race, the largest number of defections in a single day, dealing him what would be the fatal blow to his campaign.
“That wave of members calling for her resignation on Friday was Nancy’s doing,” said a vulnerable House Democrat who spoke to Pelosi last week.
During the call, the lawmaker said, Pelosi twice asked about the poll numbers — for both the lawmaker and Biden in that person’s swing district — so she could write them down.
“The gist is that she felt our ability to get the majority back was at risk,” said the Frontline Democrat told NBC News.
Asked about Pelosi’s responsibility for Biden’s resignation, the lawmaker replied: “50%”.
It was all vintage Pelosi, who made history as the first female speaker of the House and governed House Democrats with a velvet glove for two decades: guiding Democrats to where they needed to go and making them make the decision.
In this case, the Democrat was Joe Biden. And everyone in the party knew that he would be the one to make the final decision to withdraw.
When Biden stepped in and declared that he would not drop out of the race under any circumstances, Pelosi appeared on the your favorite program, MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.” She kept the issue alive by saying Biden needed to make a decision “because time is running out,” even as he and his campaign insisted he had decided to remain.
In a private phone call a week after her MSNBC appearance, Pelosi warned Biden, 81 — someone she has known in Washington for more than 30 years — about the realities of the 2024 race: He could lose big to their mutual political enemy, Republican donald trumpthat he could hurt Democrats’ votes and possibly cost them control of the House and Senate.
And then last weekend’s attempted murder When Trump shocked the nation and appeared to stall the momentum to oust Biden, a trio of Pelosi’s close allies brought the story back to the forefront.
Representative. Adam Schiffa vocal Trump critic who is the favorite to be California’s next senator, in WWednesday became the highest-profile Democrat to call for Biden’s resignation. Rep. Jared Huffman, who represents a Bay Area district close to Pelosi’s, organized a successful effort to delay the Democratic National Committee’s quick coronation of Biden as the party’s nominee via a virtual roll call. Huffman and a third Pelosi ally, Bay Area Rep. Zoe Lofgren, were among the wave of lawmakers who called on Biden to drop out of the race on Friday.
No other Democrat better understands the risks of a possible second Trump term than Pelosi, Schiff and Lofgren. Pelosi, hunted by pro-Trump rioters during the attack on the Capitol and later targeted at home by a man who fractured her husband’s skull with a hammernamed Schiff, Lofgren and others to the Jan. 6 select committee that concluded Trump was to blame for the effort to overturn the 2020 election results and the deadly riot.
“It was certainly notable that many of his oldest allies in California were so outspoken,” said Rep. Katie Porter, D-Calif., who lost the Democratic Senate nomination to Schiff this year after Pelosi endorsed him.
One Democratic lawmaker said of Pelosi’s strategy to affect the outcome she wants: “She uses her resources.”
A former Democratic leadership aide added: “Biden has a record of losing and winning. Pelosi doesn’t make moves unless she knows he’s going to win.”
Asked about the impetus for her statement on Friday, Lofgren did not rule out her closeness to Pelosi – they served together for nearly three decades – but said it was a decision she made herself. “She is not directing anyone to do anything. This is mine,” Lofgren said on MSNBC.
Biden was angry and hurt when Pelosi, her former running mate Barack Obama and other Democratic leaders refused to support him, sources said. But when he announced his decision on Sunday, Pelosi was quick to a magnanimous declaration.
“President Joe Biden is a patriotic American who has always put our country first. His legacy of vision, values and leadership make him one of the most important presidents in American history,” she said. “With love and gratitude to President Biden for always believing in the promise of America and giving people the opportunity to achieve its fulfillment. God has blessed America with the greatness and kindness of Joe Biden.”
Shortly after announcing that he would not run for reelection, Biden quickly supported his vice president and running mate, Kamala Harris, to replace him at the polls. Party luminaries quickly followed suit, including Schiff; Bill and Hillary Clinton; Rep. James Clyburn of South Carolina, a key Biden ally and longtime member of Democratic leadership; Senate President Pro Tem Patty Murray of Washington, who is third in line for the presidency; and progressive Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York.
But Pelosi, Schumer and Jeffries have not yet endorsed Harris, a former San Francisco district attorney who has known Pelosi for decades. Given her record, Pelosi could play a key role in securing Harris’ nomination or helping a potential rival win approval at the convention in Chicago in August, although many of Harris’ potential rivals, including fellow Californian, Gov. Gavin Newsom , have already supported her for president.
Pelosi “politically is still our leader,” the front-line Democrat said. “She and only she can guarantee Kamala’s success.”
Not all Democrats believe Pelosi’s efforts have put the party in a better position for November. Some fear Republicans will make good on threats to sue to keep Biden on the ballot, arguing that replacing him would disenfranchise 14 million primary voters who voted for him.
“Pelosi pressured him and left us without a plan. Is it Harris? Who knows?” said a former House Democratic leadership aide. “But I know Republicans will certainly spend millions of dollars trying to resolve this in court. It could be worse than the 2000 election.”
This article was originally published in NBCNews. with
