There is simply no "Plan B," according to Connolly and others.
One of the most important, unavoidable questions for a Pelosi-led House will be the question of whether to begin hearings on a possible impeachment of Trump. Outside groups, including billionaire Tom Steyer’s Need to Impeach movement, argue that the president has already committed offenses that meet the constitutional threshold for impeachment.
Pelosi has rejected this strategy and said during the campaign that calls from some Democrats for impeachment were “a gift to Republicans” that would anger and arouse the GOP voter base.
Yet she hasn’t completely ruled out starting the process to remove Trump from office -- perhaps depending on the outcome of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s probe of Russian interference in the 2016 election. But Pelosi has made it clear that she wants to pursue policy objectives to build a case for further electoral victories in 2020, rather than seeking impeachment for political reasons.
Pelosi told the New York Times last week that House Democrats plan to start with an overhaul of campaign and ethics laws, followed by a infrastructure proposal that could tempt Trump to make a deal on one of his most universally liked campaign pledges. Significant investments in infrastructure didn’t get off the ground because Republican leaders were unwilling to spend federal money.
Pelosi said Democrats will pursue their own proposals to control rising drug prices -- another Trump promise that is broadly popular. Addressing climate change and environmental protection will be on the agenda, Pelosi said, because of the urgent need for action and because it would put Republicans on the defensive in many swing districts.
Pelosi’s Challenge
The challenge for Pelosi, who has a legendary ability to keep her members in line, will be to balance the moderate platform some swing-district Democrats used to oust incumbent Republicans with an increasingly strident left wing. With some new members promising Medicare for all Americans, overhauling immigration enforcement and raising the federal minimum wage, a Democratic speaker must keep those members from becoming an obstructionist bloc like the far-right Freedom Caucus in the GOP.
For the GOP, soon to be in the minority, the familiar conservative squabbles will be the most immediate problem for the No. 2 Republican, Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy of California. Formerly viewed as the leading candidate to succeed Ryan as speaker, now he must build support to become minority leader.
The loss of McCarthy’s path to the speakership continues what has been a sort of curse for House majority leaders. Only one of McCarthy’s seven predecessors in the No. 2 leadership position -- John Boehner -- has gone on to become speaker, and he served four years as minority leader first.