Thaindian News

WASHINGTON D.C. (BNO NEWS) — House Democrats on Wednesday re-elected Rep. Nancy Pelosi to remain as their leader in the new Congress.

Pelosi, 70, was voted to remain as the Democrats leader despite her party lost the majority in the Congress after the midterm elections. She defeated moderate Democratic Rep. Heath Shuler of North Carolina by 150-43.

The election took place in a secret balloting held in a lengthy closed-door meeting of House Democrats in the Capitol. Pelosi, the first female House speaker, won the balloting despite the massive party losses in the congressional elections that caused some lawmakers to call for a new leadership.

Earlier on Wednesday, 68 of Pelosi’s fellow Democrats voted to delay the election until next month in order to give more time to voters to analyze the midterm elections results. On Election Day, Democrats lost 61 seats and Pelosi was expected to step aside as leader following the horrible results.

However, Pelosi remained popular among the liberals that dominate the party’s House caucus. Many House Democrats defended the speaker and pointed out that the bad economy and high unemployment were the reasons for the election losses.

Meanwhile, Republicans voted to elect their new leader, who after the election results will be the majority leader of the Congress. John Boehner of Ohio was selected to become the speaker of the House in January and the party members elected Eric Cantor as its majority leader. He was unopposed for the position.

Cantor, 47, will be in charge of scheduling the daily floor proceedings in order to help determine what bills will be brought up for action. Cantor has become one of the leading critics of President Barack Obama.