House Democrats nominate Pelosi as Speaker for 2 more yrs

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U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Washington, (Asian independent) Democrats of the US House of Representatives have nominated Speaker Nancy Pelosi to the top of a party she has led since 2003, marking the longest period since 1961.

Pelosi, aged 80, was approved on Wednesday with a private caucus voice vote conducted virtually, reports Xinhua news agency.

The caucus also re-elected Steny Hoyer as Majority Leader and Jim Clyburn as Majority Whip.

All the three ran unopposed.

In a speech accepting the nomination, Pelosi vowed to work with President-elected Joe Biden to tackle issues including health care, environmental protections and police reforms.

“As we go forward with liberty and justice for all, we must do so listening to the American people, listening to each other with respect, acting to unify,” she told the caucus.

Pelosi will still need to secure a simple majority of the full House in January 2021 to be sworn in again as Speaker.

Addressing the media after the vote, Pelosi told reporters that her upcoming term as Speaker will be her last.

“I don’t want to undermine any leverage I may have… But I made the statement,” she said.

During the 2020 presidential election, Republicans flipped nearly a dozen seats with several party candidates leading in uncalled races, said a The Hill report.

It added that House Democrats are expected to hold the thinnest majority in the next session since the World War II.