Now that Democrats have won back the House the decision of who should become Speaker is front and center, and Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi is once again facing the usual challengers.
Pelosi’s record is stronger than any House Speaker in probably a century. She was even named the most effective Speaker of the House in at least 75 years – by a conservative.
Republicans hate Pelosi, for the very reason she is so effective and successful. But some Democrats have taken on the GOP’s talking points, including their attacks on her age, and even run on a platform of promising to not vote to elect her Speaker.
The Speaker of the House is far from an honorary title. They decide what bills to pass, help advance a Democratic agenda, and are second in the line of succession to the Presidency. Which means if President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence are unable to fulfill their duties, the Speaker would become President.
One of the possible candidates who is considering running for Speaker against Nancy Pelosi is Ohio Democratic Rep. Marcia Fudge.
Rep. Fudge is one of only two House Democrats who refused to support the LGBT Equality Act. The bill, introduced in May of 2017 by Rep. David Cicilline, would “prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex, gender identity, and sexual orientation.”
The bill would amend two major civil rights laws to ban anti-LGBT discrimination in “education, employment, housing, credit, Federal jury service, public accommodations, and the use of Federal funds.”
When introduced, it was supported by 241 Members of Congress: 46 Democratic Senators, 194 Democratic Representatives, and even one Republican Congresswoman.
But not Rep. Fudge, and not Illinois Democratic Congressman Dan Lipinski, who holds anti-LGBT views and beliefs in keeping with the Christian right.
(Here is the list of sponsors of the Equality Act, also known as H.B. 2282. Here is the text of the bill.)
Congresswoman Fudge says she is weighing a challenge to Leader Pelosi, and says it’s about diversity.
“When you look at the people who support this party the most, they are women and African Americans and especially African American women,” Fudge told Cleveland.com. “We keep talking about diversity, but there is nothing diverse about the top of our ticket. We have to not just talk the talk, but walk the walk.”
It’s unclear if she was referring to Pelosi as an example of lack of diversity, but the Democratic Leader was elected the first woman Speaker of the House.
And diversity includes LGBT people too.
NCRM reached out to Rep. Fudge’s office for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
Image by Tim Evanson via Flickr and a CC license