House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s days as Speaker of the House are numbered.
Pelosi is not expected to run for the position again should Democrats manage to win back control of the House of Representatives in the 2022 election — and her likely replacement is an unfamiliar name to many voters.
Meet House Speaker Katherine Clark.
Clark, D-M.A., continued her climb through the ranks of the Democratic leadership on Capitol Hill in the 2020 election to the assistant speaker.
That makes her the fourth-ranking member in the chamber, which remains in the hands of Democrats for at least one more year. Should Republicans falter in the 2022 election, Clark would likely take the next step.
She was first elected to the House in 2013 in a special election to fill the seat belonging to U.S. Rep. Edward Markey, D-Mass., who had won a special election to fill a Senate seat left vacant by John Kerry’s appointment as secretary of state by former President Barack Obama.
Her biggest challenger would be Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., the House Democratic caucus leader.
Clark’s rapid rise to power within the Democratic Party has caught the attention of political insiders, who are openly speculating that she’s next in line for the coveted speaker post.
Since her first election, “Clark has built up a pile of chits in just under eight years in Congress, rising to assistant speaker — her party’s fourth highest-ranking slot in the House, and just one notch ahead of Jeffries,” Axios reported. “Bonds she’s made helping freshmen members settle into their new jobs have not only given her a network of friends and supporters but loyalists she can tap in a speakership battle.”
When asked directly if she’s the best person for the job, Clark refused to share her opinion.
“I don’t know,” she told Axios. “But, I can tell you that those are going to be tall stilettos to fill.”
Democratic Caucus Vice Chair Katherine Clark, D-Mass., accompanied by Democratic Caucus Chairman Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of N.Y., left, speaks at a news conference following a House Democratic Caucus meeting on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2019. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
The Horn editorial team