The Fight to be Speaker of the House

Since the midterm elections, both parties in the U.S. Senate have chosen their leaders and Republicans in the House of Representatives have chosen theirs. House Democrats have not yet chosen their leaders, which will include the next Speaker of the House. The current leader, Nancy Pelosi, has come under fire from a small but vocal group of Democrats.

Instructors, click the link below to download this week’s lecture for use in your classroom. The deck contains a writing prompt and a debate question as well as other assessment questions.

Download the PowerPoint for The Fight to be Speaker of the House

Links

“Anti-Pelosi vote grows to 18 Democrats as Spanberger says she won’t back her”
https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/16/politics/democratic-opponents-nancy-pelosi-abigail-spanberger/index.html

“Nancy Pelosi is running for Speaker, but with Trump’s help?”
https://www.rollcall.com/news/politics/pelosi-running-for-speaker

“Senior Dem says Pelosi will be Speaker for as long as she wants”
https://thehill.com/hilltv/rising/409206-senior-dem-says-pelosi-will-be-speaker-for-as-long-as-she-wants

“Democratic candidates vow to dump Pelosi”
https://www.politico.com/story/2018/06/20/pelosi-democrats-candidates-midterms-655484

“Marcia Fudge, an Ohio Democrat, might challenge Nancy Pelosi”
https://www.vox.com/2018/11/16/18096850/marcia-fudge-nancy-pelosi-speaker

“The Democratic insurgents who want to topple Nancy Pelosi”
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/nancy-pelosi-speaker-fight-757178/

“Democrats would be nuts to oust Nancy Pelosi”
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/democrats-would-be-nuts-to-oust-nancy-pelosi

“Forget Pelosi. Challenge Hoyer.”
https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2018/11/12/nancy-pelosi-steny-hoyer-democrats-222411

“Analysis: Seth Moulton, Nancy Pelosi clash gets testy”
http://www.bostonherald.com/news/us_politics/2018/11/analysis_seth_moulton_nancy_pelosi_clash_gets_testy

“Analysis: Nancy Pelosi ready for battle”
http://www.bostonherald.com/news/us_politics/2018/11/analysis_nancy_pelosi_ready_for_battle

Assessment

• Writing: What are the reasons why some House Democrats do not want Nancy Pelosi to again serve as Speaker of the House?
• Debate: Nancy Pelosi should be returned to the Speaker’s office.
• Poll: Do you believe some House Democrats will successfully deny Nancy Pelosi’s return to the Speaker’s office?
• Short Answer: What are some of the reasons many House Democrats want Pelosi to return as Speaker?

Current events quiz:

1) Seth Moulton has recommended that this person take over the role of Speaker:

a. Steny Hoyer
b. Marcia Fudge
c. James Clyburn
d. Stephen Lynch

2) Moulton and other Democrats don’t want Pelosi to be Speaker because:

1. They think she is ineffective in the role
2. They want to be Speaker themselves
3. They believe it is time for a new generation of leadership
4. They want to help the GOP by ousting her

3) This Representative has joined forced with Congressman Moulton to be a leading voice on replacing Pelosi as Speaker:

1. Joe Kennedy
2. Tim Ryan
3. Jim McGovern
4. Carlos Curbelo

4) Donald Trump supports Nancy Pelosi being the next Speaker of the House. (T/F)

5) The House only needs about 17 anti-Pelosi Democratic votes to keep her from getting the nomination. (T/F)

6) The entire Massachusetts delegation openly supports Congressman Moulton in his campaign to oust Pelosi. (T/F)

Answers:

1) B

2) C

3) B

4) True

5) True

6) False

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