Is this Pelosi’s way of appeasing the growing far-left element in her party that she sees as a challenge to her authority?
Proposed changes to House of Representatives rules would “honor all gender identities,” eliminating specific terms such as mother and father, son and daughter, and aunt and uncle.
In place of the current norms, only “gender-neutral” terms such as “parent,” “child,” “sibling” and “parent’s sibling” would be permitted in the House rules under the proposed changes.
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The proposed changes, which will be voted on when the House convenes Sunday for the new 117th Congress, would also create a House “Office of Diversity and Inclusion.”
In announcing the changes, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said the new rules will make the House “the most inclusive in history.”
Another rule change would prevent last-minute bill amendments by Republicans by establishing that such changes would send bills back to committee, effectively killing them.
Pelosi said this is necessary so that these last-minute changes, known as Motions to Recommit, are “no longer used to hijack the legislative process for political gamesmanship.”
The New York Post notes:
Other changes would remove floor privileges from former House members convicted of crimes related to their House service or election and would make it a violation of the Code of Official Conduct for a house member or employee to disclose the identity of a whistleblower.
House members and their employees would also be banned from disseminating “manipulated media,” including “deepfakes.”
In a press release, Pelosi and Rules Committee Chairman James P. McGovern (D-MA) said proposed rules would also allow the House to address the coronavirus pandemic:
That includes through changes that would: establish a Select Committee on Economic Disparity and Fairness in Growth to prioritize our commitment to ensuring that no one is left behind in the 21st Century economy; enable the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis to continue its vital efforts to ensure that federal dollars meant to confront the coronavirus pandemic are spent without waste, fraud, profiteering, or price gouging; allow the Select Committee on the Climate Crisis to continue developing ambitious solutions to confront the climate crisis; and ensure Congress can respond to the dual threats of the climate crisis and the COVID pandemic by exempting those bills from budget rules, while overall continuing to adhere to fiscal responsibility.
With a tight 222-211 Democrat majority, Pelosi’s is still likely to be elected speaker on Sunday, but she may have to appease some malcontents among her party’s ranks to squeak by. Younger Democrats have expressed frustration with her because they don’t see her as progressive enough and also because of the party’s losses in the 2020 election.
Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), a Democratic-Socialist and popular figure among progressives, flatly said both Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) need to go.
“I do think that we need new leadership in the Democratic Party,” Ocasi-Cortez said.
In 2019, 15 Democrats refused to support Pelosi for speaker. Ten of those will be back in the 117th Congress, though at least three of those have said they will now vote for her.
Two new additions to the far-left “Squad,” incoming Representatives Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.) and Cori Bush (D-Mo.), have refused to commit to whether they will support Pelosi for another term as Speaker.
“I am going to make sure that voices of the people of St. Louis are heard and we have what we need. And so you will find out then,” Bush told CNN’s State of the Union.
Bowman also refused to answer, saying that Americans “will find out when my vote is tallied and, again, [I will be] organizing with our community to figure out what’s best.”
Nevertheless, Pelosi will probably remain in place at the dais. Dethroning her would require her young, far-left detractors to join with Republicans — an unlikely alliance. The democratic-socialists may not believe Pelosi is liberal enough for their taste, but she’s more preferable to them than Kevin McCarthy would be. And Republicans may not want a Speaker Pelosi, but they’ll take her over a member of the Squad.
Pelosi’s proposed rules show a focus, not on protecting Americans’ constitutional liberties, but on scoring cheap political points on social justice issues to preserve her seat in power.
