Democrats returned Representative Nancy Pelosi of California to the House speakership on Sunday for what may be her final term, handing a tested leader control of the slimmest majority in almost two decades as Washington prepares for a new Democratic president.
The nearly party-line vote punctuated an opening day marked more by precaution than pomp, as the 117th Congress convened under the threat of a deadly pandemic and awaited a pair of Senate runoffs in Georgia that will determine control of that chamber.
Several House members sick with Covid-19 missed the session altogether and others cast their votes from behind a plexiglass enclosure specially constructed in a gallery overlooking the chamber.
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The House voted 216-209 for Pelosi over Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) with three members voting “present.†In a stark difference from previous elections, there were hardly any defections from either party, as members such as Reps. Jim Cooper (D-Tenn.) and Ron Kind (D-Wis.) broke tradition and voted for Pelosi.
