*By Britt Terrell*
Nancy Pelosi, the once-and-perhaps-future Speaker of the House, may be the best fundraiser in Washington ー for both parties.
The California Democrat said earlier this week that she would run for Speaker if her party wins a majority in November's midterm elections. That has some members of her own party worried that younger leaders won't get an opportunity to step up and conservatives energized to block their most recognizable liberal foe.
"Nancy Pelosi has become the Boogey Man for Republicans," said Phil Wegmann, a reporter for the Washington Examiner. "They don't have Barack Obama to pick on anymore so she has become their foil and what's happening right now is Republicans are making her the face of the opposition."
Pelosi, now the minority leader in the House, helped pass the Affordable Care Act in 2009 when she was briefly Speaker. She also saw through Dodd-Frank financial regulations. Her liberal credentials make her a reliable fundraiser, bringing in [$16 million for Democrats](https://www.vox.com/2018/5/2/17310850/nancy-pelosi-speaker-house-2018-midterms) in the first quarter of 2018.
There's a flip side.
"Nancy Pelosi, hands down, is the best fundraiser in all of Washington because she's fundraising not just for Democrats but also Republicans are using her to write them checks as well," said Wegmann in an interview Thursday with Cheddar. "If you love her, you're going to write a check for her. If you fear her, you're going to write a check against her."
Some Democrats are worried that Pelosi is a liability they can't afford, and wonder whether she should step aside as party leader to make room for new leadership after the 2018 midterms and ahead of the 2020 election to give Democrats a better chance at a majority and the White House.
Representative Joe Crowley, a Democrat from New York, has expressed interest in becoming the leader of the party, but said he will not run against Pelosi.
"If she loses her career is over" said Wegmann. "If they lose, they will say it's directly because she provided an opportunity for Republicans to attack them."
For the full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/should-pelosi-pass-the-gavel).
Albania's Prime Minister Edi Rama says his new Cabinet will include an artificial intelligence “minister” in charge of fighting corruption. The AI, named Diella, will oversee public funding projects and combat corruption in public tenders. Diella was launched earlier this year as a virtual assistant on the government's public service platform. Corruption has been a persistent issue in Albania since 1990. Rama's Socialist Party won a fourth consecutive term in May. It aims to deliver EU membership for Albania in five years, but the opposition Democratic Party remains skeptical.
The Trump administration has asked an appeals court to remove Lisa Cook from the Federal Reserve’s board of governors by Monday, before the central bank’s next vote on interest rates. Trump sought to fire Cook Aug. 25, but a federal judge ruled late Tuesday that the removal was illegal and reinstated her to the Fed’s board.
President Donald Trump's administration is appealing a ruling blocking him from immediately firing Federal Reserve Gov. Lisa Cook as he seeks more control over the traditionally independent board. The notice of appeal was filed Wednesday, hours after U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb handed down the ruling. The White House insists the Republican president had the right to fire Cook over mortgage fraud allegations involving properties in Michigan and Georgia from before she joined the Fed. Cook's lawsuit denies the allegations and says the firing was unlawful. The case could soon reach the Supreme Court, which has allowed Trump to fire members of other independent agencies but suggested that power has limitations at the Fed.
Chief Justice John Roberts has let President Donald Trump remove a member of the Federal Trade Commission, the latest in a string of high-profile firings allowed for now by the Supreme Court.
President Donald Trump has fired one of two Democratic members of the U.S. Surface Transportation Board to break a 2-2 tie ahead of the board considering the largest railroad merger ever proposed.
The Rev. Al Sharpton is set to lead a protest march on Wall Street to urge corporate America to resist the Trump administration’s campaign to roll back diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. The New York civil rights leader will join clergy, labor and community leaders Thursday in a demonstration through Manhattan’s Financial District that’s timed with the anniversary of the Civil Rights-era March on Washington in 1963. Sharpton called DEI the “civil rights fight of our generation." He and other Black leaders have called for boycotting American retailers that scaled backed policies and programs aimed at bolstering diversity and reducing discrimination in their ranks.
