![\"(AP](\"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Congress-Education_Jank-1-780x439.jpg\")
<\/a>(AP Photo\/Susan Walsh)<\/p><\/div><\/p>\n
By State House News Service<\/p>\n
STATE HOUSE\u00a0\u2013 As Democrats in Congress regroup after losing the White House and prepare for life under a President Donald Trump, talks are escalating over a change of leadership in the House and Massachusetts delegation members have emerged as among the most vocal in that unfolding debate.<\/p>\n
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi assented Tuesday to a delay in leadership elections until after Thanksgiving, giving Democrats who have been in the House minority since 2011 time to assess how they want to move forward. The election had been scheduled for Thursday, but is now planned for Nov. 30.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, House Republicans moved quickly Tuesday to unanimously renominate Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin for speaker setting up an easy vote come January when the next Congress is seated and quelling talk of divisions within the House GOP caucus.<\/p>\n
While several Bay State representatives have fared well under Pelosi\u2019s leadership, newcomer Rep. Seth Moulton of Salem spearheaded the effort to delay the vote and some more veteran members of the delegation have signaled the time may be right for a change.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is broad angst in the Democratic caucus,\u201d Rep. Richard Neal, the dean of the delegation from Springfield, told reporters Tuesday, according to the Washington Post. \u201cTo stick with the same message over four bad election cycles is a mistake,\u201d he said. \u201cI think part of it is that the messengers have to change.\u201d<\/p>\n
No Massachusetts members of Congress have called outright for Pelosi to be replaced, but several have said it\u2019s a topic worth discussing after Trump\u2019s victory sent shock waves through the party and led Democratic leaders nationally and in Massachusetts to reconsider the party\u2019s core message and how it gets delivered to voters.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs we begin the 115th Congress, House Democrats must take the time to reflect on the message the American people sent us last Tuesday. Delaying the vote on leadership positions is the necessary first step to have that conversation. The American people cried out last week and we\u2019ve got to listen,\u201d Moulton said in a statement after Tuesday\u2019s decision to delay.<\/p>\n
After a decade of Pelosi leading the House Democratic caucus in both the minority and majority, Ohio Congressman Tim Ryan is reportedly mulling a challenge to the California lawmaker.<\/p>\n
\u201cI love Nancy Pelosi, but I\u2019m a coach. I kind of think there comes a time\u2026The Democratic caucus has to go back real clearly and have this discussion and we will be doing that,\u201d U.S. Rep. Michael Capuano said last week during an appearance on WGBH\u2019s \u201cGreater Boston.\u201d<\/p>\n
Capuano was joined for that segment by House colleagues Reps. Niki Tsongas and Joseph Kennedy.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think we have to go back and have the conversation about what\u2019s next,\u201d Tsongas said about Pelosi\u2019s continued leadership.<\/p>\n
<\/span>On Tuesday, Tsongas said she appreciated Pelosi\u2019s \u201ctimely decision to delay the leadership elections, recognizing that our caucus needs more time to fully examine and discuss the election results as we make decisions about the way forward for our party in the House of Representatives.\u201d<\/p>\n The Lowell Democrat, however, also signed on to a letter circulated last week by California Rep. Doris Matsui among the 54 members of the House Democratic Women\u2019s Caucus urging Pelosi to \u201ccontinue as the Leader for our party and our nation.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe believe that now, more than ever, our Caucus and our country need your strategic, battle-tested leadership to guide us through the years ahead,\u201d the letter read. \u201cAfter everything that happened in this campaign, the defeat of Hillary Clinton is an especially heavy blow to the aspirations of young women and girls. They need to see the first woman Speaker \u2013 and every woman Member of Congress \u2013 standing firm in the halls of power, continuing the fight for their rights, their dignity, and their dreams.\u201d<\/p>\n At least 50 of the 54 women in the House signed the letter, according to a Congressional aide. U.S. Rep. Katherine Clark, the other woman in the state\u2019s delegation, also signed the letter supporting Pelosi, according to a staffer.<\/p>\n Kennedy, during his appearance on \u201cGreater Boston\u201d last Wednesday, said: \u201cI\u2019m a fan of leader Pelosi, but I think there\u2019s certainly going to be a conversation going forward about what our caucus needs to do, but she\u2019s done a great job.\u201d<\/p>\n