(Corine Gatti, Headline USA) After former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., endorsed her longtime protégé, fellow California Democrat Rep. Adam Schiff, in his campaign to replace retiring Sen. Dianne Feinstein, rumors swirled about Pelosi’s role in helping him to clear the crowded field of primary contenders.
With Feinstein’s health in fast decline, cutthroat intra-party competition has taken on a new level of Machiavellian scheming—a specialty of both Pelosi and Schiff, the Washington Examiner reported.
“It’s very tricky, and political, because they want her to stay,” a confidant of the Pelosi family told Politico’s Playbook. “The political thinking is that if DiFi stays as long as possible, it helps Schiff as well.”
Meanwhile, far-left progressives are hoping to oust the ailing, 89-year-old senator, which likely would result in Gov. Gavin Newsom honoring his pledge to appoint a black woman in her place.
Rep. Barbara Lee is currently the only declared senatorial candidate who meets that standard, but if appointed, she could derail Schiff’s chances.
The Pelosi family has reportedly played a big role in helping to take care of Feinstein, who was out for months battling shingles, both in Washington and San Francisco.
Nancy Corinne Prowda, one of Pelosi’s daughters, has aided aided Feinstein to keep up with Senate duties.
The unnamed Pelosi confidant said the relationship between Pelosi, her daughter and the senator were kept “under wraps and very, very closely held.”
Pelosi, 83, has suggested that sexism may be behind the calls for Feinstein to step down.
“I’ve never seen them go after a man who was sick in the Senate in that way,” she said of Lee’s supporters.
Behind the scenes, however, Pelosi may have been working to ensure that Feinstein remains in office until after Schiff has secured the seat.
Pelosi’s camp denied any political maneuvering.
Aaron Bennett, a spokesman for Pelosi, told Politico that Pelosi and Feinstein were friends even prior to their respected arrivals in Congress, where both have served for more than three decades.
That close bond between the powerful San Francisco females likewise extends to Pelosi’s eldest daughter, 58.
“Nancy Corinne and Senator Feinstein have been friends for decades,” Bennett said in a statement to the Examiner.
“… Anyone who knows Senator Feinstein knows that her service in the Senate is entirely her own decision, and Speaker Emerita Pelosi would never suggest otherwise,” the statement continued.
