Rules are rules, explains House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi. “I don’t know why all this fuss was made about a vote in the caucus,” she says, puzzling over the controversy about the decision to deny pregnant Rep. Tammy Duckworth the ability to vote in the Democratic caucus by proxy from Illinois.
“The rules of the caucus are the same as the rules of the House — no proxy voting,” she said, after she was asked about the controversy by reporters.
Pelosi explained to Duckworth that having her baby would be “the most glorious experience of your life” and a “beautiful expectation” reminding her that the “center of the universe would change” in her life.
Pelosi said that she had a “lovely conversation” with Duckworth about the issue, describing her as “a heroine to our country” but added she wouldn’t change the caucus rules based on a doctor’s note.
“The fact is that we don’t know what’s going on in the lives of many people,” she explained. “You’re going to establish a situation where we’re going to determine who has a note from the doctor that’s valid – it’s really a place we shouldn’t go down.”
But Pelosi’s explanation still didn’t sit right with some – including former White House Deputy Chief of Staff Alyssa Mastromonaco.
“I mean, really? a disabled pregnant war vet congresswoman,” she wrote on Twitter, adding the hashtag #LetTammyVote.