Following the 2020 election, the Democratic Party's margin of victory in the House of Representatives was greatly reduced. They now have only 222 seats compared to the Republicans' 212, with one seat remaining undecided.
Because of this very narrow margin, and with fears that the progressives in the House may hold her speakership hostage in exchange for some concessions, Pelosi could not afford anybody not being present to give her the Speaker's gavel for another two years.
Moore, a Pelosi ally, flew to Washington. She wrote in a tweet that her quarantine period had ended and she was cleared for travel just six days after she first announced that she would be self-isolating.
Moore announced that she tested positive for the coronavirus on Dec. 28, although she failed to divulge when she was tested. In a tweet she wrote, she announced that she had completed her quarantine in just six days and was "medically cleared to travel and work on behalf of Wisconsin's Fourth Congressional District."
According to revised guidelines put out by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, quarantines after a positive test can be cut down to between seven to 10 days. Even if Moore had cut down her quarantine to just one week, she still should not be allowed to travel to cast her vote.
Moore's actions are further suspect because her spokesperson has not responded directly to news outlets when asked if the representative from Wisconsin has tested negative for COVID-19 before her trip to the Capitol.
"All I know is she has been working with her doctors and she has been cleared to travel," said Samara Sheff, Moore's press secretary. (Related: Obama and Pelosi didn't win elections in the last decade, it was Dominion.)
Pelosi decision to allow Moore to travel strongly criticized
House Republicans have gone on the offensive, castigating Pelosi for allowing Moore to travel to the Capitol, putting both her health and the health of her colleagues at risk by doing so.
According to Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, it was "wrong" for the Democratic Party to allow Moore to vote on Sunday so soon after she tested positive for COVID-19.
"Pelosi is putting the public's health at risk to keep herself in power," said Rep. Ken Buck of Colorado.
"Looks like Speaker Pelosi's proxy voting and remote hearing measures are only essential when her leadership position isn't on the line," said Rep. Bruce Westerman of Arkansas in a tweet.
Westerman is referencing new rules that will allow representatives to vote for Speaker remotely or by proxy. Unfortunately for Pelosi, these rules didn't take effect until Monday, Jan. 4 – exactly one day after the vote for the speakership.
The double standards shown by Pelosi and Moore are heightened by the fact that several other members of congress were absent from the proceedings due to medical and personal concerns.
Reps.-elect Maria Elvira Salazar of Florida and David Valadao of California, both of whom are Republicans, missed the speakership election following their recent positive COVID-19 test results.
Democratic Rep. Alcee Hastings of Florida was absent because of his ongoing battle with pancreatic cancer, and Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland did not attend the speakership election due to the sudden death of his 25-year-old son.
Additionally, Democratic Rep. Rick Larsen of Washington also recently tested positive for the coronavirus. But Larsen attended the speakership election, ending his quarantine after 11 days.
In the end, Pelosi won two more years as Speaker of the House with 216 votes for. She only needed 214 to retain the speakership. Minority Leader McCarthy received 209 votes, while Democratic Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York received one vote and three House Democrats answered "present" when called to cast their vote. Democratic Sen. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois received one vote for speaker despite not being a member of the House.
Pelosi will preside over the slimmest majority ever held by any party in the House of Representatives in two decades.
Learn more about how politicians are instituting coronavirus rules that do not apply to them by reading the latest articles at Pandemic.news.
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