Nancy Pelosi was elected House speaker Thursday afternoon as expected, but not without some Democratic defections — one of whom preferred someone totally unexpected.
A total of 15 Democrats voted for someone other than Pelosi, with three voting "present," per Talking Point Memo's Cameron Joseph. Everyone else voted for candidates who had not actually been nominated, with the most surprising name being tossed out by Rep. Anthony Brindisi (D-N.Y.): he voted for former Vice President Joe Biden.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
An ancient Israeli cave is teaching us new archaeological lessonsThe Explainer The cave is believed to be one of the world's oldest burial sites
-
Music reviews: Tyler Childers and MadonnaFeature "Snipe Hunter" and "Veronica Electronica"
-
Art review: Noah DavisFeature Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, through Aug. 31
-
House committee subpoenas Epstein filesSpeed Read The House Oversight Committee has issued a subpoena to the Justice Department for its Jeffrey Epstein files with an Aug. 19 deadline
-
India rejects Trump threat over Russian oilSpeed Read The president said he would raise tariffs on India for buying and selling Russian oil
-
NY's Hochul vows response to Texas gerrymanderSpeed Read Gov. Kathy Hochul has promised to play ball with redistricting that favors the Democrats
-
Texas Democrats exit state to block redistricting voteSpeed Read More than 51 legislators fled the state in protest of the GOP's plan to redraw congressional districts
-
Trump criticized for firing BLS chief after jobs reportSpeed Read Bureau of Labor Statistics chief Erika McEntarfer oversaw a July jobs report that the president claims was rigged
-
Trump revives K-12 Presidential Fitness TestSpeed Read The Obama administration phased the test out in 2012, replacing it with a program focused on overall health rather than standardized benchmarks
-
El Salvador scraps term limits, boosting Nayib BukeleSpeed Read New constitutional changes will allow presidents to seek reelection an indefinite number of times
-
Trump assigns tariffs, delays all except on CanadaSpeed Read A 35% tariff on many Canadian goods has gone into effect
