As speculation mounts that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will soon announce her retirement, one California lawmaker is wasting no time entering the succession race.
California State Senator Scott Wiener announced his candidacy Wednesday, hours after Politico reported that Pelosi may announce her retirement soon after California votes on a controversial redistricting proposal. Wiener, who’s considered one of the most outspoken leftist members of the California State Legislature, did not name Pelosi in his campaign launch video.
“My family escaped fascism in Europe. I never thought the United States would slip into fascism like we’re seeing today,” Wiener said. “San Francisco has always been on the right side of history.”
“Join me now, before everything we believe in is lost for good,” he continued.
Wiener’s bid comes as Democrats continue to debate the concept of letting younger candidates pave the way for the party. Numerous reports surfaced earlier this year about whether Pelosi would run again. Pelosi, who is 85 years old, has been in Congress since 1987. Wiener is 55.
Some of the major campaign points on Wiener’s campaign website include LGBT issues and countering the Trump administration’s immigration policies.
“He authored the nation’s first LGBTQ refuge law, and expanded privacy protections to prevent harassment and targeting against transgender and nonbinary people. As Senate Budget Chair, he secured $15 million in state funds to cover gender affirming healthcare that Trump is attempting to cut from Medicaid,” his website states, as Wiener’s campaign logo also features a pride flag.
“When masked agents began disappearing people off the street in San Francisco, he passed first of its kind legislation to unmask them. In Congress, he will lead the charge to protect our immigrant neighbors and get ICE OUT OF CALIFORNIA!!!,” Wiener’s site says about immigration.
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The anti-masking ICE bill was signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) in September and will take effect in January. However, the legislation has raised questions about how it could be legally enforced, given that it pertains to federal officers.
“Good news for Americans and public safety: [ICE] and [DHS] law enforcement are part of the federal government,” Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in September after the bill was signed. “We don’t need to abide by this garbage.”
It’s unclear whether Wiener’s announcement will set off a major primary battle should Pelosi opt to retire. San Francisco has made national headlines in recent days as President Donald Trump considers deploying the National Guard to the city, which state leaders have said will be met with lawsuits. Earlier this week, DHS Assistant Secretary Kristi Noem announced that the city will be a focus of the administration’s ICE efforts.
“We continue to have targeted operations in many, many cities, but also very focused on those where challenges are still remaining, such as Portland, Chicago, we’re in Memphis as well, we’re going to San Francisco at the direction of the president as well,” Noem said, The Daily Wire reported.
