Dems to Pelosi: Sit Down and Shut Up

Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), who is running for re-election in 2026, is starting to irritate her Democratic colleagues. The former House speaker, who arguably wields more power than Joe Biden, has gone on a press tour, claiming that ‘what if’ scenarios if the president had withdrawn sooner. That take has led to a flurry of blame games from both the Biden and Harris camps, which the party wants to quell.

Various members spoke to Axios anonymously about how they felt about Pelosi’s media blitz. They felt it was disrespectful to House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) and, frankly, the California liberal should sit down and shut up (via Axios): 

House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is ticking off some House Democrats for publicly opining on what her party did wrong in 2024. 

Why it matters: Pelosi needs to let House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) lead the caucus, Democrats tell Axios. 

"She needs to take a seat," said one senior Democratic lawmaker. 

"Making scattershot comments is not just unhelpful, it's damaging," said the lawmaker. 

"Hakeem has been tremendously graceful and respectful of her, but I don't think she is being respectful of him," said a member of the Congressional Black Caucus. 

Both lawmakers insisted on anonymity.

Pelosi still instills fear in the members she led for two decades. 

Zoom in: The mounting frustration with Pelosi exists in the private conversations among House Democrats in various corners of the caucus. 

The trouble started when Pelosi agreed to an interview with The New York Times in which she suggested Biden should have dropped out of the race sooner. 

Many of Pelosi's Democratic colleagues privately cheered when she asserted her will over the party this summer by helping push Biden out of the campaign. 

The country's first woman speaker didn't appear to care that Biden's feelings were hurt. "We just have to win the election," she said.

The bottom line: Some Democrats are clearly frustrated Pelosi isn't fading into the sunset like she promised when she lost the gavel two years ago. 

"My advice to my fellow Democrats is simple: Follow the leader. Hakeem Jeffries has done a great job," Pelosi said in 2023. 

"I understand that this is a difficult transition for her, not being the leader, but she is not," the member of the Congressional Black Caucus told us. 

"She needs to understand what her new role is." 

That’s funny: In late July, every Democrat under the sun was pining for someone to push Joe off the political cliff. She got that done, demonstrating the incredible weakness of the Biden presidency. They’re mad because Pelosi isn’t setting things up to turn the page on her lengthy career on the Hill. I understand that part, but she’ll always be elected to Congress based on how that district is arranged. Also, Democrats had opportunities to turn the page on her during the speakership fight when they had the House majority. They had options, and they opted to keep her around. 

Whether her colleagues like to admit it or not, old or not, Pelosi is one of the most lethal political operators on the Hill for them. Ms. Pelosi heading off into the sunset—don’t bet on it.

I do enjoy the infighting, though. 

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