Incoming progressive Democrats who defeated long-serving Democrat incumbents declined Sunday to support a Jan. 3 vote to reelect House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., as the leader of the party.
"What I'm going to do is make sure that the voices of the people of St. Louis are heard and that we have what we need, and so you will find out then," Rep.-elect Cori Bush, D-Mo., told CNN's Dana Bash on Sunday's "State of the Union."
"That's not a yes," Bash responded.
"I'm working with my community," Bush, who is Missouri's first Black female representative, said.
Bash turned to Rep.-elect Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., who similarly demurred.
"You will find out when my vote is tallied, and, again, organizing with our community to figure out what's best," Bowman said.
Deflecting, a larger priority for Bowman is HR 40, a bill to establish the Commission to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African-Americans.
"We got to bring HR-40 to the floor for a vote," he told Bash. "We need reparations for the African-American community.
"We need a federal jobs guarantee. We need Medicare for all."
Eric Mack ✉
Eric Mack has been a writer and editor at Newsmax since 2016. He is a 1998 Syracuse University journalism graduate and a New York Press Association award-winning writer.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.