Trump jumps in to offer aid to Democrat Pelosi’s speaker bid
WASHINGTON — Democrats won the majority. Now they just need a speaker of the House.
The standoff over Nancy Pelosi’s bid to regain the gavel intensified as Democrats left Washington for the Thanksgiving break in what has turned out to be an unsettling finish to an otherwise triumphant week that saw them welcome a historic class of newcomers to Capitol Hill and prepare to take control from Republicans.
President Donald Trump is jumping in to offer some help, saying Saturday that he could “perform a wonderful service” by rounding up Republican votes for Pelosi’s candidacy. Trump says he genuinely likes Pelosi and looks forward to working with her, but it’s an almost unheard of proposition for the party that relied on the California Democrat as a chief villain on the campaign trail.
“I would help Nancy Pelosi if she needs some votes,” Trump told reporters as he left the White House for a trip to survey the devastation from the California wildfires. “I like her, can you believe it? I like Nancy Pelosi. She’s tough and she’s smart, but she deserves to be speaker, and now they’re playing games with her, just like they’ll be playing with me.”