Skip to content

Pelosi Rules Out Second Lame Duck

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) shut the door Tuesday on the possibility of the House coming into session in early December to take a second stab at passing an auto industry rescue package.

“I know of no likelihood of us being in session in December,” Pelosi told reporters Tuesday.

If the Senate is unable to pass a proposed $25 billion auto loan bill during this week’s lame-duck session, the next time the House will take up the issue will be in January, Pelosi said.

Pelosi’s stance appears to run counter to comments made earlier Tuesday by other leading Congressional Democrats. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (Md.), Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (Nev.) and Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (Ill.) all left the door open that Congress may need to return next month to revisit the issue.

Democrats have been eager to pass a multibillion dollar rescue package for the ailing auto industry, but their proposal has been met with stiff resistance by Senate Republicans and President George W. Bush.

If the bill fails to advance out of the Senate, House Members may leave town this week without having cast a vote.

“It’s possible we don’t come in at all, but it’s too early to tell,” a senior House Democratic aide said.

Recent Stories

McCarthy promises ‘punishment’ over Bowman fire alarm before vote

Shutdown averted as Biden signs seven-week spending bill

Stopgap funding bills hung up in both chambers

Who are the House Republicans who opposed the stopgap budget bill?

Taking it to the limit — Congressional Hits and Misses

Feinstein broke glass ceilings during decades of Judiciary Committee work