Pelosi: I’d be a ‘transitional figure’ if Dems retake House

House Minority Leader Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said she saw herself as “a transitional figure” if Democrats take control of the House of Representatives after November’s midterm elections. 

Though she expressed confidence she would again become Speaker should Democrats win control of the chamber, she did not give a timeframe for how long she would want to remain in that post, according to an interview with the Los Angeles Times.

{mosads}“I see myself as a transitional figure,” said Pelosi. “I have things to do. Books to write, places to go, grandchildren, first and foremost, to love.” 

But she also noted: “Do you think I would make myself a lame duck right here over this double-espresso?” 

Pelosi added she felt it was important to remain in office at least through the remainder of President Trump’s term.

“I feel a very strong responsibility to stay in this office for at least the next two years while he’s president,” Pelosi said. “And let’s hope it doesn’t go any longer than that for him.” 

Pelosi became the House’s first female Speaker in 2007 but lost the post in 2010 when Republican took the chamber.

She added she would like to hand the Speaker’s gavel off to another woman, but also noted she would not hand-pick her successor. 

“Whoever is next is not up to me,” she said. “If I were saying, ‘I want so-and-so to be my successor,’ that’s not right.”

Pelosi has become a drag for some Democrats running in tight House races as Republicans have sought to tie those candidates with the San Francisco congresswoman.

An NBC News tally in August found that 58 House Democratic candidates and incumbents will not support her as Speaker if Democrats take back the House in November.

Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.), who is currently the third highest ranking Democrat in the House, and Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), currently the House Minority Whip, have both expressed interest in the House’s top job.