On Sunday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi avoided a question about whether she would seek re-election as speaker if Democrats kept control of the House after the 2022 midterm elections.
Since being elected speaker of the House in 2007, Pelosi has led Democrats in the chamber, making history as the first woman to do so. CNN's Jake Tapper questioned her on Sunday morning if she planned to keep looking for that job.
Pelosi says Billionaires' tax would generate $200-$250 billion in revenue
The results of the November 2022 elections in the United States will decide if Democrats keep control of the House of Representatives and whether Pelosi is eligible to continue as a speaker. On January 3 of this year, House members re-elected Pelosi to serve as Speaker of the House for the 117th Congress.
Per Business Insider, Pelosi served as Speaker of the House from 2007 to 2011 but was deposed by then-Rep. John Boehner, a Republican from Ohio, after Republicans won control of the House that year. Former Wisconsin Republican Rep. Paul Ryan served as Speaker of the House from 2015 to 2019 until Pelosi was re-elected after Democrats regained control of the chamber.
Former President Donald Trump warned his followers earlier this month not to vote in 2022 or 2024 unless the Republican Party supported his unproven election fraud claims. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, a Republican, reacted negatively to Trump's remarks, advising Republicans to "stop listening to grifters telling you not to vote."
On Sunday, the House Speaker stated that a wealth tax would "probably" be enacted. Still, it will only cover "10 percent of what we need" to fund the social spending measure currently being debated in Congress, as per Newsweek.
She estimated that a tax on billionaires' assets would generate $200 billion to $250 billion in revenue over ten years. Among other things, the package intends to enhance childcare, paid leave, Medicare, and housing, as well as combat the climate issue.
House Speaker remains positive in reaching bipartisan agreement
On CNN on Sunday, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen indicated that a tax suggested by Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden would tax unrealized capital gains on liquid assets held by billionaires on an annual basis.
Republicans have chastised Democrats over planned taxing and spending bills that are now being debated, claiming that they will raise inflation and pose other risks. Meanwhile, the National Taxpayers Union claims that a billionaire tax would make company investors struggle and add more bureaucracy to the tax system.
Democrats expect to reach an "agreement" on a framework for President Joe Biden's vast social safety net proposal and vote on the bipartisan infrastructure measure in the next week, according to Pelosi.
"I think we're pretty much there now," Pelosi said when asked whether they'll have a compromise on the Democrats' spending bill by the time Biden departs for Europe later this week, Local News 8 reported.
According to the source, the exact cost of the bigger proposal is unknown, but Manchin has told Democratic leaders that he's open to $1.75 trillion.
Pelosi expressed hope that the bill's details would be resolved during a Sunday morning meeting at the President's residence in Delaware between Biden, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, and Manchin, who has been one of the package's two key holdouts.
In a tweet posted during Pelosi's on-air appearance, Pelosi's deputy chief of staff and spokesperson Drew Hammill swiftly clarified that Pelosi meant just the tax package is being pushed in the Senate.
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