Democrats nominate Pelosi for U.S. House speaker

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House Democrats voted on Wednesday to nominate Representative Nancy Pelosi for U.S. House speaker.

Pelosi, 78, ran unopposed as the nominee for speaker in a closed-door Democratic caucus election despite an entrenched rebellion against her.

"I'm proud to be the nominee of the House Democratic caucus once again for speaker of the House," she told reporters.

Out of 239 votes cast, 203 Democratic members voted in favor of Pelosi being the speaker, with 32 voting against. Three votes were blank and one member was absent.

U.S. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (L2, front) leaves the Congressional Auditorium during a break in the House Democrats' organizational caucus meetings in Washington, November 28, 2018. /VCG Photo

The California Democrat needs 218 votes, the majority of the full House, to be elected speaker. The vote will occur on the House floor January 3, the first day of the incoming Congress.

House Democrats have at least 233-vote majority in the new Congress, but some Democratic lawmakers have pledged that they won't back Pelosi for speaker.

Pelosi predicted the opposition will not stymie her speakership, saying that she expects to "have a powerful vote as we go forward."

A master legislator and political strategist, Pelosi was the first woman to be House speaker and held the position from 2007 to 2011 after Democrats took control of the lower chamber in the 2006 midterm elections.

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Source(s): Xinhua News Agency