House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., announced that she will run again for the top position in her conference, but she was offended by the suggestion that she’s too old to continue in the post.
“I have made the decision, that some of you may have some interest in, in order to continue work in empowering women, to making sure that our Affordable Care Act is enforced in a way to make sure that being a woman is no longer a preexisting condition . . . I have made a decision to submit my name to my colleagues to once again serve as Democratic House Leader,” Pelosi said today.
When NBC’s Luke Russert asked if she was preventing younger leaders from advancing in the party, Pelosi took offense and implied it was a sexist question.
“You’ve always asked that question except to [Republican Senate Minority Leader] Mitch McConnell,” she told the reporter, who framed his question as a comment made privately by some Democrats. Other members of Congress standing with her accused the reporter of “age discrimination.”
“Let’s for a moment honor it as a legitimate question — although it’s quite offensive, though you don’t realize it I guess,” Pelosi continued when he followed up. “No.” Before that final denial, Pelosi said that she has always worked to promote younger leaders.
Russert tweeted, after the question, that “While Pelosi laughed off my [question] as age-ist, many House Ds will privately gripe it hurts caucus that all 3 leaders are 70+.”
