8/11/2023 0 Comments Eloquent find by column![]() ![]() ![]() She nurtured his ambitions soon after he was elected to the House on his second try in 2014, helping him secure a seat on the Appropriations Committee in only his second term and then in 2021 naming him to the committee investigating the January 6 th attack on the Capitol, an appointment she called “a real recognition of the value we placed on his leadership.” Pelosi reminded me she had made sure Aguilar “had visibility with some of our folks in Southern California” when he first ran, and lost, for a House seat in 2012. The speaker emerita, as she now goes by, was eager to discuss his ascent. Working in his favor is that Pelosi is thrilled by Aguilar rise, claiming pride of political parentage in his career. “I benefited from learning from her, spending time with her, watching her build relationships,” Aguilar said of Pelosi, adding: “Nobody is going to recreate that in four months.” Affable and respectful of his seniors, and seniority, he’s taking care to step gingerly, though. While remaining in Congress, at least through this term, Pelosi’s turn to emeritus status has raised the question of who will take her place when she retires, not as the Gentlelady from San Francisco but as California’s Boss in Washington.Īguilar’s move toward taking command of next year’s House races back home makes clear he’d like to step into that position. That may soon change, and particularly if Pelosi is joined out the door by her longtime lieutenants, lawmakers like Lofgren, Thompson and Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.). There has not been any question who led the delegation from America’s largest state. It’s impossible to overstate the role she played in her home state in her two decades as leader or speaker, whether with fundraising, mentoring or perhaps her favorite role, appropriating money for California projects. Most significant to California, of course, was the decision last year by Nancy Pelosi to step down from the leadership after Democrats lost the majority. And many of their contemporaries in the 70-and-up category - lawmakers like Maxine Waters, Zoe Lofgren and Mike Thompson - find themselves in the minority and without the committee gavels they understandably crave at this stage of their career.įurther, the Democratic leaders in both chambers of Congress are New Yorkers and the Democrat in the White House is also from the Northeast and lacks the affinity for California (or the Pacific broadly) of the party’s other recent presidents. House fixtures like Henry Waxman, George Miller and Jane Harman long ago headed for the exits. Their powerhouse senators, Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer, are no more, with Boxer retired and Feinstein suffering a painful, public decline on the way to her own retirement after next year. His step forward, though, is about far more than just maximizing his party’s House pick-ups in California.Īfter a generation of carrying outsized clout in Washington, California Democrats are waning. With Democrats needing to net just five seats to take back the House, the majority could effectively be determined when the votes are all counted in California, raising the stakes on Aguilar’s intervention. “They’re going to know how to find me, I’m going to go to these districts,” Aguilar told me, joking that he was eager to play the role of congressional rabbi even if he was “raised Catholic.” Beyond financial help, he wants to play the role of sherpa for the candidates, helping them navigate policy and politics through the duration of the general election.
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