Speaker Nancy Pelosi signals she will mainly give liberals symbolism – Washington Examiner

Speaker Nancy Pelosi reclaimed the gavel of the House of Representatives on Thursday and has already signaled to a new wave of liberal members that she mainly plans to give them symbolism.

After narrowly securing the votes to be elected speaker, the California Democrat is set to hold a vote on a new rules package that is an ominous sign for liberals pushing for a radical, transformational agenda. Among the rules expected to be adopted by the new House is a requirement known as “pay as you go,” which would mandate that any major expansion in spending be offset by tax increases or other spending cuts.

Liberal activists opposed the package because it would be a roadblock to any sort of sweeping changes. Ambitious proposals from liberals (such as free healthcare, free college, free child care, a federal job guarantee, and paid leave) would cost tens of trillions of dollars. Trying to offset such spending to govern within the new rules would require either deep cuts to other government programs or massive, across-the-board tax increases that would make the proposals dramatically less popular.

Though such rules could always be waived in theory, their existence creates another obstacle to instituting major changes. More importantly, their adoption reflects an overall approach to governing by the new House leadership.

From the liberal perspective, Democrats have shown too much interest in trying to prove they’re fiscally responsible, to the detriment of policy goals. After Republicans enacted a major tax cut without offsetting spending cuts, liberals felt emboldened to argue that if the GOP wasn’t going to let deficit concerns stand in the way of their agenda, Democrats shouldn’t unilaterally disarm.

But the new rules are a signal that Democratic leadership is reticent to go too far in embracing radical ideas.

The news about the rules package comes as the Washington Post’s Dave Weigel reports that Democrats plan to hold hearings on socialized healthcare proposals that are being pushed under the “Medicare for all” slogan. Holding such hearings allows liberals to point to “progress” on one of their top priorities and allows Pelosi to point to something saying she’s open to to the far left of the party without having to commit to anything.

Pelosi’s speech as speaker praised the “transformative freshman class” and spoke of goals to “redeem the progress of the American Dream” and be “champions of the middle class.” She referred to climate change as the “existential threat of our time” and touted the formation of yet another committee to address the issue.

While Pelosi has many tools at her disposal to feed the far left, early signs are that she is reluctant to go full speed ahead with the so-called progressive agenda.