Robert ReichJan 7, 2023
Nancy Pelosi, one of the strongest Speakers in recent history, is today back representing the 11th district of California in the House. She’s been replaced as Speaker by Kevin McCarthy from the 20th district of California, who will be one of the weakest Speakers in history.
Show threadBrian ❄

@rbreich Slate convinced me a weak speaker is better for democracy:

The past 30 years have seen an extreme consolidation of power..., a trend which began in earnest when Republican Speaker Newt Gingrich tossed aside committee norms to elevate loyalists and hardliners in the mid-1990s.

This concentration at the top was something outgoing Speaker Nancy Pelosi, [whom some call] the most powerful House speaker in modern history, used to her full advantage.

The Right-Wing Nuts Upending the House Are Right About One Thing

Some of Kevin McCarthy defectors are pushing to break up the concentration of power in House leadership. Progressives should want the same thing.

Slate
Jan 7, 2023 at 6:56pmWeb
Show threadBrian ❄Jan 7, 2023

@rbreich

Majority and minority leaders now enjoy exorbitant control over rulemaking and the legislative and appropriative processes. Non-leadership members of both parties, meanwhile, have become historically disempowered, warm bodies expected to show up and vote the party line.

[The HFC] is pushing for a decentralization of the “awesome power” of the speaker, as Pelosi once put it, and an equivalent empowerment of factions within the chamber.

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2023/01/kevin-mccarthy-speaker-vote-defectors-house-freedom-caucus.html

The Right-Wing Nuts Upending the House Are Right About One Thing

Some of Kevin McCarthy defectors are pushing to break up the concentration of power in House leadership. Progressives should want the same thing.

Slate