By Eric Mack | Monday, 22 February 2021 02:09 PM
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said gerrymandering efforts “compromise the integrity of our democracy” and then funneled $300,000 to Democrats’ effort promoting it, The Washington Free Beacon reported Monday.
The Beacon cited filings from Pelosi’s PAC to the Future, which is run by her husband Paul Pelosi. The leadership PAC gave $300,000 to former Obama administration Attorney General Eric Holder’s National Democratic Redistricting Committee in 2019, just after she came out against partisan efforts to draw congressional districts for political gain.
“This year, the Democratic Majority passed H.R. 1, the For The People Act, which works to end to partisan gerrymandering by requiring all states to establish independent, nonpartisan redistricting commissions to draw open and transparent statewide district maps after each Census,” Pelosi said in 2019, per the Beacon.
“We will continue to fight partisan gerrymandering, ensure every citizen’s vote counts and oppose any attempt to compromise the integrity of our democracy.”
Holder’s NDRC was borne out of former President Barack Obama’s frustration with House Republicans obstructing his agenda, and Pelosi, Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe met at the Obama White House before former President Donald Trump entered office, forming the effort to draw lines in Democrats’ favor, according to the Beacon.
George Soros’ Democracy PAC has also made a six-figure donation to Holder’s NDRC. A number of union PACs, such as Service Employees International Union, Transport Workers Union, and the American Federation of Teachers, have also donated, according to the report.