Pocan: ‘Odds Are’ Pelosi Is The Next Speaker

Democratic U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan said Monday that Nancy Pelosi would likely be elected the next speaker of the House of Representatives despite a block of progressive Democrats who have lined up to oppose her.

Pocan would not say who he planned to support in the race for speaker, telling reporters at a press conference at his Madison office that he wanted to speak personally with Pelosi before he made any commitments.

But when asked about 16 Democrats who released a letter vowing to block Pelosi from becoming speaker, Pocan questioned whether they’d have enough votes to accomplish their goal.

“If there is anyone who can count votes, it is Nancy Pelosi,” Pocan said. “I would rule nothing out. I would say the odds are that Nancy Pelosi is the next speaker at this point.”

Pelosi, a U.S. representative from California, was first elected speaker in 2007, holding the position until January 2011 after Democrats lost a majority in the U.S. House.

Democrats regained that majority in this November’s election, picking up either 38 or 39 House seats from Republicans depending on the final outcome in one too-close-to-call race out of Utah.

Pocan, a Democrat from the Town of Vernon who is active in the U.S. House’s “Progressive Caucus,” said he wanted the next speaker to give more key committee assignments to members of the caucus to reflect its growing numbers in the House.

Pocan said Pelosi had been receptive to that idea and downplayed any rift among Democrats.

“Honestly – no offense – reporters are way more into this than we are,” Pocan said. “We’re kind of more than ecstatic that we’re in charge after eight years and we can do things.”

Pocan covered a wide range of topics in his first Madison press conference since Democrats took control of the House. Here are some of the highlights:

Waiting For Mueller

Pocan said it was too soon to talk about possible impeachment proceedings involving President Donald Trump until the public sees the results of the investigation being led by special counsel Robert Mueller.

“Honestly, we’ve been waiting for the Mueller investigation,” Pocan said. “The biggest reaction you’re going to see out of many of us is if something happens to derail the investigation from completing.”

Pocan said regardless of what that investigation finds, there was still considerable room for Congress to provide oversight of the Trump administration.

Democratic Priorities

Pocan said Democrats would prioritize a few issues in their first 100 days that candidates talked about in their campaigns, including access to health care, a higher minimum wage, infrastructure funding and campaign finance.

He said the health care component would include a prescription drug bill that was still being negotiated.

Pocan said Democrats might be able to work with Trump when it comes to road funding, but he said Trump would need to agree to put more public money behind road projects instead of relying on more private investment.

A Warning To Vos, Wisconsin Republicans

Pocan also warned against Wisconsin Republicans’ efforts to restrict the power of Democratic Gov.-elect Tony Evers and possibly change election dates to protect a conservative majority on the state Supreme Court.

While nothing has been finalized, one of the most outspoken proponents of the changes has been Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, with whom Pocan once served in the state Legislature.

“I’m good friends with Robin,” Pocan said. “Robin’s a better person than what he’s putting out there now.”

While Pocan offered no specifics, he said he was concerned Republicans could use a lame duck session of the Legislature this winter to reduce Evers’ power in the next round of redistricting in 2021.

“Robin is very smart,” Pocan said. “He’s always playing three moves ahead of most of the other people in the room, and I think a lot of this could still be about gerrymandering and redistricting.”

Pocan said he’d been trading texts with Vos. He also said he hoped cooler heads would prevail.

“I would hope that they would chill out and maybe decide that there’s a better approach,” Pocan said.