Democrats nominate Nancy Pelosi for speakership of House

Washington, Nov 29 (IANS) US House Democrats voted on Wednesday to nominate Representative Nancy Pelosi for speakership in the new Congress. Pelosi, 78, ran unopposed as the nominee for speaker in a closed-door Democratic caucus election despite an entrenched rebellion against her, Xinhua news agency reported. "I'm proud to be the nominee of the House Democratic caucus once again for speaker of the House," she told reporters, though the hand counting of ballots was reportedly still underway. The California Democrat needs 218 votes, the majority of the full House, to be elected speaker. Democrats have at least 233-vote majority in the new Congress starting January, but some Democratic lawmakers have pledged that they won't back Pelosi for speaker. 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.
--IANS kk/sc