Waters backs ‘steady, experienced’ Pelosi for Speaker

Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) called on House Democrats to support Nancy Pelosi’s (D-Calif.) bid for Speaker amid opposition to her ascension from more than a dozen rebels.

Waters, the top Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee, said “there is no one more qualified to lead our caucus than” Pelosi in a Wednesday evening letter to House Democrats.

“The steady, experienced leadership of Nancy Pelosi is vital as we restore order, decorum and the system of checks and balances so fundamental to our democracy,” she wrote.

{mosads}Waters is the latest veteran Democrat to back Pelosi’s campaign for House Speaker as a cadre of young lawmakers seek to replace her.

Pelosi has brushed off threats to derail her Speakership, insisting that she has sufficient support in the caucus to lead the party in the House.

“I have overwhelming support within my caucus to be Speaker of the House, and certainly we have many, many people in our caucus who could serve in this capacity,” Pelosi said during a Thursday press conference.

Waters, in line to become the first woman to chair the Financial Services panel, would be one of Pelosi’s top allies as Speaker. In her letter, Waters touted Pelosi’s work passing the Affordable Care Act, the Dodd-Frank banking reform law and the 2009 stimulus package in the face of GOP attacks.

“Republicans have spent years demonizing the women in the Democratic caucus,” Waters wrote. “They have done everything they can to tarnish the reputation of Leader Pelosi, myself and countless others who represent change and progress.”

The coalition of roughly 20 Democrats opposing Pelosi is seeking a female challenger to the Democratic leader, after critics questioned their efforts to oppose the first female Speaker of the House.

“I’m a woman, and a lot of our new members are women, and they should not be made to feel that they are anti-woman if they don’t want to vote for Nancy Pelosi,” said Rep. Kathleen Rice (D-N.Y.), a Pelosi critic, on Wednesday.

“We have an enormous number of talented women in the caucus — an enormous number.”