Today on the Hill: Pelosi Strikes Deal With Foes Likely Ensuring Speakership

House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) struck a deal with a group of insurgent Democratic lawmakers that will likely ensure she’ll have the votes she needs to claim the speaker’s gavel in the 116^th Congress. The agreement would limit her tenure and that of Whip Steny Hoyer (D-MD) and Assistant Leader Jim Clyburn (D-SC) to no more than four additional years. Despite potential opposition to the rule from within the caucus, Leader Pelosi stated she will abide by this agreement regardless of whether House Democrats vote to approve a rule change that would limit their top three leaders to no more than four two-year terms.

On the floor, the Senate plans to vote on a resolution (S.J.Res.54) ­­— proposed as a rebuke for the killing of columnist Jamal Khashoggi — that seeks to withdraw U.S. support for Saudi Arabia's military campaign in Yemen. The House will also take up a resolution (H.Res. 1091) calling on the Government of Burma to release Reuters’ journalists Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo from imprisonment.

In notable midterm election developments, State lawmakers in North Carolina approved legislation that would require new primaries if the state elections board calls for a second vote of a congressional election — opening the door for an entirely new race in The Tar Heel State's disputed 9th Congressional District. North Carolina’s State Board of Elections and Ethics Enforcement, which has not certified the race, is expected to hold a hearing in the coming weeks to explore credible allegations of election fraud with respect to illegally handled or altered absentee ballots.