Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) in a new interview guaranteed House Democrats not only would retain their majority but she'd lock it up before this Christmas.
"I’m going to have our races won by this November," Pelosi told the Washington Post in a story published Saturday.
Pelosi said her most endangered members were shoring up support back home with constant town halls, and she said she'd continue to do a better job of focusing on the messaging aspect of her position, rather than just focusing on legislation.
She warned Republicans will "think twice" about running against Democrats and taunted that they would find themselves in the minority regardless of victory, so why bother.
"We fully intend to win this election, and some of you are vulnerable. It’s going to cost you millions of dollars, to win or lose. And if you win—say you win—you're in the minority, probably want to teach at the university," Pelosi said. "So we get the A-team, and they get the retirements. That's my plan."
With Republicans still in control of the White House and the U.S. Senate, Pelosi's caucus has been unable to get any significant legislation signed into law. Even passing a universal background check bill came with a headache when Republicans won over 26 Democrats on an amendment where Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) would be notified when an illegal immigrant purchased a gun.
Freshman star Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D., N.Y.) berated the Democrats who joined the GOP in the vote. Pelosi also had to deal with the fallout from anti-Semitic comments by Rep. Ilhan Omar (D., Minn.) culminating in a watered-down resolution condemning all forms of hate in March, and she's shot down calls for impeachment from some of the more aggressive members of her new caucus.
Increasingly left-wing policies being espoused by the wide field of 2020 presidential candidates could also endanger the swing-district Democrats that helped Pelosi's party win back the majority. While far-left lawmakers like Ocasio-Cortez and Omar have gotten the magazine covers, it was candidates like Rep. Lucy McBath (D., Ga.) in Georgia's 6th district and Rep. Max Rose (D., N.Y.) in New York's 11th district that catapulted Democrats to victory.
Pelosi's first run in the Speakership spanned the last two years and first two years of the George W. Bush and Barack Obama administrations, respectively. House Democrats were crushed in 2010 following her work to pass Obamacare and Pelosi's party remained in the minority for eight years until taking back the majority in 2018.