Nancy Pelosi steps down as the most accomplished congressional leader of her era, and probably the most successful House speaker of all time in terms of legislative impact. But if there was a flaw in her tenure, it’s the one revealed as she announced her plans to step aside: House Democrats will now be led by people with little meaningful experience or national profile.
This is in contrast to the recent musical chairs among House Republicans. When John Boehner took over as speaker in 2011, he’d already been the No. 2 person in the Republican leadership. When he stepped aside in 2015 he was replaced by Paul Ryan, the main architect of Boehner-era GOP policy priorities and a former vice presidential candidate. When Ryan, in turn, stepped down in 2019, he was replaced as GOP leader by Kevin McCarthy, who’d been the No. 2 guy under both Ryan and Boehner.
Representative Hakeem Jeffries, though seen for years as the heir apparent, is the fourth-ranking House Democrat — not No. 2 — and has never chaired a committee.
