As rumblings of dissatisfaction with House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi grow among Democrats, Rep. Seth Moulton said her future “certainly” needed to be a topic of discussion.
The Massachusetts Democrat, speaking on CNN’s “The Lead with Jake Tapper” Wednesday afternoon, made his comments following his party’s failure to win a closely watched special election in Georgia.
“Whether she’s a leader or not is up for the (Democratic) caucus to decide,” Moulton said. “It’s clear, that I think, across the board in the Democratic Party, we need new leadership. It’s time for a new generation of leadership.”
Moulton said the recent election results necessitated a conversation among Democrats about shaking things up.
“These are the kinds of discussions that we have to be willing to have as a party if we’re going to be able to move forward and earn back the trust of working families across America,” Moulton said.
Moulton backed a longshot challenge to Pelosi’s leadership post from Ohio Rep. Tim Ryan last fall. Pelosi held onto her position by a vote of 134 to 63.
As Moulton raised questions in his Wednesday interview about relitigating that leadership fight, he referred to the need for a “new generation” of leaders in the party. Pelosi has led the Democratic caucus in the House since 2003, and in March said she would have retired had Hillary Clinton won the election.
Moulton acknowledged there was no candidate at the moment challenging the party leadership.
“I don’t know that it’s possible at this point to change our party leadership,” Moulton said. “Someone has got to step up and run.”