Billionaire Democratic activist Tom Steyer heaped praise on Democratic Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (Calif.), during an exclusive CNBC interview but stopped short of endorsing her to lead the party after November's elections.
"Nancy is my congressperson. I have enormous regard for her professionally and personally. I think she is astonishingly good in terms of running the Congress and as a Democratic leader," Steyer told CNBC.
When asked whether he would back Pelosi depending on the outcome of the House elections, he demurred.
"I think that is a whole bunch of hypotheticals that I have no idea the outcome of," Steyer said. "Nancy is doing an incredibly good job in terms of rallying people in November. She's stood up in a lot of issues and gotten pilloried sometimes for that."
CNBC reports Steyer has donated thousands of dollars to Pelosi over the years and also hosted a fundraiser for her last June.
Steyer has donated to Pelosi in past races, including when she ran for re-election in California's 12th District in 2016. During that cycle, he gave $48,800 to her joint fundraising committee, the Nancy Pelosi Victory Fund. Steyer gave $32,500 to the same group in 2011, according to Federal Election Commission filings.
In June 2017, Steyer and his wife hosted the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee's Speaker's Cabinet Dinner and Discussion in San Francisco with Pelosi. The event raised a total of $593,500 for the DCCC.
Several months ago, Pelosi told Steyer his campaign for the impeachment of President Donald Trump was a "distraction."
Days later, Pelosi said impeaching Trump "is not a place I think we should go."
Steyer has shown his willingness to buck the national party's candidates by endorsing Sen. Dianne Feinstein's (D., Calif.) primary challenger state Senate President Pro Tempore Kevin de Leon.